Open Forum Europe

Microsoft has admitted that, despite being one of the dominant names in IT for over 30 years, it had little or no experience or expertise around software standards until the company was mid-way through the process of getting Office Open XML approved by the International Organization for Standardization.

The ISO approved Open Document Format (ODF) standard has gained ground during Microsoft's campaign for its competing Office Open XML (OOXML) specification, a senior Vole executive admitted in a panel session about the long running ISO standards struggle over OOXML at the Red Hat Summit in Boston on Thursday.

OFE - Graham Taylor addresses the Irish Open Source Technology Conference (IOTC)

The adoption of Open Source products and techniques is growing in popularity worldwide, and its uses isn't just changing the business of software, it's changing everything!

Senior EC officials have denied a media report that suggested the European Commission was falling short in its own internal attempt to promote open standards in the technology sector.

The UK's educational IT advisory body has awarded the contract for overseeing a schools open-source promotion project to a consultancy that appears to have little experience in open source, setting off an angry reaction from rival bidders.

We have just heard, that the Choice of Open Standards is a very smart Business Decision.  Well, let me say that the City of Munich has taken its Decision – and done just that…  In fact, the Municipality of Munich has worked with Free Software for over a Year.  I myself am using Free Software and Open Standards in my Office every Day.

Let me explain to you h o w our Decision came about, - w h a t we are expecting from it , - w h e r e we stand at present , - and where our worries are...

Credible competition policy requires competition law enforcement. Cartel cases, merger cases, abuse of dominance cases. But competition policy is not only about cases. It is about putting in place the conditions for  companies to deliver better goods and services to consumers. So it must be informed by more than the individual cases. If markets are not delivering as they should, then I want to understand the problems, and find solutions. That may mean enforcement, advocacy, or specific Commission or national government policy initiatives.

In technology markets, I think it means all three...

BRUSSELS, June 10 (Reuters) - Companies make a smart business decision when they choose open standards, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a wide-ranging talk on an issue involving Microsoft and others.

BRUSSELS — Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes of the European Union delivered an unusually blunt snub to Microsoft on Tuesday by recommending that businesses and governments use software based on open standards.