Microsoft wins Open XML vote, frowns at Indian panel

Says ‘LITD 15’ did not have the competence to pass verdict on whether India should accept or reject the documentation standard

NEW DELHI: Microsoft India has filed a complaint with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs about the constitution of a committee by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which had rejected its Office Open XML as the global electronic documentation standard in a vote on March 20.

The ‘LITD 15’ (the name of the 22-member committee representing the government) was asked whether India should change its September 2007 “No vote to a yes”.

As many as 13 members said ‘No’, five (including Microsoft, TCS, Infosys and Nasscom) said ‘Yes’, one member abstained and three did not attend.

Nevertheless, Microsoft has won the nod from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) to have a key document format adopted as a global standard.

Microsoft said the win creates a level playing field for Open XML to compete with other standards.

“The final vote appears overwhelmingly in favour; input from 87 national bodies contributed to an improved specification,” Microsoft said in a statement after the victory.

Microsoft has been pushing hard to get the support it needs at the ISO in Geneva so that Open XML could be accepted hard global industry standard.

An ISO certification improves the software giant’s chances of winning government contracts across the world and encourages developers to use the technology for new software applications.

Among those voting in favor were the US, Britain, Germany and Japan, while opponents included China, India and Russia.

Earlier, in September, the LITD 15 committee had first rejected Open XML.

Following the March 20 rejection, Microsoft has shot an email to BIS (a copy of which is available with DNA Money) in which it has questioned the qualifications of the committee to reject Open XML.

Microsoft said the LITD 15 Committee is a “technical committee and not an expert on ISO process and procedures”.

It said its participation in the seventh meeting of the LITD 15 on March 13 is without prejudice to its representation filed on March 11 “with regard to the constitution of the committee, a matter pending before the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India”.

Microsoft refused to comment when contacted by DNA Money.

 “We have nothing to say on the issue. Any and all deliberations and discussions that were held as part of the BIS approval process on Open XML are confidential,” Microsoft India said in an email reply.

Officials at BIS and LITD 5, and the consumer affairs department also declined to comment.

Industry experts said they were “unhappy” with the Microsoft which has almost accused the committee of being packed with “open document format (ODF) supporters”.

“I am very upset and uncomfortable with such complaints. In fact, the chairperson of the committee (LITD 15) offered to step down over the allegation,” D B Phatak, professor at IIT Mumbai, told DNA Money.

IIT Mumbai is a member of LITD 15, and Phatak was part of the deliberations that have been taking place within IIT on the issue. 
 
Phatak said a Microsoft official was asked if it would withdraw the complaint, but the company refused as the “complaint was made by some higher officer in Microsoft”.

Jaijit Bhattacharya, country director of government strategy for Sun Microsystems India, a company that has been at loggerheads with Microsoft for years, talks in a similar vein.

“I am surprised that such allegations are made against India’s top academic and government institutions … such allegations lack credibility,’ Bhattacharya said.

Venkatesh Hariharan, co-founder Open Source Foundation of India said, “I am just amazed and shocked at the depths to which Microsoft is willing to descend.”

He said Microsoft’s complaint is a “great disservice to the committee, its chairperson and the BIS”.

Thirteen members who had rejected Open XML include the Department of Information Technology (DIT), National Informatics Centre (NIC), C-DAC, IIT-Mumbai, IIT-Delhi, IIM-Ahmedabad, Red Hat, IBM and Sun Microsystems.

Critics of the Open XML certification had argued that introducing a rival to the already ISO-approved ODF, developed by Sun Microsystems, defeats the purpose of having standards.