IE6: Windows 7 hits the brakes... or a wall.

Hey, the Slashdot blog site has been talking about IE6 - IE8 compatibility issues. This is an area which I've been doing alot work in over the last year and there are several things that come out time and time again from working with global organisations


Most importantly, it not just me whingeing now... Everyone is doing it.. Nothing like being first on the complain train...

You can have a look here: http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=10/10/29/149218

and also here: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9193901/IE6_addiction_throws_monkey_wrench_into_Windows_7_migration

So, here are some thoughts on the IE6 compatibilitz problem space, and how it affects organizations moving to Windows 7;

1. Percentage of web apps within the organisations - now equal with native installed apps. Five years ago with the XP migration it was more likely to a ration of 1:4 native versus web based apps forming the application portfolio. The number of web based apps today is totally unknown to the orgs as the chances are they have not assessed their web apps prior to planning the Win7 migration. And when they do come to carry out their due diligence the results are a bit of a shock.

2. Secondly, it's not just the web apps that won't migrate easily. URL's intranets, extranets and portals will have difficulty migrating as well. In many instances, organisations have not considered this factor into their migration plans and this can delay a migration by months.

 

Ultimately, the IE6 to IE8 and soon IE9 compatibility issue must be addressed to enable a smooth migration. How organisations do that is up to them but in my experience, proactive planning using market leading automated solutions can help speed the process enormously.

 

And you thought life would be easy... Migrating to Windows 7 used to be about desktop replacements... Now we have to consider;

• Hardware Support for 64-bit
• Virtualization Layer support (App-V)
• Office Updates for inter-dependent applications
• and.. the Browser (specifically IE6)

The fun never stops...