FT.com / Companies / IT - Microsoft loses Office software standards vote

FT.com / Companies / IT - Microsoft loses Office software standards vote

Microsoft loses Office software standards vote
By Richard Waters in San Francisco

Published: September 5 2007 00:38 | Last updated: September 5 2007 00:38

Microsoft has failed in its initial attempt to have some of the key new technology in its latest Windows and Office software recognised as an international standard.

However, the software company claimed strong momentum for its efforts and predicted that it would overcome the remaining hurdles by early next year.

Microsoft is seeking recognition for the formats for documents and spreadsheets contained in its new Office software, known as Open XML.

Winning approval is considered essential since many governments are otherwise expected to balk at the new Microsoft technology, opting instead for the rival ODF format, which already has international recognition.

Though technology standard-setting efforts like this seldom attract much public attention, Microsoft’s push is seen as a vital part of its attempt to win broad support for the latest versions of its key desktop software products.

Also, the company’s controversial international campaign to win support, by getting supporters of its position to take part in national-level discussions about the issue in many countries, has drawn allegations of abuse from rivals such as IBM.

The International Standards Organisation said Tuesday that only 53 per cent of countries that voted on whether Microsoft’s technology should be adopted as a standard had supported the move at this stage, short of the two-thirds majority needed.

Also, 26 per cent had voted against the plan, while under ISO rules an initiative cannot be approved if more than 25 per cent vote against.

Microsoft will get the chance to propose changes to its application at a meeting in February.

If those changes prove insufficient, it will be forced to follow a slower application process that could take as long as two to three years to complete.

Even a delay at this stage is likely to discourage governments from moving ahead to buy new Microsoft software, claimed Marino Marcich, managing director of the rival ODF Alliance.

However, Tom Robertson, general manager of inter-operability and standards at Microsoft, denied that the delay would hit sales.

He claimed that the initial ISO vote was “a very positive sign of momentum” towards ultimate support.

He said that standards bodies in some countries, such as Ireland, had indicated their support in principle, even though they voted against at this stage, suggesting that Microsoft will be able to achieve its objective.

Microsoft’s opponents, meanwhile, claim that the company will have to make substantial changes to its application before gaining full recognition, for instance by tying the formats less closely to its other software.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007