A Joint Technical Committee of the International Standardization Organization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has concluded its formal process to evaluate Ecma International’s submission of the Draft International Standard (DIS) 29500: Office Open XML (Open XML).

While the final vote has not yet been announced formally, publicly available information shows overwhelming support for Open XML. According to documents available on the Internet, 86% of all national body members support ISO/IEC standardization, well above the 75% requirement for formal acceptance under ISO and IEC rules.  In addition, 75% of the Participating national body members (known as P-members) support standardization, also well above the required 66.67% requirement for this group.

Open XML, IS29500, now joins HTML, PDF and ODF as ISO- and IEC-recognized open document format standards.

The ratification of Open XML is proof that the consensus-building process worked.  With input from an unprecedented number of technical experts from around the world, the Open XML specification has been greatly improved for the benefit of ISVs, customers and governments.  Microsoft is committed to supporting this newly approved specification in its products, and will continue to work with standards bodies, governments and the industry to promote greater interoperability and innovation.

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