Microsoft Playing Taps for IE6

Microsoft (News - Alert) is on a new kick to rid the world of Internet Explorer 6. Recently launching a website called The Internet Explorer 6 Countdown, the folks in Redmond are pushing businesses, users, and everyone else to upgrade from the now 10-year-old browser.

Noting in a blog that IE6 still holds a market share of around 12 percent, according to market researcher Net Applications, Microsoft says its goal is to shrink that number to less than 1 percent.

Toward that end, Microsoft is driving a few initiatives.

The company is suggesting that websites put up code to detect if site visitors are running IE6. If so, those people would receive a banner telling them they’re using an outdated browser and suggesting they should upgrade. Microsoft has also set up a page explaining why individuals and organizations should move away from IE6. And the company has even put together a tweet for you Twitter users to tell your followers that you’re part of the initiative to get people off IE6.

For individual users, upgrading the browser is a fairly painless process, so there should be few reasons for people to still be running IE6. But businesses typically face more challenges.

Beyond accessing public Websites, many companies host or provide access to Web-based applications, which often are browser-specific. For example, I use a couple of Web-based systems that work only under Firefox and not under IE. Web-based apps that were designed to work with IE6 may fail to work properly if a company upgrades to IE8 or the upcoming IE9. And just as with any upgrade project, there are always costs involved -- both in terms of money and manpower.

But just like the clock is slowly ticking for the 10-year-old Windows XP, time is running out for IE6. And despite the potential pain and problems of migrating, at some point organizations do need to move on from older technology. To help companies that are looking to make the leap from IE6, Microsoft offers a healthy supply of information, including a webpage on Addressing Application Compatibility When Migrating to Internet Explorer 8 and a video on upgrading from IE6 to IE8.

A column that I wrote last November also offers some advice from Gartner (News - Alert) for organizations that want to migrate from IE6.

Most of this information is directed toward upgrading to IE8. But with IE9 likely to be released fairly soon, it makes more sense for most organizations to upgrade directly to the latest version. Microsoft recently launched the Release Candidate of IE9, so you can begin your testing even before the official version comes out.

Though it’s in Microsoft’s best interests to move people away from older software and adopt their latest products, in this case it’s also of benefit to the users and organizations that run such software. So if you’re still stuck on IE6 at your company, it’s time to kickstart that long overdue upgrade.