The latest iteration of the state's technical reference guidelines states that the OpenDocument format will become the de facto platform for text, spreadsheets, charts and graphical documents produced by the government to ensure future access to the records.

Compatibility Issues

In a series of discussions regarding a preferred document format, the state emphasized "fair use" capabilities beyond just viewing and reading government data. The state also stressed that the new document format must be able to stave off incompatibility as desktop software changes over time.

As a result of these requirements, the state's I.T. department gave the nod to the XML-based OpenDocument format, a specification developed by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). According to the state requirements, all government documents are to be saved either in OpenDocument or in Adobe PDF formats by January 1, 2007.

The OpenDocument standard is native to OpenOffice and Sun's StarOffice.

Massachusetts currently uses a mixture of Linux, Microsoft Windows and other software throughout its operations, but is now seeking to establish a common platform.

Additional open formats will be used for other types of documents. The state is soliciting comments through the end of this week before finalizing on its document requirements.

Test of Time

Several governments, particularly in Europe, are taking a closer look at Linux and other open-source technologies because of the reported greater flexibility and lower cost of such deployments.

International standards such as those created by OASIS are more likely to be maintained without being radically altered over the years, Kusnetzky said. Still, that does not necessarily mean Microsoft will be left out in the cold, he added, especially if the company agrees to support such standards.

"A problem with Microsoft and other proprietary software vendors is that even their own formats are not always compatible with previous versions," he said.

Forrester research analyst Michael Goulde offered a similar take on the situation, saying that flexibility is critical for government operations. "With document applications, there are few choices, which could be a problem in the long term because there are no guarantees with proprietary software that older formats will be compatible with those developed in the future," he said.

Goulde noted that Massachusetts has tried, without success, to get Microsoft to support open standards. "I think this is a problem for Microsoft only if the company wants it to be a problem," he said.