Upgrading IE8 to IE9 Can Save Companies Millions of Dollars

Microsoft is not at all shy about applauding Internet Explorer 9 as the best browser for business customers. I’d also argue that since IE appears to be the only valid option for companies, they might as well run the best version of the browser they can.

Superior security, boosted performance, increased productivity, top stability and reliability, a plethora of new features (some of which incredibly useful and addictive, try Pinned Sites), backward compatibility, simple management of deployments, customized installations, etc. are just some of the reasons that make IE9 an IT professional’s wet dream.

Microsoft commissioned a study to Forrester Consulting to provide additional incentive to business customers to embrace IE9, especially if they’re currently using IE8. Summarizing the conclusions of the study, upgrading from IE8 to IE9 can save companies millions of dollars.

Forrester calculated the savings for a large organization upgrading some 50,000 desktops to Internet Explorer 9, and looking at their math it should be really hard for IT pros to find reasons not to upgrade.

“The organization’s risk-adjusted benefits are over $6 million over three years. By applying a 10% discount rate, the present value of these benefits equal $5 million. The net present value of these benefits is over $3.3 million with a 15-month payback period,” stated Roger Capriotti, Director, Internet Explorer Marketing.

“As Forrester notes, “The data collected in this study indicates that migrating from Internet Explorer 8 to Internet Explorer 9 has the potential to provide significant quantifiable benefits and positive net benefit after Year 2”,” he added.

“The Total Economic Impact of Windows Internet Explorer 9” is available for download from Microsoft, free of charge. Obviously, it would be best for companies to do their own estimates of cost savings in spite of what Forrester says, and they can easily do so by at least piloting IE9.

If organizations are already upgrading to Windows 7, and judging by the 400 million licenses of the platform that have been already sold, they are, embracing IE9 should be the next logical step.

As far as I’m concerned, Windows 7 and IE9 make an exceptional match, and are capable of delivering experiences that are out-browsing rivals. Did I mention Pinned sites?

Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) Platform Preview 1 (PP1) is available for download here.

Windows Internet Explorer 9 RTW for Windows 7 and Windows 7 SP1 is available for download here.