The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has ratified its Enterprise Technical Reference Model which allows use of both the Open Document Format (ODF) and Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) format.

"Document formats play a part in this vision by serving as containers for the information rather than being the end goal. The availability of open, standardised XML document formats without vendor bias will move us further along in realising this vision," Bethann Pepoli, acting chief information officer and Henry Dormitzer, undersecretary of administration and finance wrote in a statement posted on the state's website.

The ratification ends the two-year debate in the state over which document format will be mandated for official documents, and ensures that Microsoft will be able to continue to sell its Office software to state agencies.

The Open Document Format is supported by a group of companies including Adobe, IBM and Sun Microsystems. It is governed by the by Oasis and has been ratified as an open standard by International Standards Organization  (ISO).

Microsoft is the sole developer of OOXML. The format has been ratified as an open standard by the European Computer Manufacturers Association  and is pending certification by ISO.

Massachusetts in September 2005 unveiled a plan that would order the use of the Oasis-governed ODF standard. Because Microsoft does not support the format in its Office suite, the decision would force local government workers to switch to the open source Open Office suite.

The state later settled on allowing software translators that ensure that Microsoft Office applications can open, edit and save ODF documents. Microsoft in July last year kicked off an open source project that sought to create such a translator.

Proprietary file formats prevent the proper archiving of digital information. Organisations for instance are often unable to access 10-year old documents because the hardware and software used to create it is no longer available. An open format however ensures that information is always accessible.

Massachusetts started a trend, with multiple nations and states now considering adopting an open document format. The broad support for ODF is generally believed to have played a large role in Microsoft's decision to open up its OOXML format.

Massachusetts also sparked a heavy lobbying offensive from both sides of the debate. In their statement, Dormitzer and Pepoli said that they received many concerned comments about OOXML.

Critics for instance have questioned Microsoft's intensions, and particularly the firm's poor track record in dealing with open standards. Microsoft on its part has argued that ODF lacks maturity, as initially it lacked accessibility support. Microsoft's OOXML by contrast comes with 6,000 pages of documentation that address a plethora in potetnial usage scenarios.

Dormitzer and Pepoli however expressed confidence that all issues will be worked out.

"We believe that these concerns, as with those regarding ODF, are appropriately handled through the standards setting process, and we expect both standards to evolve and improve," the two justified their decission.