Large organisations that are considering a move away from Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) in favour of rival standard (Open Document Format) ODF should think again, concludes a new report.

Analysts at Burton Group on Monday turned up the heat in what is an already fiery debate about which standard should be internationally adopted by saying that "ODF should be seen as more of an anti-Microsoft political statement than an objective technology selection".

They said organisations that already use Microsoft's Office should stick with OOXML file formats, which are the default standard in the 2007 version of its software.

Underpinning that argument, the report also predicted that OOXML will be widely adopted by businesses which in turn will beef up Redmond's market share and swat open source vendors to one side.

But ODF, which is the default file format of the open source OpenOffice suite, still has plenty of fans, particularly among the budget-tightening public sector.

Last week, the UK's education technology agency Becta issued a three-pronged attack on Microsoft's licensing model, rubbished the vendor's document format policy, and said schools and parents should be made fully aware of "free-to-use" products.

It said there should be "no widespread deployment of Office 2007" until schools and colleges could be sure they have mechanisms in place to deal with "interopability and potential digital divide issues".

The report's authors also argued that multinational tech firms such as Sun Microsystems and Novell are backing ODF to loosen Microsoft's grip on the XML-based documents cash cow.

Despite its strong support for Microsoft to continue to dominate the Office landscape, the Burton report warns the software giant to work closely with other vendors and customers to ensure it lives up to its commitments. It said: "If Microsoft abuses standards initiatives, the market response will be swift and severe."

But, in recent months, Microsoft has been facing growing criticism of its bid to have OOXML accepted as an international standard ahead of a crucial vote by the ISO scheduled for February.

Redmond initially promised that the ISO would have control of OOXML if and when it became a standard.

Last month's critics argued that Microsoft was backsliding on that promise via plans to retain indirect control of the standard through Ecma International, the group that originally rubber stamped OOXML. ®

More comments…

Related stories

Official: OOXML approved as international standard (2 April 2008)
ISO puts OOXML announcement on ice (1 April 2008)
OOXML approved as international standard? (31 March 2008)
Microsoft makes final heroic grab for OOXML votes (28 March 2008)
OpenOffice update released (28 March 2008)
UK to fly the flag for OOXML (26 March 2008)
Cuba, India vote no on OOXML (25 March 2008)
Free software lawyers warn over Microsoft patent pledge (13 March 2008)
US gives thumbs up to OOXML for ISO standard (10 March 2008)
Microsoft partners cosy up on interoperability (7 March 2008)
Google takes a swipe at OOXML (27 February 2008)
Gates pumps up Office, slaps down Yahoo! (12 February 2008)
EU investigates Microsoft's OOXML campaign (8 February 2008)
Viva VBA - alas (21 January 2008)
Microsoft puts dusty, old Office code on web (18 January 2008)
Mickey Mouse CIO joins Microsoft (18 January 2008)
Microsoft hit by two more EC probes (14 January 2008)
Becta excludes Vista, Office - again (11 January 2008)
ODF vs OOXML - views from the coal face (11 January 2008)
Fear and loathing in 2008 - tell us about it! (2 January 2008)
Open Office standards row heats up (19 December 2007)
OOXML vs ODF: where next for interoperability? (25 October 2007)
From EC rules on Microsoft to a load of old bollocks (21 September 2007)
Google gloats over ISO's OOXML rejection (17 September 2007)
SIS nixes OOXML approval (31 August 2007)
Microsoft accused of ballot stuffing in standards vote (29 August 2007)
XML upgrade assessments needed for higher ed (9 August 2007)
Massachusetts kowtows to Microsoft (3 July 2007)