Microsoft and Sourcesense Partner to Contribute to Open Source, Apache POI to Support Office Open XML File Formats
25/03/2008 20:01
PR Newswire
REDMOND, Washington and MILAN, Italy, March 25 /PRNewswire/ --
- Companies to collaborate on the development of open source solutions
for the Microsoft Office product suite.
Microsoft Corp and Sourcesense, a leading European open source systems
integration consultancy, today announced that the two companies will
collaborate on the strategy, development and deployment of open source
solutions for the Microsoft Office product suite.
One of the initial goals of the partnership is contributing to the
development of a new version of Apache POI, a top-level project of the Apache
Software Foundation (ASF). Widely used in financial services and critical
enterprise applications across related sectors, Apache POI is a leading open
source file format reader and writer to create, edit and read Microsoft
Office formats used in Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Visio.
Apache POI is a Java application programming interface (API) used to
access and manage Microsoft Office binary formats, and can be easily applied
to today's billions of binary format documents by alleviating the need for
complex programming and/or reverse engineering. Because Apache POI libraries
are used in numerous open source projects, developing future libraries to
support the Ecma Office Open XML File Formats (the default file format in the
2007 Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint products) will play an important
role in new interoperability scenarios where XML-based standard formats will
be key for Office documents.
"Donating code to an established, consensus-driven organisation such as
the Apache Software Foundation benefits both our customers and the open
source community at large," said Sam Ramji, senior director of Platform
Technology Strategy at Microsoft. "By helping contribute to new Apache
solutions, we are putting our intentions into action, and giving back to this
dynamic community. We're excited to work with Sourcesense, whose experience
in catalysing Apache technologies and open development practices makes it the
ideal partner."
"Apache POI support for Open XML is compelling. It makes it easier to
integrate, manage and deploy across the enterprise, and opens up valuable
user contributions and feedback - an essential step to the interoperability
and adoption of many collaboratively developed technologies," said Gianugo
Rabellino, CEO of Sourcesense. "Microsoft's participation with the Apache
community reinforces its commitment to bridging open standards with Open
Source. Through our SHARE methodology, companies are able to more efficiently
introduce, control and manage Open Source technology across their
organisation. The timing is perfect, and we're thrilled to be a part of this
important milestone."
Apache POI support for Open XML is currently in development within the
Apache Software Foundation; its first release is anticipated during the
second quarter of 2008. Code contributions are made by ASF members and
committers (developers authorised to "commit" or "write" code, patches or
documentation to the ASF repository), and overseen by the Apache POI Project
Management Committee (PMC).
A half-day training session on how to use Apache POI, led by Nick Burch,
Apache POI PMC Chair, will be held at ApacheCon Europe in Amsterdam,
Netherlands, taking place 7-11 April 2008. Those interested can visit
http://eu.apachecon.com/ for training details and registration.
The community is welcome to participate by joining Apache POI mailing
lists, submitting bug fixes, writing documentation and more. Downloads,
documentation, participation and community information can be found at
http://poi.apache.org.
About Sourcesense
Sourcesense is Europe's leading Open Source systems integrator. Founded
in 2006 as a merger of three consultancies specialising in Open Source
implementation, configuration, and support, Sourcesense provides
enterprise-grade solutions around key Open Source technologies. From Global
Fortune 100 corporations to cutting-edge multimedia start-ups, Sourcesense
clients rely on the company's deep expertise in Open Source, with proven
success in integration, innovation, and strategic advice on creating and
sustaining competitive advantage by leveraging the latest industry
developments. Sourcesense team members are highly regarded as long-term
contributors to numerous prominent organisations in the Open Source
community, including numerous projects and emerging initiatives currently in
incubation at The Apache Software Foundation. For more information, visit
http://www.sourcesense.com/
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise
their full potential.
About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)
Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft
employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products
and services in more than 139 countries and territories.
This material is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Corp
disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to use of the material
for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any
special, direct, indirect or consequential damages, whether in an action of
contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the
use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as
constituting any kind of warranty.
Web site: http://www.microsoft.com
Note to the editors:
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, +1-503-443-7070, emearesponse@waggeneredstrom.com, for Microsoft; or Sally Khudairi of HALO Worldwide, +1-617-921-8656, sk@haloworldwide.com, for Sourcesense. NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft in EMEA, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/emea or the EMEA Press Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact the appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/contactus.mspx. If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft Corp, please visit the Microsoft web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO, AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org, PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com