The gloves are off between Microsoft and IBM concerning OpenXML, the new format of Office 2007. Microsoft's Open XML and supporters of OpenOffice.org's Open Document file (ODF) format comes from Microsoft. On February 14th, Microsoft officially published a little love note to IBM. Their love-hate relationship is well known and this time the offensive was signed by Tom Robertson (General Manager Interoperability & Standards Microsoft) and by Jean Paoli (General Manager Interoperability & XML Architecture).

The subject at hand? IBM's failure to support Open XML, the new Office 2007 format, as the industry standard. OXML has been certified by the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) and is currently awaiting certification by the International Standards Organization (ISO). IBM, with many others, supports the Open Document Format (ODF) which ISO established as an open standard in 2006. Microsoft with OXML is trying to change things.

Referring to the launch earlier this week of IBM's Open Client Solution Robertson claims that IBM supports only ODF (Open Client Solution offers a single suite of common applications across both Windows and Linux systems). By not providing support for Open XML, IBM is limiting consumer choice. 'Competition is good, but it should not come from limiting choice in the marketplace,' Robertson said. IBM says their software is a way to end vendor lock-in for the desktop operating systems market.

The current debate between OXML and ODF became public news when the State of Massachusetts mandated in 2005 that all government offices use the ODF standard. This would have meant that no Massachusetts state agency would run Microsoft Office software. The outcry was such that the state chief information officer Peter Quinn stepped down. With the release of Microsoft's OXML standard and its pending ISO certification Massachusetts now plans to use special converters to allow Microsoft software to be exported to the ODF standard.
The ISO is the organization responsible for examining all new formats and establishing industry standards which is why their approval is paramount. As exemplified by Massachusetts, governments implement and follow ISO recommendations and therefore millions of dollars are at stake.

Since its' certification as ISO open standard many administrations and governments worldwide have adopted ODF. For years IBM and others sought an open standard arguing that interoperability is necessary and that opening intellectual property debates to a larger public is a good thing. As noted they achieved this in 2006 with the ISO certification of ODF. However now Microsoft is claiming that they are the ones spear heading the call for interoperability and IBM is the roadblock.

According to Microsoft IBM has been leading 'a global campaign' urging governments and others to demand that the ISO reject OXML outright before a decision is made. By attempting to influence the ISO's forthcoming decision IBM is refusing to recognize customers' interest says Microsoft which is an interesting state of affairs. Easier to point it out in others than to recognize it internally, nonetheless, Microsoft basically is accusing IBM of hypocrisy and unfair market practices. However, as the open letter points out, Microsoft recently has been behind many efforts to further interoperability such as the Interoperability Executive Council and the Interoperability Vendor Alliance.

Microsoft's open letter highlights the battle IBM has been leading against the recognition and validation of OXML by ECMA and ISO.

ECMA is the first step to ISO recognition and has approved Open XML in a near-unanimous vote, with IBM providing the sole opposing vote. Again according to Microsoft IBM's attitude constitutes unfair market practice and will negatively impact not only the industry but also individual clients such as you and me; therefore IBM is hindering customer choice. However in Office 2007 Microsoft included Open XML as the default file save format. Given the number of computers which run or will run Office 2007 one can wonder as to who exactly is hindering public choice. If only for that reason I wonder if the debate does not actually place itself elsewhere. Indeed the question appears to be more one of public perception and corporate finances. As the world and computers become more and more interconnected the issue of interoperability becomes an important factor in consumer choices as they worry about the integration of their different software products. By taking the stance of defending consumer choice Microsoft is doing a little bit of PR to clean up its image as the big bad corporate wolf. Consumer choice appears in reality secondary given the predominance of Microsoft software on the market.

The irony in all this? The open letter was published on Valentine's Day, day supposed to bring couples together. However since the IBM - Microsoft partnership never recovered from their first affair in the early 80's it isn't a surprising choice. Does IBM the white elephant of the computer industry also have the memory of one? Is it seeking payback? What is the true story behind what appears as yet another propaganda war but is much more?