Asian votes to be pivotal in OOXML ballot?

As the battle over XML document standards heats up, Microsoft is gearing up its campaign to drive the adoption of its Office Open XML (OOXML) format in the lead up to a crucial ISO ballot resolution meeting scheduled for the end of this month. And Asia could play a significant role in determining the outcome.

Microsoft officials are upbeat that efforts to address the concerns and proposals by ISO members from around the world is bearing fruit, and will lead to the wider adoption of OOXML.

"Several countries and officials have told us they are very impressed… They wouldn't have believed [European standard body] Ecma and Microsoft would have addressed so many issues so quickly," said Nicos Tsilas, Microsoft's senior director IP and interoperability, government and industry affairs.

Microsoft last September failed to gain ISO approval for OOXML in an initial ballot among members of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Several of the countries that voted against the document format did so with qualifications, giving Microsoft an opportunity to address concerns the members had before the final vote is taken.

Since then, Microsoft has left no stone unturned in its bid to ensure OOXML gets ISO approval. It has been hosting four conference calls a week with national standards bodies and last month gathered the international press for an OOXML briefing in the United States. There, senior executives sought to debunk claims made about OOXML by supporters of rival document standard OpenDocument Format (ODF), which is already ISO-certified.

Speaking to Malaysian tech journalists at the briefing, Tsilas predicted that given the momentum and "how happy the countries and national bodies are, we are not going to have a problem with the ISO vote".

Following the Ballot Resolution Meeting in Geneva later this month, a final vote tally is scheduled for end-March.

In the hands of Asia?
A handful of Asian countries, including Malaysia, could well determine the fate of OOXML as a globally recognized standard. According to Microsoft officials, Malaysia had abstained in the September ballot, while India, Iran, Japan and Korea voted "no". Singapore gave the nod to OOXML.

Microsoft executives are hopeful that Malaysia may change its position to a "yes" vote, with Tsilas describing the country's abstention as being as good as a "yes" vote.

According to a senior official at Malaysia's national standards organization, Asian votes could well play a pivotal role in the ISO ballot.

"All votes are crucial as any one vote can potentially swing the final decision," Rajinder Raj Devraj Sud, director of standards at Standards Malaysia, said in an e-mail interview with ZDNet Asia.

The department's National Technical Committee will review responses to comments made by ISO members, he said.

Asked about Microsoft's argument that governments should not mandate the use of a single document standard, Rajinder responded: "All ISO standards are voluntary. Malaysian private and public organizations are free to use any such standards, regardless of their adoption by ISO or Standards Malaysia.

"There are many instances when multiple standards co-exist. We will be guided by the Technical Committee on whether we should have multiple standards in this instance," he said.

Rajinder added a decision to encourage multiple standards to coexist would be appropriate in cases where there are "no clear consensus or [that involve] fast-changing technology".

And while the failed September-vote does not mean the end of the road for OOXML, Microsoft still needs to address concerns--be it technical or business related--the government and industry have about the document format, said David Wong, chairman of the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom), which provides input to the government on the adoption of international standards.

"Pikom welcomes international standards, be it the ODF and OOXML… [as they] lubricate widespread technology adoption in the domestic market," Wong said in an e-mail interview.

He added that IT procurement decisions are made based on several factors and not on document formats alone. "The final say ought to rest in the hands of the [purchasing] party," he said. "Governments, industries and consumers can decide to accept OOXML after it satisfactorily addresses their concerns."

Wong said its first-mover advantage and status as a globally recognized standard--with its ISO certification--will be prove beneficial for the ODF, given that OOXML is still new and has yet to receive ISO recognition.

They say, we say
Microsoft executives, meanwhile, reserved their sharpest criticisms for IBM, which they claimed has been lobbying national standards bodies and governments around the world to mandate just one document standard, the ODF.

Hazree Mohd Turee, Microsoft's Malaysia senior director of corporate affairs, alleged: "It is a commercially motivated IBM campaign--mobilizing support in various countries and politicking standards bodies to deny the adoption of OOXML. [IBM is] bent on growing [its] Lotus, WebSphere and IBM Global Services."

"IBM should be ashamed of itself for hiding behind the standards game to hinder the progress of the IT industry, and in lobbying for an ODF preference policy," Hazree added.

When contacted, an IBM Malaysia spokesperson told ZDNet Asia the company was reluctant to engage in a slugging match with Microsoft.

"IBM and the many ODF Alliance members have been consistent in their support for ODF as an ISO-approved open, electronic document format--one that is enjoying growing support from consumers, companies and municipalities," Hasannudin Saidin, government programs director, IBM Malaysia, said in an e-mail reply.

"There is a time and place for proprietary [software], but don't pass off your proprietary as open--that confuses people," said Hasannudin. "Microsoft's defeat in the fast-track vote to have OOXML approved as an ISO standard last September is a good case in point."

Lee Min Keong is a freelance IT writer based in Malaysia.