RISING ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS PLAYER Oracle has started charging for an Open Document Format (ODF) plug-in for Microsoft Office that the Vole already supports.
Sun originally developed the ODF standard for Star Office, which was acquired by Oracle last year when it bought Sun and rebooted as Oracle Open Office. Up until now, the ODF plug-in for Microsoft Office was free for open source office productivity applications like Star Office and Openoffice.org.
The ODF 1.2 plug-in works with Microsoft Office 2007 (Service Pack 1 or higher), Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Office 2000. The Vole offered support for ODF 1.0 interoperability last year in Office 2007, Service Pack 2. Microsoft isn't yet supporting ODF 1.2, and even Microsoft Office 2010 will only offer support for ODF version 1.1.
Version 1.2 is still a draft and hasn't been approved yet by ISO or Oasis, the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards. Oasis developed the open document standard and Sun is a founding member of the consortium.
David LeDuc, executive director of the ODF Alliance thinks Oracle's decision was a good one.
"We're still trying to gather all the details and scope of Oracle's decision but we think it's very positive. It shows that Oracle is taking ODF seriously now and focused quickly and practicability after the merger," David told us.
David didn't agree with speculation that charging will hurt sales and leave smaller businesses out in the cold.
"The charge won't hurt ODF and will drive more uptake of Oracle Open Office. We're not sure if it's the case that the 100 License will leave smaller businesses out. You can still download Open Office for free," he said.
He also said that Oracle's charge wasn't a smack in the face for open source: "Remember that the ODF plug-in itself was not open source. It was just free."
"The Sun ODF plug-in is currently the only converter with enterprise support available. Enterprises who want to use the ISO-standardised file format with Microsoft Office can sign service contracts with Sun."
Speculation online also suggests that Oracle wants to push ODF to enterprise companies unwilling to upgrade from Microsoft Office 2003 to Office 2007. The plug-in is a way to sell in full 1.2 functionality.
Governments and public sector companies have already standardised on ODF 1.1. This means they are more likely to jump to a 1.2 plug-in rather than hope that Microsoft gets around to building a 1.2 version for Office. The open document office applications they use, like Open Office, will also be able to support 1.2 documenting. So Oracle is exploiting the need for Microsoft Office users to upgrade to 1.2 so they can avoid incompatible file formats. Most Microsoft Office users probably haven't even heard of Open Office - the likelihood of them downloading it just to have 1.2 compatibly is highly unlikely.
We think Oracle saw a revenue chance and took it. It realised that its ODF1.2 plug-in was the only feasible way to offer true open standard compatibility so it started charging for it..
David made a valid point that "Businesses are suspicious of something that's free."
To our ears, that's quite possibly the best reason we've heard for why Oracle wants to start charging. It costs money, so it must be good, right? ยต
Sun originally developed the ODF standard for Star Office, which was acquired by Oracle last year when it bought Sun and rebooted as Oracle Open Office. Up until now, the ODF plug-in for Microsoft Office was free for open source office productivity applications like Star Office and Openoffice.org.
The ODF 1.2 plug-in works with Microsoft Office 2007 (Service Pack 1 or higher), Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Office 2000. The Vole offered support for ODF 1.0 interoperability last year in Office 2007, Service Pack 2. Microsoft isn't yet supporting ODF 1.2, and even Microsoft Office 2010 will only offer support for ODF version 1.1.
Version 1.2 is still a draft and hasn't been approved yet by ISO or Oasis, the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards. Oasis developed the open document standard and Sun is a founding member of the consortium.
David LeDuc, executive director of the ODF Alliance thinks Oracle's decision was a good one.
"We're still trying to gather all the details and scope of Oracle's decision but we think it's very positive. It shows that Oracle is taking ODF seriously now and focused quickly and practicability after the merger," David told us.
David didn't agree with speculation that charging will hurt sales and leave smaller businesses out in the cold.
"The charge won't hurt ODF and will drive more uptake of Oracle Open Office. We're not sure if it's the case that the 100 License will leave smaller businesses out. You can still download Open Office for free," he said.
He also said that Oracle's charge wasn't a smack in the face for open source: "Remember that the ODF plug-in itself was not open source. It was just free."
"The Sun ODF plug-in is currently the only converter with enterprise support available. Enterprises who want to use the ISO-standardised file format with Microsoft Office can sign service contracts with Sun."
Speculation online also suggests that Oracle wants to push ODF to enterprise companies unwilling to upgrade from Microsoft Office 2003 to Office 2007. The plug-in is a way to sell in full 1.2 functionality.
Governments and public sector companies have already standardised on ODF 1.1. This means they are more likely to jump to a 1.2 plug-in rather than hope that Microsoft gets around to building a 1.2 version for Office. The open document office applications they use, like Open Office, will also be able to support 1.2 documenting. So Oracle is exploiting the need for Microsoft Office users to upgrade to 1.2 so they can avoid incompatible file formats. Most Microsoft Office users probably haven't even heard of Open Office - the likelihood of them downloading it just to have 1.2 compatibly is highly unlikely.
We think Oracle saw a revenue chance and took it. It realised that its ODF1.2 plug-in was the only feasible way to offer true open standard compatibility so it started charging for it..
David made a valid point that "Businesses are suspicious of something that's free."
To our ears, that's quite possibly the best reason we've heard for why Oracle wants to start charging. It costs money, so it must be good, right? ยต
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