Development > XMLEssentials

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published the specification for a Microsoft-created file format that caused bitter debate during its path to become an international standard.

Chemicals giant Orica continues to support ordering from legacy fax and EDI methods in addition to XML, which is not necessarily a path to integration nirvana.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) have given the green light to publish the Microsoft-backed Office Open XML (OOXML) specification after organization leaders rejected appeals from four countries to protest the vote that approved OOXML as a standard.

The International Organization for Standardization's approval of Microsoft's OOXML as an international standard is just the beginning of what could be a lengthy process before the file format can be widely and successfully implemented for exchanging documents, according to critics and supporters of OOXML.

Now that Microsoft has successfully lobbied to get its Office Open XML document format approved as an international standard by the ISO, it should put just as much effort into showing IT managers that it will offer value beyond attracting the interest of government customers.

Proprietary HR file formats and interchange mechanisms may eventually be rendered obsolete with the emergence of the open HR-XML standard being promoted by not-for-profit skills networking portal OpenSkills.