The never-ending lobbying circus
Earlier this week Office Open XML (OOXML) was voted an ISO Standard by 86% of the voting countries. Having the world’s most popular document format become an ISO standard will obviously enhance the interoperability and longevity of office documents.
Soon a new wave of competing applications will fully support Office Open XML. Everyone involved – including and especially Microsoft – will be required to follow the standard to the letter. No wonder 86% voted to approve it!
OOXML is not the only open document standard: OpenDocument, the native file format of OpenOffice, was approved as an ISO standard two years ago. Sun and IBM have argued that OpenDocument should be the only ISO document standard. These are the companies that have relentlessly lobbied governments under the banner of consumer choice.
Unfortunately, many OpenDocument supporters have no intention of accepting the ISO process and the will of the overwhelming majority. They intend to do everything possible to make sure consumers have no choice of open standards. They’re calling for government investigations, repealing the vote, allegations of corruption, you get the idea.
Wouldn’t we all be better off if they would focus on creating value for their customers instead of lobbying governments to harm their competitors? Isn’t it much better to compete by building more innovative products, doing more original marketing, and taking better care of your customers?
For a more in depth look at the hypocrisy behind this, check out this thoughtful post by Jan van den Beld, former Secretary General of the ECMA standards body. The last paragraph nails it.