Genuine Open-Standard Format for Office Documents Already Available
25 November 2005
OpenOffice.org believes that the demand for a genuine open-standard
format for office documents is overwhelming. Users of office software
are coming to realise that their real investment lies not in the
software itself, but in the spreadsheets, databases, and
wordprocessing documents which they have created: their own
intellectual property. The only way to guarantee access to this
investment long term is for the data to be stored in a vendor-
neutral, open-standard format.
Microsoft's announcement on Monday, 21 Nov., that it recognises the
market pressure for open-standard data formats is a welcome
development. But why opt for a new standard? OpenDocument, which
OpenOffice.org uses, is approved by OASIS - the standards body for
XML data formats in business; OASIS is sponsored by all the leading
names in IT, including Microsoft. In addition, OpenDocument was
submitted to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) on 30
September 2005 for ratification.
OpenDocument is a genuine vendor-neutral, open-standard
specification, free from intellectual property encumbrances, so that
all developers are free to work with it, including open-source
developers.
Vendors and developers do not need to continue with the current
limiting industry standard, as the OpenDocument standard is available
now. Utilising an open-standard, such as OpenDocument, driven and
supported by many vendors, is of huge benefit to organisations and
their customers. Interoperability between different applications and
potential new ventures formed among vendors supporting OpenDocument
will stimulate innovation.
Following an open process, the OASIS OpenDocument Technical Committee
has a long term commitment to extend, improve, and maintain the
standard as technology changes. Membership is open to anyone and
users of OpenDocument may view the OpenDocument proceedings and
participate in an increasing number of forums. See: <http://www.oasis-
open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=office">
OpenOffice.org and other open-source projects are well placed to lead
and contribute to the innovation of new e-business applications
utilising the OpenDocument file format specification.
About OpenOffice.org
The OpenOffice.org Project is an international community of
volunteers and sponsors including founding sponsor and primary
contributor, Sun Microsystems. OpenOffice.org develops, supports, and
promotes the open-source office productivity suite, OpenOffice.org.
The project can be found at http://www.openoffice.org/.
OpenOffice.org supports the Open Document Format for Office
Applications (OpenDocument) OASIS Standard and is available on major
computing platforms in over 60 languages. OpenOffice.org is provided
under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence (LGPL).
Press Contacts
Jacqueline McNally (UTC +08h00)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Lead
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
+61 (8) 9474-3021
John McCreesh (UTC +00h00)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Co-Lead
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
+44 (0)7 810 278 540
Louis Suarez-Potts (UTC -05h00)
OpenOffice.org Community Manager
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
+1 (416) 625-3843
Worldwide Marketing Contacts
http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html
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