IBM's decision to join OpenOffice.org is expected to increase support for the Open Document Format (ODF) as the file format of choice, at the expense of Microsoft’s Open XML (OOXML) standard.

ODF, the format supported by OpenOffice, is an open standard for document formats and lets different vendors compete on functionality and price, explained Marino Marcich, the executive director of the ODF Alliance. OOXML’s features and functions are limited in their support of third party vendor’s products, tied to Microsoft platforms and the standard is principally a single vendor format, he added.

IBM joining OpenOffice will increase the choice for end-users choosing an ODF supporting application, said Marcich. “A more functionally rich product will provide better support and further choice for organisations and governments around the world that are moving to ODF,” he added.

Laurent Lachel, a senior analyst at Ovum, said that the IBM move, although too late, is crucial for the open-source project to gather momentum and for ODF to maintain a strong stance against OOXML.

“OpenOffice needs all the resources it can gather to pose a threat to Microsoft Office,” Lachel said. Microsoft, through its collaboration of services, integration with SAP and innovation, has reached a domain OpenOffice still has yet to achieve, he added.

Adam Jollans, the open-source strategy manager for IBM, pointed to the large investment IBM made in Linux ten years ago, which he said accelerated prospects for the open-source operating system. IBM joining the OpenOffice community will have a similar effect in leveraging support for OpenOffice technology and the ODF standard, he argued.

Marcich pointed to two other announcements made in the last few weeks that show ODF's growing acceptance: Sun's ODF-supporting StarOffice suite will be distributed through Google Pack, and CapGemini's agreement to provide ODF-supporting Google Apps Premier Edition to its corporate clients. “It was a very good month for ODF and the Alliance,” he said.