Yesterday we (Microsoft) reached a significant milestone in the development of the Open XML standard with ECMA and ISO. Once finished, the Open XML standards will be the foundation for document exchange across productivity application from any vendor. For those of you that don't know, Open XML, the foundational document formats within the 2007 Microsoft Office System, is under review for ratification by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). The process is currently in the final ballot resolution phase and the final outcome is anticipated in March 2008.
As part of the ISO process for considering Open XML as an ISO standard, a technical committee at ECMA is reviewing and responding to all (3,522) comments submitted by National Standards Bodies during the first phase of the process. On 11/19, ECMA issued a first batch of proposed dispositions to 662 of the 3,522 comments. On December 11, 2007, ECMA is issued a second batch of new dispositions bringing the total number of proposed comment dispositions to just over half of the total received (literally 50.1%).
Included in the proposed comment dispositions are a number of significant and positive changes to the original ECMA Open XML standard submission – with the work done to date, we believe that ECMA is taking the National Body comments seriously and proposing revisions that will make the Open XML standard better.
The ECMA announcement is available here:
http://www.ecma-international.org/news/TC45_current_work/New%20set%20of%20proposed%20dispositions%20posted.htm
Open XML Developer Site: http://openxmldeveloper.org/
Open XML information on the Microsoft site: http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=open+xml+site%3Amicrosoft.com&src=IE-SearchBox
Additional information from Brian Jones, Microsoft Office PM Over halfway there… including some positive changes to the Open XML standard