ECMA approves Microsoft document format
A vote to make Microsoft Office document formats an international standard was approved last Thursday, according to a Microsoft representative.
At the general assembly of ECMA International in Zurich, Switzerland, Microsoft’s Office Open XML — a set of specifications detailing the document formats in Microsoft’s office — was certified as a standard.
In addition, the membership-based standards organisation voted to propose Office Open XML to the larger International Organisation for Standardisation (known as ISO) for standards approval through its fast-track process, a Microsoft representative confirmed.
The vote to accept Microsoft’s submission as a standard was expected. The ISO standardisation process typically takes about nine months, according to experts.
IBM, which has been a vocal advocate of another standard called open document, or ODF, voted against making Open XML a standard. ODF was passed earlier this month as an ISO standard.
