Microsoft contributes cash to Apache open source project

At the OSCON open source conference in Portland, Oregon, Microsoft announced that it had become a Platinum sponsor ($100,000 a year) of the Apache Software Foundation, like Google and Yahoo. The move is probably connected with Apache's on-going efforts to support Microsoft Office's new standard Open XML file formats via the Apache POI project.

Andy Oliver, the creator and maintainer of Apache POI said:

"I have been working with Sam Ramji and Robert Duffner from Microsoft, and I have been very pleased to resolve the issues that I had with the work they are funding for the Apache POI project. Not only has Microsoft addressed the concerns that I had with regards to patents and OOXML, but they have gone a step further and added the binary formats to the list. By publishing their clarifications to the Open Specification Promise (OSP), Microsoft has acted both in good faith and purpose. For me personally, this is a big step forward. At one time, I donated my Open Source project to Apache, partially out of fear of Microsoft. Now, Microsoft is becoming a key contributor to this project."

Microsoft is obviously keen to get open source software running on Windows, but as one of Microsoft's open source people, Sam Ramji points out: "It is not a move away from IIS as Microsoft's strategic web server technology."