IE6 Kept Alive by Corporate Users

Internet Explorer 6 is not getting all that much love these days, what with even Microsoft sending flowers to a mock-funeral event, and the General Manager of IE expressing regrets that representatives from the company were unable to attend. But there are those with a deep loyalty for the decade-old browser, and they are not few by any standards, as IE6 still accounts for over 18% of the browser market, and is the second most used browser worldwide after IE8, according to Net Applications. Statistics offered by online ad network Chitika reveal that corporate users are responsible for keeping Internet Explorer 6 alive.

This aspect is, of course, of little surprise, as corporations are notoriously slow at migrating their IT infrastructures to the latest released operating systems or browsers. One decisive factor that could catalyze companies to upgrade from IE6 is related to the preferences of their employees. According to Chitika, IE6 usage drops from a share of 13% out of all browsers during working hours to just 6% after.

As a general rule, after 2PM, users start browsing from home, or their own devices, and the usage of Firefox, Safari and IE8 increases. However, between 5AM and 2PM, IE6 is used in the detriment of rival offerings, or more advanced versions of Internet Explorer.

“It almost looks like individual Internet users are more tech-advanced at home than the IT departments where they work,” stated Alden DoRosario, Chitika’s CTO. “It’s crazy to think that people whose job description revolves around employees having secure ways to browse the Web would keep IE6 alive, while these same employees go home to more secure browsers.”

In all fairness, migrating to a new operating system or a new browser implies additional costs for corporations, to rebuild, refit, or upgrade certain applications. At the same time, some companies are required by regulatory agencies to run IE6, and even if they’d have no problems with costs and other resources, they’re still stuck. Then again, there are bound to be customers looking to ride IE6 and Windows XP in concert for all they’ve got, and enjoy extended support from Microsoft until 2014. I think it is a fair estimate that IE6 is not going anywhere, at least not for the majority of the next four years, and even with the advent of Internet Explorer 9.

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview is available for download here.