GoFaxer Blog

In a surprising bid to suit the standards of the surging open source software market, Microsoft has agreed to support the open document format (ODF) in its Office 2007 suite by the first half of 2009.  The move is precipitated by months of pressure from the European Union to adopt universal standards.  Microsoft has long held an adversarial relationship with European officials seeking to stem the company’s highly competitive practices.

The ODF format allows users to open documents using a wide range of applications.  XML provides the information necessary for each program as to how its contents should be interpreted.  The implications of the ODF format are wide ranging as office applications are slowly adapted from a localized interface to new online applications.  The ability to share a document across a variety of interfaces promises to increase user productivity.  In addition, past efforts to allow for conversion to and from formats have presented compatibility issues and requires considerable investment from software companies that develop office productivity applications.

Working with the Open Document Format is just one way office’s are evolving to meet new online trends.  Many businesses have also taken to using an online fax service in order to streamline their document management needs.  GoFaxer is a premier provider of office faxing services for small, medium, and large businesses.  Browse our web site to find out more about what we can do to increase your office productivity.