Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) debuted as part of Windows 95 and quickly became the most popular web browser in the world (well it was bundled in after all). But after years of innovation from alternatives Internet Explorer was left at the wayside with even Microsoft releasing its hopeful replacement Edge back in 2015. Nowadays IE only holds a 5% share of the browser market compared to Google Chrome’s 69% – much of IE’s remaining use is legacy web applications or bespoke websites with many new sites not working at all on IE.
For users that grew up on Internet Explorer its sad to see it finally being killed off, however it really has not been fit for purpose for a long time. Users need to be aware that any sites that specifically still need IE may have problems ahead.
Microsoft are updating Edge (now based on the same Chromium browser as Google’s Chrome) to incorporate a legacy Internet Explorer mode which may get around some of these issues however software or sites reliant on IE should not take this as a given their sites will work in future and need to spend this next 12 months updating systems where possible.
If you still have a requirement for using Internet Explorer to access anything business critical, now is the time to speak to suppliers of those systems to see how they intend to support you through this retirement and migrate you to modern supported and secure alternatives.