Since Internet Explorer has been the traditional browser choice in corporate IT environments, it's no wonder that Microsoft is focusing on making the latest iteration of the product as enterprise-friendly as possible. In this context, Jatinder Mann, IE Program Manager, revealed that Internet Explorer 8 is delivered with support for no less than 1,300 Group Policies, no less than 100 more compared to its precursor, yet another aspect of the browser that evolved since IE7.

“In IE8, we have added more than 100 new Group Policies, bringing the total Group Policies supported in IE8 to 1300! Virtually all new IE8 features have Group Policy support, whether it is Compatibility View, Accelerators, or InPrivate Browsing Mode. These policies allow administrators to fully control IE8 features: hide the feature completely, preset the default, lock the user to only use the defaults, etc. For example, an administrator could turn off InPrivate Browsing by enabling the Turn off InPrivate Group Policy,” Mann stated.

In a corporate environment administrated via Active Directory, admins will benefit from a comprehensive collection of policy settings designed to streamline the management of IE8 across network computers. Internet Explorer 8 configurations performed via Group Policies are stored in a secure tree in the registry. This means that all IE8 Group Policy settings are outside of the user’s reach. Microsoft has made available Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 at the end of August 2008 with all indications pointing to a November deadline for the delivery of the RTW (release to web) build.

“Based on the feedback we received from customers, we have Group Policy enabled some of the legacy settings like secondary home pages, something that wasn’t available in IE7. We’ve also given extensive Group Policy support for the Favorites Bar and Command Bar; an administrator now has firm control over how the IE UI will look. We have refined our Group Policy support in this release,” Mann added.

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Beta 2 is available for download here.