Microsoft took a step towards creating an open standard of technology for Word and Excel applications, the company said.

The submission of Microsoft's Office Open XML to the Switzerland-based standardisation body Ecma is supported by Apple, Barclays Capital, BP, the British Library, Essilor, Intel Corp, NextPage Inc, Statoil ASA and Toshiba.

"The European Commission, European member states and governments around the world have asked us to open up file formats, and we're going to do that," Alan Yates, business strategy manager at the unit that sells Office applications, including Word and Excel, said on Tuesday.

Government agencies, although not included in the initial list of supporters, were expected to endorse the move in coming days and weeks, Yates said.

The move was announced in Europe, because "this is really a hotbed for standardisation efforts, and it is where people appreciate what we're doing in greater detail," Yates added.

Microsoft's Yates hoped the move to standardise the Office Open XML (Extensible Markup Language) without charging royalties would build trust amongst companies and consumers who will use the standard in coming decades.

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved