After Ed Homan, an orthopedic surgeon representing a central Florida district in the state legislature added an amendment calling for open document formats into a 38-page bill and was introduced to the long arm of the Microsoft lobby contingent; the story of the open source document formats at the state legislative level has received a fair amount of coverage. As a related side note, I took on the topic of the proposed Open Document Format (ODF) and China's Uniform Office Format earlier this week. In contrast to the significant opportunity for open formats that is the developing/emerging world abroad, a number of stark realities mark the state-by-state battle for open document formats.
Dr. Homan, who is an orthopedic surgeon, is at the forefront of a movement that seeks to loosen the vice grip that Microsoft has on the office productivity front, one which has contributed $14.4 billion in sales from January through March, according to the Journal. Currently the option to even consider alternatives to Excel and Word is severely limited by an ingrained dependence on Microsoft file formats. Yet the availability of lower-cost document applications has pushed cash conscious states and their constituents to consider bills which advocate the use of open document formats. In Texas, Rep. Marc Veasey introduced such a bill and was similarly met with almost immediate action from a Microsoft lobbyist.
However, at the end of the day the conflict isn't defined by controlling interests or even pure technology, but mostly by bureaucratic inertia and lack of education. While there is a fairly widespread awareness that open standards will benefit everyone involved, very few understand just how much is to be gained. Just as the Windows vs. Linux TCO argument was all the rage because it supposedly spelled out how much instead of simply saying what, the open document format contingent must look to illustrate just how much not demanding open standards costs...in good ole dollars and cents. Until this takes place it will be difficult to gain the widespread momentum that can overcome the incentive to uphold what is basically the "status quo."
Interestingly enough, the progress of governments across the world towards open source and open standards in general may serve as impetus for those within the U.S. Even Microsoft, with its Open XML, has relented to the trend of open standards (with Open XML it remains to be seen how open a standard it really is). Now it's time for state legislature to do their part and start working towards legislation similar to what we've seen in places like Massachusetts. The ODF Alliance itself has admitted this isn't about choosing one format (ODF) over the next (Open XML or proprietary Microsoft formats) but about enabling choice where there is currently very little to none. Hopefully theirs is a message which can inspire more, who like Dr. Homan are willing to step up and advocate change for the better.
About the blogger: Alex Fletcher is lead industry analyst at Entiva Group Incorporated, a research and analyst firm which concentrates exclusively on the open source software industry. His main focus is working to help clients of all sizes formulate strategy and policy surrounding their use of open source software within the enterprise. Alex has prior experience as a consultant, software engineer and start-up founder. He can be reached at alex dot fletcher -at- entivagroup dot com.
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