Microsoft forms interoperability council

Microsoft announced Wednesday the formation of the Interoperability Customer Executive Council.

The Council will "identify areas for interoperability improvements across its products and the overall software industry" as consumer and market interest grows in this arena, the company said.

"As part of our commitment to Trustworthy Computing, we design our products with interoperability in mind so our customers can connect to other platforms, applications and data easily," said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. "The Interoperability Customer Executive Council will help us prioritize areas where we can achieve greater interoperability through product design, collaboration agreements with other companies, standards, and effective licensing of our intellectual property."

The Council, hosted by Muglia, will meet twice a year in Redmond, Wash., and members will include representatives from organizations and companies including Société Générale, LexisNexis, Kohl's Department Stores, Denmark's Ministry of Finance, Spain's Generalitat de Catalunya and Centro Nacional de Inteligencia, and the states of Wisconsin and Delaware, Microsoft also said.

"Interoperability helps customers trust that they are making the most out of their IT investments, and our work on interoperability is consistent with the approach we are taking on security and privacy," Muglia added. "We are committed to interoperability for the long term, so watch this space."

Copyright 2006 by United Press International