IBM has unveiled plans to add support for the Open Document Format (ODF) to its Workplace Managed Client early next year. 

While IBM is a public supporter and listed 'participant' of the ODF standard, the vendor does not currently ship any software that supports the file format.

The Workplace Managed Client is a collection of server-hosted applications including email client, web browser and a version of the OpenOffice productivity suite running on a Linux desktop system. OpenOffice added ODF support in its version 2.0 unveiled in October.

The ODF was approved by the Oasis standards body earlier this year and competes with Microsoft's Open XML file format. 

In being open ODF allows software developers to freely support the standard, reassuring users that they will not be hit by a vendor lock-in.

In a response to the increasing momentum behind ODF, Microsoft revealed last month that it will submit its Open XML format used in Office documents to the ECMA standards body. 

IBM's Workplace Managed Client is primarily targeted at enterprises and governments in emerging economies where there is more momentum behind desktop Linux than in the West.

Governments worldwide have been looking at Linux and OpenOffice as an alternative to Microsoft's proprietary software.

The State of Massachusetts is looking to make all its future software products support open standards, and councils in Munich and Vienna have embraced open source.