IE6 addiction throws monkey wrench into Windows 7 migration

Enterprises addicted to Microsoft's nine-year-old Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) browser are having a tough time migrating to Windows 7, an analyst said today.

And although Microsoft has made it clear it wants IE6 dead and buried, the company needs to help solve a problem it created when it released the non-standard browser, then pressed businesses to develop IE6-specific applications, said Michael Silver of Gartner.

"Microsoft would rather put the non-standard browser technology behind it," Silver said in a recently published research report.

Easy for Microsoft to say; it doesn't have to deal with the IE6 fallout.

According to Gartner, IE6 compatibility problems will cause at least one-in-five organizations to take longer than expected or spend more than they budgeted for their Windows 7 migration projects.

"Microsoft needs to explore all avenues that could ease the transitions away from IE6," Silver added as he spelled out ways the company could lower barriers to Windows 7 adoption, something obviously in its interest.

:story: Full story: Computerworld