Interoperability - UK Press Roundtable
On the 1st March 2007 the UK Developer Group hosted a Roundtable for the Press with Microsoft spokespersons Jean Paoli, General Manager Interoperability and XML Architecture, and Thomas Robertson, General Manager, Standards. The purpose of the Roundtable was to update the Press on the progress Microsoft is making on the announcements it made to the industry in 2006 to focus more closely on Interoperability and to provide an opportunity for questions regarding the company’s strategy, commitments and initiatives in this area.
The discussion covered a number of subjects but predominantly focussed on the standards process, Microsoft’s approach to working with the industry including the setting-up of the Interoperability Alliance and questions about ECMA’s recent response to Microsoft’s submission of Office Open XML as a standard. The tone of the discussion was positive with Jean and Tom being open and honest, which was appreciated by the media. The acceptance by Jean and Tom that “Microsoft has form” in the area of trust was a key moment in the discussion, and well received by the media. We anticipate coverage from the Roundtable to start appearing in the developer press later in March and will update this posting with links to relevent content as it comes out.
Meanwhile, for a view from Roundtable co-host on-the-day, Matt Deacon, Microsoft UK's Chief Architectural Advisor, check out his blog post about Microsoft and Interoperability for the detail.
