Microsoft announces support for ODF and PDF in Office
On Wednesday, Microsoft announced plans to expand Microsoft Office support to include ODF and PDF in Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 which is expected 1H2009. My reaction - it's about time! Microsoft is finally listening to its customers that want open standards and should allow users more choice and flexibility in their selection of and office suite and interoperability via the ODF standard (ISO26300). Customers will be asking themselves "What's the value proposition of Microsoft Office relative to other alternatives that support ODF (e.g. OpenOffice, Lotus Symphony, StarOffice)." The key value proposition of Lotus Symphony for the IBM internal account include:
- Support for OpenDocument format (ODF), as well as Microsoft Office and Lotus SmartSuite formats and the ability to export to PDF
- Support for multiple client platforms including Windows, Linux (Mac support coming soon)
- Tight integration with the Lotus messaging and collaboration software portfolio and feature/function not found in other suites including an engaging, tabbed user interface.
- Free!
