The Importance of Open Standards in Interoperability, OFE Onepage Brief No.1 (31.10.08.)

Open standards is a strategic issue for industry, governments and users. Open standards enable industry to provide software and services that meet customer requirements today and in the future. In a networked ecosystem there is the need for end-to-end solutions with pieces of software from different vendors working seamlessly together. Hence, the concept of open standards is generally accepted in industry. To customers, on the other hand, open standards guarantee a high degree of flexibility and choice. Open standards prevent single vendor lock-in by facilitating interoperability... [more]