Microsoft’s fake validation of OpenOffice.org

A recently released OpenOffice.org marketing video from Microsoft tries to highlight prospective issues for companies considering alternatives to Microsoft Office. Although the video suggests OpenOffice.org is increasingly becoming a viable alternative to Microsoft Office, the video also presents insights into Microsoft’s business growth strategy.

The title of the video, “A few perspectives on OpenOffice.org,” might suggest a balanced view from OpenOffice.org users. However, the quotes are far from balanced and indicate a subtle attempt to dismiss OpenOffice in the guise of a fair discussion.

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The quotes used in the vdeo tend to fall into five categories:

• Anti-open source sentiment
• Claims that OpenOffice.org increases IT costs
• Claims that users already have Microsoft Office skills
• Claims that OpenOffice.org lacks Microsoft Office interoperability
• Claims that OpenOffice.org lacks Microsoft’s feature completeness

The marketing video includes 15 customer quotes largely from existing Microsoft Office case studies. Let’s take a look at some of them.

The first two examples criticize open source:

• “I need something I can rely on. If an open source based system breaks, who’s going to fix it?” — Jeff Cimmerer, Director of Technology, Pittsford School Districts
• “A hugely disproportionate 30 percent of our IT resources was required for a period of months to service open source … an estimated 25 percent of additional staff time was routinely required to install and maintain open source-based systems.” — David Sterling, ICT Manager, Central Scotland Police

Three others say that the use of OpenOffice.org increases IT costs:

• “We originally installed Linux based PCs running OpenOffice to save money in the short term. But we quickly found that the exorbitant cost and limited availability of support left us worse off.” — James Fleming, Infrastructure and Support Manager, Speedy Hire
• “We were accustomed to fielding calls from users in a bind due to difficulties with OpenOffice.org on a daily basis.” — Eugenio Mariotto, ICT Director, Cobra Automotive Technologies
• “The company paid too much for using open code, OpenOffice.org software. The efficiency of operations was decreasing.” — Leonid Medvediev, Head of IT Department, CJSC SPC, Borschagivskiy (Ukraine) Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plant

Four quotes say that users already have Microsoft Office skills, insinuating they’d have trouble shifting to OpenOffice.org:

• “New employees lacked OpenOffice.org applications’ use skills that significantly increased employees’ adaptation period and adversely affected their operational efficiency.” — Igor Gentosh, Head of Systems Integration Department, Kredobank JSC
• “Our users’ familiarity with the Microsoft Office interface and the uniformity of different application tools have minimized calls to the help desk.” — Tiziona Battilana, Information Systems Coordinator, Euromobil Group
• “When we returned to Microsoft Office after our experience with OpenOffice, we could practically hear a collective sigh of relief across the entire district” — Bailey Mitchell, CIO, Forsyth County Schools
• “By using Microsoft Office 2007, we have reduced the internal support costs significantly because our staff is familiar with this system. This increases acceptance and job satisfaction.” — Joerg Lenze, System Administrator, Heinrich Berndes Haushaltstechnik

Two quotes say that OpenOffice.org lacks Microsoft Office interoperability:

• “With OpenOffice.org there was total uncertainty about the formatting of documents and also about their inconsistency when shared outside our production group.” — Eros Borgogelli, Information System Coordinator, Ciar
• “Employees using OpenOffice.org weren’t always capable of correctly making sense of documents arriving from outside the company, and doing so with adequate security guarantees.” — Eugenio Mariotto, ICT Director, Cobra Automotive Technologies

And the final four examples say that OpenOffice.org lacks Microsoft’s feature completeness:

• “When I open a large spreadsheet, it can take 10 times longer in OpenOffice.org than in Office Excel 2007.” — Sergey Sakharov, Business Process Optimization Manager, Art of Transport Logistics
• “Our employees were frustrated because OpenOffice and our overall IT environment prevented them from being more productive.” — Darek Muraszko, Information Systems Administrator, Kaczmarski Inkasso
• “When I was using OpenOffice.org, I was especially having trouble with macros not being supported enough. I was asking for help from the IT department. They evaluated my request and suggested that I use Microsoft Excel.” — Bulent Turker, Product Manager for the Scarves Department, Sarar Group
• “I’ve had students who turned in files that they’ve converted from OpenOffice with formatting problems. That affects their grades.” — Tisome Nugent, Educator, Orange County Public Schools

Seeing through Microsoft’s negativity The marketing video has received a generally negative response from open source pundits, with many concluding that Microsoft is validating OpenOffice.org as a viable alternative to Microsoft Office.

But considering the 90 percent-plus share Microsoft Office has in the office productivity market, why would Microsoft validate OpenOffice.org?

At this level of market share, it’s virtually impossible for Microsoft to grow its Office business unit revenue faster than the rate at which new businesses are added to the global marketplace. Eastern European countries present attractive growth opportunities — likely the largest outside of China, India, and Brazil. Given that fact, it’s not surprising that the overwhelming majority of businesses quoted in the video are from growing economies in Europe, largely from Eastern European countries such as Russia, Turkey, Poland, and Ukraine. Not a single quote is from a U.S.-headquartered company. In fact, the only North American quotes are from two school districts, which are rarely examples of effective IT.

Enterprises in emerging markets can make greenfield technology decisions — not typically possible in the established North American and Western European markets. Emerging markets also have fewer employees with established Microsoft Office skills. These enterprises are also more willing to consider open source software, especially when initial cost of acquisition is a critical software decision criterion. That’s the threat Microsoft is trying to head off with fake-outs such as this video.

Emerging markets are so important to the future of Microsoft Office’s revenue stream that Microsoft is willing to validate OpenOffice.org as a competitor in the eyes of existing Microsoft Office customers in the West. This must have been an explicit strategic decision by the Microsoft Office division.

The reality is that North American and Western European companies are already using Microsoft Office, with employees possessing Microsoft Office skills, so they face several barriers to leaving the Microsoft Office ecosystem. The cost of migration, training, and interoperability often counterbalance the costs savings of using a Microsoft Office alternative. In essence, Microsoft is betting that existing customers will, by in large, remain customers and that the real competitive environment is the set of new enterprises in emerging markets.

IT decision-makers in both the West and in emerging markets should understand a vendor’s business strategy before evaluating the vendor’s marketing and product offerings. This recommendation couldn’t hold truer than when evaluating marketing materials from the Microsoft Office division.

Follow me on Twitter at SavioRodrigues. I should state: The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies, or opinions.

This article, “Microsoft’s fake validation of OpenOffice.org,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Rodrigues et al.’s Open Sources blog and follow the latest developments in open source at InfoWorld.com.