The good news: Microsoft has announced its flagship Office productivity software will gain support for more open formats, including PDF v1.5, PDF/A (the ISO standard for archival PDFs), and ODF v1.1.
The bad news: Users will have to wait until 2009 and Service Pack 2 to get it.
In a press release, MS detailed the intention to increase the interoperability of Office 2007, and reaffirmed the commitment to delivering ODF support for older versions of Office through support of the OpenXML-ODF open source translator project. This move comes after Microsoft’s recent success in establishing its own Open Office XML (OOXML) as an ISO standard, and provides significant backing to Microsoft’s pledged support of interoperability. The media spin that Microsoft is using goes something like this: Step 1: Innovate. Step 2: Create partner opportunities. Step 3: Profit. But is this really a move for greater compatibility, or simply a move to maintain dominance?
Software makers are under increased pressure to move away from proprietary data formats, especially from government users concerned with business continuity and data archiving. Closed formats, such as Microsoft’s .doc and .xls formats, create data silos that are entirely dependent on continued support from a sole vendor. Open standards, by contrast, are bound to no single company, and can be implemented more consistently in products from multiple vendors. Although Microsoft appears to be increasing the competition for file formats, this move is really about maintaining the Office suite as the dominant contender.
Microsoft has ballyhoed its efforts such as the Interop Vendor Alliance and Microsoft Interoperability as proof of their commitment to open formats. Despite these efforts, EU governments are already making changes away from Office and proprietary formats, choosing instead to favor software that does not tie data to a specific vendor format. US government agencies are also concerned with the matter, though none have yet acted upon those concerns. In light of these circumstances, Microsoft is faced with two options: support open formats, or lose its customers. Office (and associated productivity software) licenses contribute greatly to the revenue stream flowing in Redmond; to lose this cash cow would leave Microsoft with only the Windows division to fill the coffers.
By offering support for PDF and ODF documents, Microsoft can remain the tool of choice for office productivity, and retain its virtual stranglehold on the market. What is less clear is whether these formats will enjoy full or second-class citizenship it the Office ecosystem. Documents not in common Office formats, such as PDF, have often received different treatment from SharePoint servers, so it remains to be seen how non-Office files will be handled in SP2. With encroachment from Google Docs and the buzz surrounding the Open Office developer community, Microsoft must prove the value of its software, and justify the client license fees against free alternatives.
Read [Microsoft PressPass]
woohoo!!
it's definately a move to maintain dominance, but who cares
2009 isn't much of a wait!