Microsoft

It's been roughly eight years since Microsoft released Internet Explorer 6, but in many ways the company is still very much tied to the aging product.

Although Microsoft has released two major versions of Internet Explorer in the past couple of years, for many, the face of Internet Explorer is still IE 6 in all its tabless glory.

In large part, that's because many of Internet Explorer's users are the ones who tend not to change the browser that comes with their operating system--either because that's the type of consumer they are, or because they are working on a work machine in which they are not able to upgrade to a later version of IE or switch to another browser.

Amy Barzdukas, the general manager for Internet Explorer, said in an interview this week that Microsoft's perception is "being built by a browser that was fine technology eight years ago or a decade ago."

But that's frustrating, particularly since Microsoft has invested a fair amount of effort in the last couple of years trying to rebuild IE after letting it languish for several years. Microsoft added things like tabbed browsing and a phishing filter back with Internet Explorer 7, which debuted in October 2006, and earlier this year launched Internet Explorer 8, with anti-malware features as well as a private browsing option and improved standards support.

Even with that work, though, IE 6 remains not only the most widely thought of version of Internet Explorer, but also the most widely used version of the browser, at least by a narrow margin. According to Net Applications, IE 6 accounts for 27 percent of the browser market, compared to 23 percent for IE 7. Microsoft's new IE 8 has more than 12 percent of the market, while Firefox 3.0--the most widely used version of that product--has 16 percent (See chart below).

(Credit: Net Applications)

Overall, Microsoft has been losing ground for several years to Firefox and other browsers. After reaching near ubiquity in the post-Netscape era, IE's global market share is now less than 70 percent. However, Barzdukas is hopeful that the trend is starting to shift with the release of IE 8.

"To the extent that IE was losing share over the winter, any rate of loss has substantially slowed since we came out with IE 8, and in some geographies IE overall has actually gained significant share," Barzdukas said.

One of the biggest things that could help Microsoft, Barzdukas said, is if more people understood that there were better browser options available from Microsoft. She has taken part of that task upon herself, making a pest of herself when she is at friends' houses for dinner--checking to see what version of the browser they are using.

A growing chorus of Internet users have asked Microsoft why, if it really wants people to move to IE 7 or IE 8, it doesn't just end support for IE 6. After all, there have been plenty of calls for the death of IE 6, particularly from Web developers, who are weary of the work required to make their sites work in multiple versions of Internet Explorer, as well as Safari, Firefox, and other browsers.

Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system is still playing second fiddle to XP with business users, with more enterprises confessing to checking out the unreleased Windows 7 OS than its predecessor.

More than half (58 percent) of businesses using Microsoft technology are "exploiting" Windows XP compared to just 4 percent for Vista, according to the "reality checker" research by the Corporate IT Forum (Tif).

Tif's reality checker surveys help its members quickly compare the progress and position of their companies' IT against the technology choices of other members.

The group also found that 35 percent of organizations describe themselves as "not yet interested" in Vista.

The OS most people appear to be developing or piloting is Windows XP, with 12 percent of businesses saying they were doing so compared to 5 percent for Vista.

Interestingly more businesses said they're currently investigating or analyzing Microsoft's next scheduled OS, Windows 7 (30 percent), than Vista (14 percent).

In contrast, 7 percent of businesses even said they're still exploiting Windows 2000, although 19 percent said they are currently replacing or "sunsetting" it.

In April, research showed that Vista uptake among businesses was slow during 2007, although a quarter of businesses said they planned to upgrade in 2008.

The main reason given by Tif members for not moving to Vista was a lack of business requirement to do so.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's latest browser, Internet Explorer 7, is having a similar battle with its predecessor, IE 6, with a fifth of respondents saying they're not yet interested in the newer version of the application.

Almost two-thirds of businesses surveyed (65 percent) said they are exploiting IE 6 compared to 4 percent for IE 7. However, 14 percent said they are currently piloting IE 7, with the same proportion using it in isolation.

Almost a quarter (23 percent) said they are analyzing and investigating IE 8, which is currently available in beta form.

Click here for the full results of the Tif reality checker survey.

Tim Ferguson of Silicon.com reported from London.