Can Microsoft Create Industry Standards?

Implications: Industry standards are meant to be universally accepted concepts, formats, structures, and/or capabilities which are commonly accepted amongst all users and vendors as the most appropriate way to do something. When a vendor like Microsoft attempts to create a standard the question that has to be asked is whether or not the community at large agrees with their point of view.

Analysis: Industry standards are meant to be universally accepted concepts, formats, structures, and/or capabilities which are commonly accepted amongst all users and vendors as the most appropriate way to do something. When a vendor like Microsoft attempts to create a standard the question that has to be asked is whether or not the community at large agrees with their point of view. This is not only a Microsoft issue, but an issue for any individual vendor who attempts to use their influence or presence in the market to drive standardization on their product or solution. Microsoft was not incorrect in trying to bring forward their capabilitiy as a standard, but they may have lost credibility in this case because the industry and user community at large was not comfortable with Microsoft presenting a point of view that would immediately benefit Microsoft by not neccessarily anyone else.