IBM, Sun Microsystems Launch ODF Toolkit Union

“IBM, Sun Microsystems Launch ODF Toolkit Union To Grow
Adoption, Community and Software Innovation

OpenOffice.org Conference 2008 — Beijing, China — 05 Nov 2008:
IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) today
announced the launch of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) Toolkit
Union, a new open-source software community project organized to
make document software more innovative, versatile and useful for
business.

The ODF Toolkit will use an initial software code contribution
from Sun to provide developers with an easy-to-use Application
Programming Interface (API) for reading, writing and manipulating
ODF documents while accelerating additional application
development. One part of the initial code contribution is an ODF
Validator , a tool that validates OpenDocument files and checks
certain conformance criteria. Capitalizing on the open, elegant
nature of ODF, the Toolkit targets developers who want to create
new applications and solutions ranging from content management,
business workflows and activities to Web-based document
solutions.

The ODF Toolkit will break down barriers between people and
their data by providing support for a wide range of new
applications. The ODF Toolkit Union will complement other industry
efforts such as the ODF standardization work done at the
Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standards (OASIS). These initiatives collectively are eliminating
the economical and technical barriers to creativity, use and
overall utility of documents.

One example could involve the ability to process invoice and
shipping data in ODF formatted purchasing documents. Coupled with
ordering and shipping applications, real-time stock and inventory
information could always be available and kept current by multiple
applications mining the same structured XML-based ODF information
generated.

“The future of accessing and distributing software is here
today,” said Michael Bemmer, senior director, Collaboration
Engineering, Sun. “It is no longer an acceptable business practice
to have silos of office document data stored in proprietary
formats. The industry has moved forward and is replacing the silos
with business content, such as on-premise business applications,
software solutions offered over the Internet and applications
supported by mobile devices that are critical in Service Oriented
Architectures.”

“We envision each document literally taking on a life of its
own, conveying the actionable insight and business value intended
by its creators, rather than the static ledger we have been forced
to accept – until now,” said Bob Picciano, general manager, IBM
Lotus Software.

Developers using the ODF Toolkit will be able to easily produce
new applications that:

 *   automatically create reports in response to
database queries
 *   index or scan documents to support search
services
 *   scan documents to support anti-virus services
 *   scan documents for regulatory compliance, legal or
forensic purposes
 *   convert from one editable format to another
 *   render documents via other modalities such as audio,
video as in unified communications
 *   import data from an office document into a
non-office application; for example, import spreadsheet data into a
statistical analysis application for business intelligence use.
 *   render and import documents for mobile device
display and editing constraints

Many traditional and leading online office applications offer
ODF as the default file format. These include Sun’s StarOffice,
OpenOffice.org, IBM’s Lotus Symphony, Redflag Chinese 2000’s
RedOffice, KOffice, GoogleDocs, Zoho and others.

The ODF Toolkit open source software project is established at
http://odftoolkit.org. The founding members Sun and IBM invite and
welcome other contributors to join the ODF Toolkit Union.

As an open standard supported by a committee of many vendors and
independent contributors at the OASIS standards development
organization. Since it is not controlled by a single vendor, ODF
prevents vendor lock-in by enabling documents to be accessible from
multiple applications, rather than by a single vendor’s
application. The OpenDocument Format standard is an XML-based
specification describing the contents and formatting of documents,
spreadsheets and presentations. It has been developed and managed
by the OASIS standards organization and is available as an
international standard, ISO/IEC 26300.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Sun Microsystems develops the technologies that power the global
marketplace. Guided by a singular vision — “The Network is the
Computer” — Sun drives network participation through shared
innovation, community development and open source leadership. Sun
can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at
http://sun.com.

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Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Java, OpenOffice.org and
The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other
countries.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Terri Molini
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
+1 (408) 404-4976
Terri.Molini@Sun.COM

Mike Azzi
IBM Communications
+1 (914) 766-1561
Azzi@us.IBM.Com”