Microsoft to open up technical data
Trying to head off a European investigation of its business practices, Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that it would release an unprecedented amount of information about how its core products interact with other software developers’ programs.
Analysts said Microsoft hoped that the publication of tens of thousands of pages of technical documentation, previously kept secret to all but those who licensed it, would blunt criticism that the software giant continued to use its monopoly power to hamstring competition.
European Union officials weren’t persuaded, noting in a written response that Microsoft had made past pronouncements about plans to help rival programs work with its Windows operating system, Office productivity suite and server software for running networks of machines.
The European Commission said it would “verify whether Microsoft was complying with EU antitrust rules, whether the principles announced [Thursday] would end any infringement were they implemented in practice, and whether or not the principles announced [Thursday] are in fact implemented in practice.”
Shares of Microsoft slipped 12 cents to $28.10.
Some past releases of protocol information, which details how programs connect to one another, have required large fees and strict conditions about how the data could be used, drawing fire from Microsoft competitors. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said the wider distribution of the interface protocols should satisfy part of a recently upheld EU antitrust ruling against the company.
The new disclosures could help hundreds of companies that supply software for conducting such varied computer tasks as printing documents and hosting websites. In theory, they will be able to design their programs to work on top of Microsoft’s as seamlessly as Microsoft’s own applications do.
Reading the documents is free, but companies will be charged an undisclosed amount if they incorporate some of the described techniques in their own programs. Microsoft pledged not to sue developers who consult the protocols and then distribute free, open-source applications that others can adopt and improve.
While acknowledging their legal motivations, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie acknowledged that they also were responding to requests from business customers that Microsoft programs work more easily with those from competing suppliers and free software, such as the open-source Linux operating system.
“Interoperability is extremely important,” said Ozzie, who succeeded Bill Gates in Microsoft’s top engineering job. “This is a very important strategic shift in terms of how each and every engineer at the company views what their mission is.”
Competitors said they were skeptical that Microsoft’s disclosures would have much effect.
IBM Corp., SAP Inc. and other big software suppliers not only release similar protocols but also supply snippets of code that developers can use to take advantage, said Dave Rosenberg, CEO of MuleSource Inc., which sells programs for meshing big-business software from various suppliers.
With Microsoft’s new tack, “It’s still not clear how I take advantage without paying them,” Rosenberg said. “It’s sort of murky.”
Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, agreed that the significance of Thursday’s announcements wouldn’t be known for some time.
“The question is, what are the exact terms of using these protocols for those in open-source development and commercial distribution?” Zemlin said. “Are they compatible with open-source licensing practices? Are they compatible with how the rest of the information technology ecosystem behaves? We’ll see whether or not this is a true sweeping change.”
--
