IBM joins the OpenOffice.org project

IBM is now going to support the OpenOffice.org project which is one of the primary open source alternative to the Microsoft’s MS Office productivity suite.

The company is going to provide 35 programmers to the OpenOffice.org project. Incidentally, IBM already supports the OpenDocument format which rivals the Microsoft’s Open XML.

IBM also went on to say that they would be using OpenOffice code in some of their unspecified software projects.

They are also planning to provide software aimed at enhancing OpenOffice support for disabilities. This could further boost the popularity of this software product in government organizations.

The OO.org Marketing Project Lead said in a statement on IBM’s decision: “We welcome IBM’s contributions to further enhancing the OpenOffice.org product. But equally important is IBM’s future commitment to package and distribute new works that leverage OpenOffice.org technology supporting the ISO ODF standard. ODF is a once in a generation opportunity for the IT industry to unify round a standard, and deliver lasting benefit to users of desktop technology.”