IE ushered in the age of connection in 1995 and maintained possession of a majority of the browser market share for almost two decades. As with all things, the release of newer technologies like Google Chrome made IE less relevant as time went on.
In 2014, Internet Explorer still accounted for about 59% of the global market share, with Chrome sitting at 21%. In only two years, IE lost its top spot to Chrome and even fell behind the next innovator, Safari.
In 2015, the writing was already on the wall. Then, Microsoft released a new browser, Edge. Edge was designed and destined to take IE’s place as the official browser installed on Windows systems.
The longer technology is driving work and home life, it becomes inevitable that we’re going to lose some of our favorites. Adobe Flash Player is another example of technology that once was widely used and is now gone.
So, since IE has reached its end of life (EOL), what happens next?
Microsoft Will Redirect Users to “IE Mode” in Edge
According to Microsoft’s plans, now that IE is officially out of support, the program will redirect users. Over the next few months, a new experience will happen. Users opening this outdated browser won’t entirely succeed. They will instead land in Microsoft Edge with IE mode.
To ease the transition away from Internet Explorer, Microsoft added IE Mode to Edge. This special mode makes it possible for organizations to still use legacy sites that may have worked best in IE. Edge uses the Trident MSHTML engine from IE11 to mimic IE function.
When using IE mode, users still see the Internet Explorer icon on their devices. But when opened, the user will actually be using Microsoft Edge instead.
Microsoft Set To Remove Internet Explorer Icons in the Future
Microsoft isn’t getting rid of the IE icons that appear in places like the taskbar and Start menu on Windows yet. But they stated they will in a future update. Users should expect to see those removed at some point.
Edge Imports Browser Data from IE
What about your favorites, saved passwords, and other important settings that you have in IE? Microsoft Edge imports these from Internet Explorer for you, so they’re not lost. This data will include things like your browsing history and other data stored in the browser. You can access these in the Microsoft Edge’s settings area.
With IE Retired, What’s The Next Step?
Uninstall the Browser
Keeping older technology that is no longer supported on your system offers significant risks. Cybercriminals love to exploit older tools not receiving any security updates because it’s so easy. Might as well write an open invitation to breach your network. Manufacturers will never address these because they retired the software and the programmers writing those updates went on to other projects.
Outdated technology costs enterprises approximately 47% more when they suffer a data breach, compared to those businesses with updated tools.
Transition your stored information to Microsoft Edge (or another trusted browser). Once the data is safe uninstall IE from your device or devices.
Ensure Employees Can Successfully Use IE Mode in Edge
One scenario that businesses should avoid happened in real-time to many organizations in Japan. Several government and corporate users weren’t prepared for the retirement of IE.
It was reported that IT and engineering departments were overwhelmed by help requests due to mass unpreparedness for the browser’s demise. Even though it came with warnings, the changeover was a shock to many that used legacy sites that need IE to work. Users of these legacy sites included the customers of government agencies, financial institutions, and other organizations.
This lack of preparation left them scrambling to try to figure out what to do at the last minute. These companies still needed access to employee attendance management, and other online tools.
Of course, if they’d used IE mode in Edge, the changeover didn’t need to be so chaotic. However, without communication or training, more than 20% of affected users had no clue what to do.
Remember to communicate with your team in planning what to do. Companies can automate IE mode for their users so that it launches automatically.
Train Employees on Microsoft Edge Features
Microsoft Edge offers multiple benefits over IE and other browsers. Edge runs faster and much more responsively than Internet Explorer. It also uses comprehensive security controls (including password breach monitoring). In addition, Edge offers unique features such as “collections.”
As with all new tools, if you want employees to use them proficiently, they need the chance to learn them. Take the time to transition well by having your employees trained on Edge.
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