South African Government Perspective | Important Milestones - SA | 2007 - Policy on Free and Open Source Software
ODF Migration Document | MIOS

Visible effects of Open Standards are that you can:

• Choose any operating system or application and still be able to read and edit all your old documents.
• Collaborate with others regardless of which software they are using.
• Use any software of your choice to interact with your government.

The less visible effects of Open Standards are that they lead to:

More competition in software, resulting in better pricing and service increased competition in hardware. This could lead to more innovative and cost-effective solutions which will then lower taxes as a result of more effective governmental IT solutions that avoid the cost of lock-in.
Government documents must be freely written and read, shared and retrieved even after many decades.

It is imperative to move away from vendor lock-ins by companies who want to lock away the files in proprietary formats. Such companies have a tendency to disappear leaving the government sitting in a pile of digital toxic waste.

"An open, unhindered exchange of information in all areas of life is of fundamental importance for today's knowledge-based society. It is an important foundation for our shared objective: a peaceful, democratic, pluralistic society.

German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2007)
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/en/AAmt/071024-IT-ODFWorkshop,navCtx=23336.html