Denmark's Competition Authority recommends that public administrations use office productivity software that support both the open document format ODF and Microsoft's alternative OOXML. "It will not improve competition to choose only one of these standards", the agency said in a statement published on 12 August.
The government agency sees at the moment no reason for favouritism between the formats. Deputy Director General, Agnete Gersing, explains: "Choosing OOXML will currently exclude all other suppliers but Microsoft, while, by choosing ODF, competition will unfold between the very same office suites as in a situation where both standards are chosen."
Which standard will eventually establish itself is unclear at this time and the competition guardians are wary of making a wrong decision. "If only one of the standards is chosen and this standard does not turn out to become market standard, there is a risk of substantial investment mistakes."
The only condition for the acquisition of new software is: the application must accept text documents in both formats.
Microsoft Office Suite's market lead is another reason for the decision. The study shows that at least 90 percent of Danish desktops are using Microsoft office products, and hardware is usually delivered with pre-installed Microsoft products. So a preference towards ODF would not promote free competition. Says Gersing, "Moreover, choosing ODF will not ensure the necessary interoperability between the office suites."
The Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (Fokus) in Berlin seem to be of the same opinion: in a study commissioned by Microsoft, scientists came to the conclusion that a migration from ODF to OOXML and vice verse would be difficult and depending on the complexity of content would produce fluctuating results.
More information:
Market report from Danish Competition Authority (in Danish)