IBM has announced it will take an active role in the new OpenOffice.org code base submitted to The Apache Software Foundation Incubator.

Although already an open source player on many levels, IBM's previous work with the community model of development has more closely focused on standards, underpinning technologies, and/or experimental work inside its alphaWorks division.

Now stepping into the open source "user zone" (for want of a more apt expression), IBM says it will contribute staff resources to collaborate with the Apache community during the project's incubation period to further the Open Document Format standard.

"Open source and standards are key to making our planet smarter and improving the way we live and work," said Kevin Cavanaugh, vice president, IBM Collaboration Solutions. "As IBM celebrates its Centennial, we're actively investing in projects that will help our clients to collaborate in an open manner over the next 100 years."

Unsurprisingly, IBM has stated that this development is simply the latest move it has taken in a long line of contributions to open software development. In fairness, Big Blue did own the initial formation of the Eclipse Foundation and can boast over a decade of working with industry colleagues on Linux — plus, in 2007, IBM introduced Lotus Symphony, IBM's no charge, on premise, office productivity suite based on the Open Document Format standard.

According to the company's official press statement, "IBM is helping organizations move towards a model that offers low-cost acquisition of document tools, coupled with high value and high collaboration solutions around a document. This news strengthens IBM's ability to continue to offer our own distributions based on the OpenOffice code base and make our own contributions to reinforce the overall community."