IE6 must DIE! - A business case to upgrade.
Update 10 Feb 2010 - Come 1st March 2010 Google will no longer be supporting IE6 as well a many other older versions of browsers. This means that if you are still using IE6 don't be surprised if the following common web tools do not work properly for you:
- Google Maps
- Google Search
- Any google website content
- Google Apps
Also Google own Youtube so don't be surprised if this is next to go...Any company still running IE6 1st of March only has themselves to blame. For a very long time web developers have been advising to upgrade. Microsoft themselves have been advising to upgrade. Users have been asking for an upgrade.
Lets face it, it's time for IE6 to disappear off the planet and never some back. How many IE6 users out there actually choose to use IE6? Do you think that 17% of people that visit W3Schools choose to visit using IE6? Of course not - especially not the web savy types that visit W3schools. So why still 17%? Maybe a few of them are using old PC's but the majority are forced to live in the past because the organisation they attend hasn't got around to upgrading a browser that was launched in 2001 - which is an eternity in Internet terms.
Do we still drive Model T fords? No because they are rubbish compared to new cars. Duh! It's obvious, just buy a new one...isn't it?
But it's not that easy. A business decision needs to be based on concrete evidence for what could be an expensive operation if legacy apps have to be upgraded. Simply saying it's faster, more secure, and has better usibility doesn't cut it. The business wants to know what the bottom line is. Here's some thing's that may sway the arguement
Reason's your organisation should upgrade now:
1. Security
Internet Explorer (IE) is designed to let software do potentially dangerous things to your PC using a web browser. Other browsers (such as Firefox, Opera, and Safari) are not.
Reason: The controls that form IE are a core system service in Windows. These controls must have full system access or else they can’t do their job. They have to be able to spawn administrator-level processes, and do things like write to local files and do other things that are bad from a security standpoint. So when a bug or security loophole is found it can be exploited to by hackers/viruses to the worst effect. And there have been plenty of bugs and likely to be more. Other browsers like firefox do not need access to core system controls therefore are more secure by design. i.e. There is less for a hacker/virus to gain by exploiting bugs in the browser as it doesn’t have access to anything of importance.
Sources: http://www.io.com/~cwagner/spyware/appendix.html
2. Development Time
“...we spend about an extra, on average, 20% of development time to cater to Internet Explorer 6. This means that for every $1.000.000 spent in the world on developing a web site interface, it could have cost $800.000 instead.” – Robert Nyman
Source: http://www.robertnyman.com/
3. Support for IE6 will end
Microsoft has pledged support for Windows XP through to 2014 which means it will support IE6 only until 2014. Why not get the cost benefits of a modern browser now before you absolutely have to upgrade?
IE6 may be supported by Microsoft until 2014 but it is already not supported at by a number of websites. W3schools had 17% of users accessing it’s website with IE6 in Feb 2009. However depending on their audience, many sites already have less than 5% of their traffic using IE6. For them it’s not worth the extra development time/money so they have chosen not to support it.
This means that the content these websites contain may not be accessible to people using IE6. The number of sites not supporting IE6 will inevitably grow.
Almost everyone that is using IE6 is doing so because they have no control over what browser they use at work or school (although some have old computers).
Sources:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208800494
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
4. Modern Browsers are faster than IE6
Because they are easier to use. Eg. Tabbed browsing saves a lot of time. Bookmarks can be managed better meaning it’s quicker to get to the sites you need. URL’s are completed as you type saving more time. There is a google search input and other cool add-ons if you want.
Because they do things faster. Eg. Faster rendering and javascript engines mean pages load faster and people can get on with the tasks at hand. IE6 has major memory leaks meaning it’s not efficient and is sloooow. This alone is worth upgrading for.
Sources:
http://www.zimbrablog.com/blog/archives/2006/10/ie-7-vs-ie-6.html
http://cybernetnews.com/2008/03/26/cybernotes-browser-performance-comparisons/
5. Browsers are now more integral to our lives than in 2001
The world is more reliant on website content than ever before. Most of us use Internet banking, book things online, buy things online, talk to our friends and families via social networking sites and much much more. Businesses are more reliantr on browser based apps, the Intranet and the Internet. All of this we do through our browser, so why not use one that performs well, not some hunk of junk from 2001?
“A stable, feature-rich and secure browser is a prerequisite for success” – Microsoft.
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