Working Better Together by Design
Listening to customers helps create innovative technologies that make it easier to communicate and share information.
Many different kinds of computer software, hardware, networks and online services power today's knowledge economy, but getting them all to work smoothly together is not always easy.
In fact, interoperability ranks with reliability and security as one of the most important capabilities that businesses want in their information technology. Over the years, IT companies have tried many approaches to making technologies more compatible. What has consistently proven most effective is developing products from the start with interoperability in mind. That means building software applications and operating systems that -- in addition to performing their essential tasks -- are capable of easily exchanging data with other companies' products.
Microsoft has long supported this approach and invested significantly in software innovations that work well with customers' existing IT investments and are designed to be compatible with future technologies.
To further advance the benefits of interoperability, last week Microsoft announced formation of an Interoperability Customer Executive Council, which will include chief information officers and technology professionals from the public and private sectors. The Council will work directly with Microsoft executives and product teams on interoperability issues that are of greatest importance to customers.
The Council also will advise on collaborative industry efforts to advance a new generation of software that is interoperable by design. This new model for software development includes the use of Extensible Markup Language, known as XML, to enable different applications to share information more easily and efficiently.
For example, Microsoft is introducing a new Open XML Format with the next-generation Microsoft Office System. This will make it possible for organizations to share and exchange information between Office documents and virtually any other software application or business system.
In response to customer requests for greater interoperability across applications and platforms, Microsoft has joined with customers and industry leaders -- including Intel, Apple, Toshiba and the British Library -- to submit the Open XML Format to Ecma International, a worldwide standards body. This submission, along with the creation of the Open XML Developers Forum, will help ensure that the formats will always be available in an open fashion.
Open, XML-based format standards are one path toward bridging technical and organizational boundaries and advancing the capabilities of information assets now and in the future. We are committed to working with all of our customers to realize the full potential of information easily exchanged.
