Microsoft awaits ISO’s verdict on OOXML

The doom of Microsoft’s Office Open XML file formats will be decided soon but the International Standards Organization has decided not to reveal it to the world until Wednesday. Whether the OOXML should be accepted as a standard will be determined by ballots, which are already in and are being counted. A total of 87 national standards bodies are voting.

The reporting on the proposal was earlier expected to be out on Monday but the ISO said it held off on an announcement until April 2 “because ISO needs first to inform its worldwide membership of national standards bodies of these results,” according to a statement issued by ISO spokesman Roger Frost today.

Finland, South Korea, Norway, Denmark and Ireland have already given thumbs up to Microsoft but the deal is not through yet.

Despite of a ‘yes’ vote, Norway's national standards body has lodged a formal protest against the OOXML at ISO. The chairman of the Norwegian technical committee cited irregularities in voting and insisted the vote should be changed to oppose ISO certification of OOXML.

Steve Pepper, in a letter to the ISO, demanded that Norway's vote be suspended pending the results of an investigation.

Microsoft did not comment on the outcome of voting.

“We respect ISO’s desire to first inform its National Body members and all the people who have worked so hard during this process. This has been a remarkable process, involving literally thousands of technical experts, technology consumers, and governments in 87 countries, whose input has helped to improve Ecma’s submitted Open XML standard,” the company said in a statement, issued after the ISO indicated it would hold off on the announcement until Wednesday. “Out of respect for the standards process, we will not comment before the final results are known.”

A spokeswoman for Microsoft said she was disappointed to hear the results have been delayed but was excited about the standardization of OOXML.