How do I make a huge organization upgrade from IE6 to something....better?

Question

How do I make a huge organization upgrade from IE6 to something....better?
Think tens of thousands of people.
Although funny solutions will be read gladly, corporate people are, sadly, without any kind of a sense of humor.

Answer 1

Well the easiest way would be to inform the security team that IE6 is no longer supported by Microsoft and that it poses a security risk to your organisation. As for choosing which browser to support anything is better than IE6.

I asked a similar question here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1086729/when-will-ie6-no-longer-be-supported-closed

Answer 2

Is this a question on how to convince them to, or how to physically do it? In case of the former, the most difficult thing you'll run in to is people that don't agree with you. They can easily be be bent to your will by repeating the phrase "ni".

Answer 3

First you have to make sure they are not still using IE6 due to some legacy web apps that depend upon it - that is the #1 reason i have encountered for why businesses/companies do not want to upgrade.

Mention to them that IE6 is:

• incredibly old (in computer timeline)
• incredibly non-standards compliant
• full of security holes

But be prepared for your arguments to fall on deaf ears, and make sure your site/app works correctly in other browsers which can be run side by side with IE.

Answer 4

I'll trot out the same advice I've used in the past when it comes to dealing with "corporate types" (as opposed to "technical types"), and that is: talk about risk.

What risks come with IE6 that they can understand?

Talk about age: IE6 was first released in August 2001. Microsoft's support of it will end in the near future (if it hasn't already). There have been two major revisions of IE released since then, and the IE9 beta was officially released last week. What risks do an old browser bring to the table? Two, as I see it: security holes and the difficulty in finding qualified developers to continue to maintain old IE6-dependent intranet apps.

Talk about developing for yesterday's technology: IE6 doesn't support the range of features that other browsers such as Mozilla, Google Chrome and Safari do. Don't talk about CSS or HTML support (as this will likely make their eyes cross) but talk about what user-friendly eye candy and functionality these other browsers support that IE6 just can't, at least without moving heaven and earth. The risks here? The inability to deploy more advanced third-party intranet applications (if they no longer support IE6) or an additional cost to develop workarounds for functionality a more advanced browser might support (such as a SVG or Canvas-based Gantt chart application).

Talk about standards, and the risk of vendor lock-in. Is your company really better off by going "all Microsoft", or is going with more modern, standards-compliant software from a more diverse set of sources a safer approach?

Point to general Internet usage of IE6 versus other browsers, and talk about how most Internet savvy people already use a different browser, so "retraining" corporate staff isn't as great a problem as it may seem.

I suspect that if your "corporate types" come to the table with an open mind, you'll be able to sell an upgrade to another browser, assuming there isn't an IE6-coupled intranet app holding everything up.

Answer 5

IMO, just move away from the company if they really are that persistent. They won't have a bright future anyway if they don't keep changing and improving themselves. You don't want to risk having the company bankrupting on you, and you have not prepared yourself a way out.

Answer 6

To get this over the line you will need to build a business case, as a minimum the business case should included

1. A executive summary briefly stating the problem(s)
2. The current risks of using IE6
3. The benefits of staying with IE6 (legacy code to be re-developer) find at least one reason to stay with IE6 otherwise people won't believe you
4. A comparison of better browsers and a recommended choice
5. The risks of moving to another browser (role out etc)
6. The benefits of the recommended browser
7. A final summary

You might also include a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of IE. Try to cost staying with, and move from IE. The cost of staying with IE can include the cost of recovery from a security threat.

I would also recommend trying a small role out first so that you have a chance to get the process down. For the first role out I would find the department that want to move away from IE and roll out to them first. They will be so happy to get rid of IE if anything goes wrong they will be more forgiving.

Answer 7

I say you take off and nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure!