Microsoft’s Open XML Denied ISO Fast-Track Status

By Greg McNevin

August 13, 2007: Microsoft’s bid to have its Office Open XML document format fast-tracked into an international ISO standard has hit a snag, with the company losing a crucial internal vote at the The International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS).

Last week the INCITS voted eight to seven in favour of adopting Office Open XML (OOXML) as a standard, with one voter abstaining. This left Microsoft one vote shy of the nine needed to make its ISO standard aspirations for OOXML reality.

The open source OpenDocument Format (ODF) was approved as an ISO standard last year, giving it an edge over Microsoft’s offering in what is turning out to be a protracted and somewhat bitter struggle for dominance.

While the vote doesn’t rule out the possibility that OOXML could one day be adopted as an ISO standard, it does mean that Microsoft faces a long wait for standardisation, and one that could create the space ODF needs to cement itself as the format of choice.

The executive vote comes in the wake of another INCITS technical committee poll last month in which fast tracking OOXML was also ruled out, not because of lack of enthusiasm for Microsoft’s format, but rather due to a need for further discussion about the format.

OOXML certainly isn’t going to disappear, but being denied fast-track status certainly is a blow for the format.

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