Internet Explorer will be discontinued, is your business ready?
Microsoft has officially announced that the end-of-life date for Internet Explorer 11 will be June 15, 2022. Plans are in place to transition everyone to Microsoft’s newer Chromium-based browser, Edge which has legacy support (“IE Mode”) for Internet Explorer-based websites built-in.
One of the most important things to stay on top of is when certain technologies are losing support. Cloud services are always evolving. The positives in this are new features and capabilities being added which can improve productivity. The negative is that older technologies are phased out as new ones come in, which necessitates a change in workflow.
The biggest change is coming on 17 August 2021 when Microsoft 365 and other apps will end their support for Internet Explorer 11. Being unaware of this change can result in costly, unexpected downtimes for your business.
How to Prepare for the End of Internet Explorer
For the most part, moving over from Internet Explorer 11 will be a simple adaption, but it is important to know how to make a smooth transition.
Individuals that use IE should transition to Edge before June 15, 2022, the end-of-life date. Bookmarks, passwords, and additional settings can easily be migrated from IE to Edge.
The Chromium-based Edge browser is said to provide a “modern browser “experience, while also enabling IE Mode for backward capability. IE Mode imitates IE behaviours within Edge and can support Web Apps that are still dependent on older technologies.
Research shows that many organisations are still dependent on Web Apps that use older IE Technologies and have on average 1,678 legacy apps. If app compatibility remains an issue, Microsoft offers its App Assure service to assist in resolving these issues. The App Assure service is free, but only for organisations with 150 licenses or more (Windows 10 or Microsoft 365).
Conclusion
IE Mode will be supported in Edge until at least 2029. Microsoft has noted that there won’t be any support exceptions offered when IE 11 reaches its end of life.
Sean Lyndersay, Microsoft Edge Partner Group Program Manager wrote, “We can’t thank everyone enough for supporting Internet Explorer over the years. Many people and organizations around the world have depended on IE to support them as they’ve learned, grown and conducted business online,”.
“Microsoft Edge with Internet Explorer mode inherits this important responsibility, and we look forward to supporting you online with Microsoft Edge.”
