July 5th, 2007
Denmark to test Open XML, ODF in year-long evaluation
More on the file format wars: Denmark will run a test of the two competing formats — Open Document Format and Office Open XML — over the next year, in which government agencies will be required to use both formats, InfoWorld reports.
Denmark is requiring both standards for the test period since neither are “fully mature,” said Rachid El Mousti, senior adviser for the IT strategy division of Denmark’s National IT and Telecom Agency.
Products purchased by agencies in 2008 must support one of the formats. Denmark is studying document interchange as well, including the use of converters. But the test doesn’t mean the country will necessarily settle on one of the two contenders; Denmark may opt to use neither.
El Mousti said Denmark has felt pressure from supporters of both ODF and Open XML, which was created by Microsoft and is used in Office 2007. Denmark has maintained an open dialog with all vendors, he said.
“In order for us to succeed not just with open standards … we of course need to have the vendors with us,” El Mousti said.
Microsoft is tolerating the test, apparently willing to play ball for the chance to get government approval of their format.
“While I still believe that mandated standards are not an optimal solution for interoperability, this is an important step” in recognizing Open XML as a standard, wrote Jason Matusow, Microsoft’s director for corporate standards, in a blog posting last week.
It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Denmark tests Microsoft’s format and finds it so unacceptable that it blocks Office from all agencies and forces users to go through translation hoops. If Open XML works reasonably well, expect it to win approval.
Microsoft argues that Open XML has more features than ODF, but some critics say the specification is overly complex.
Who would expect anything less?
