Large enterprises and any browser but Microsoft's
Sunday, 4. December 2005, 15:28:40
With all the press coverage of the release of Mozilla's latest version of the Firefox browser, there seems to be one piece missing. This is the issue of how large enterprises will decide whether to adopt and support alternative browsers like Firefox or Opera. For starters, neither product offers what is called a "resource kit" or network installation package that can put the software on thousands of desktops from central servers. This is how Microsoft's products are deployed in large enterprises often with third-party products like Landesk. Can you imagine installing say 8,000 copies of Firefox by having a PC Tech go around to every user or telling employees they are on their own to download it? What about support once the product is on a desktop? Having automatic updates is a start.
If your firm has enterprise applications that employees must use are you willing to spend money to test alternative browers to insure compatibility? The bottom line issues are whether a new browser will speed up the secure exchange of information across the firm and for less cost. Otherwise why bother?
The sober reality for Firefox is how it will move from the early adopters to large enterprises? The same issue is faced by Opera in its quest for gaining revenue froms searches that go to Google based on installed desktops.
Posted on Sun, Dec. 04, 2005
By Mike Langberg
San Jose Mercury News
So far, Firefox is the only open-source software widely adopted by consumers, and that makes it a threat to Microsoft. Firefox took a big step forward last week with the release of version 1.5, the biggest upgrade since the original version 1.0 leaped onto the scene in November 2004.
[snip]
Millions of computer users apparently agree. Firefox came out of nowhere last year to grab a worldwide market share that now stands at 10 to 12 percent, depending on which market research study you check, and pushed Microsoft down by an equal amount to about 85 percent.
[snip]
But Mozilla now faces a bigger challenge in moving beyond 10 percent market share. The early adopters and Web enthusiasts who've flocked to Firefox are low-hanging fruit. It will be much harder to shake the other 90 percent from their Internet Explorer inertia.
Firefox 1.5 has a long list of improvements and new features, but the most important in reaching non-expert users is automatic updates.
[snip]
Automatic updates, where small patch files are pulled onto your computer and you need only click once to install them, falls into the category Baker calls ``unglamorous but fundamental.'' Firefox, in short, is now safe for the mass of computer users who will only upgrade when it's the path of least resistance.
[snip]
To grow, Mozilla's corporate arm may need to get Firefox pre-installed on new PCs, a practice called ``bundling.'' But bundling is expensive, because computer makers expect to be paid handsomely for adding software to their machines.
If your firm has enterprise applications that employees must use are you willing to spend money to test alternative browers to insure compatibility? The bottom line issues are whether a new browser will speed up the secure exchange of information across the firm and for less cost. Otherwise why bother?
The sober reality for Firefox is how it will move from the early adopters to large enterprises? The same issue is faced by Opera in its quest for gaining revenue froms searches that go to Google based on installed desktops.
Posted on Sun, Dec. 04, 2005
By Mike Langberg
San Jose Mercury News
So far, Firefox is the only open-source software widely adopted by consumers, and that makes it a threat to Microsoft. Firefox took a big step forward last week with the release of version 1.5, the biggest upgrade since the original version 1.0 leaped onto the scene in November 2004.
[snip]
Millions of computer users apparently agree. Firefox came out of nowhere last year to grab a worldwide market share that now stands at 10 to 12 percent, depending on which market research study you check, and pushed Microsoft down by an equal amount to about 85 percent.
[snip]
But Mozilla now faces a bigger challenge in moving beyond 10 percent market share. The early adopters and Web enthusiasts who've flocked to Firefox are low-hanging fruit. It will be much harder to shake the other 90 percent from their Internet Explorer inertia.
Firefox 1.5 has a long list of improvements and new features, but the most important in reaching non-expert users is automatic updates.
[snip]
Automatic updates, where small patch files are pulled onto your computer and you need only click once to install them, falls into the category Baker calls ``unglamorous but fundamental.'' Firefox, in short, is now safe for the mass of computer users who will only upgrade when it's the path of least resistance.
[snip]
To grow, Mozilla's corporate arm may need to get Firefox pre-installed on new PCs, a practice called ``bundling.'' But bundling is expensive, because computer makers expect to be paid handsomely for adding software to their machines.
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