More People Use Explorer, Study Says

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January 08, 1998 (12:00 AM EST)

By John Borland,

A new study released Thursday by Positive Support Review, a management consulting firm, says Microsoft's Internet Explorer is now the dominant Web browser, edging out Netscape Navigator.

Most other surveys by independent research organizations show that Netscape has maintained a lead -- albeit a narrowing one -- over Microsoft in the Web browser market. But the PSR release adds weight to some analysts' predictions that Microsoft could take control of the market by mid-year.

Microsoft's climb accelerated sharply during the Christmas season, when many new PCs loaded with Internet Explorer were sold, PSR President Victor Janulaitis noted. "People went out and got new machines, and all of a sudden IE is there and available," the report said.

The PSR survey said Internet Explorer had climbed to a 63 percent share by the week of Jan. 3, up from a 42 percent share at the end of September. Over the same period, Netscape browser use had fallen from about 54 percent down to 36 percent.

The study was based on a 4-month review of more than 550,000 unique visits to about a dozen PSR-maintained Websites, which cater largely to business users and information technology professionals. Each week's data was based on between 30,000 and 40,000 visits to the sites, Janulaitis said.

Microsoft officials welcomed the study's release, but stopped short of claiming victory in the browser wars. "This is very encouraging," said Craig Beilinson, a product manager with Microsoft's Internet Explorer team.

Netscape officials, on the other hand, chose to ignore the findings. "This doesn't really mean anything to us," said Maggie Young, a Netscape spokeswoman. "If you look at all other surveys out there, Netscape is still in the mid-60s."

Tallying the market share for the two browsers has become a touchy task as Microsoft has edged into Netscape's market. A Dataquest survey in early November showed Navigator still controlled the browser market, with a 57 percent share compared to Internet Explorer's 40 percent share.

Netscape officials also criticized those findings, noting that Dataquest had based its study only on visits to the AltaVista search engine. At that time, Netscape cited other studies that said it retained close to a 70 percent market share.

The PSR findings, while based on a relatively large number of individuals, are skewed by the sampling sites' largely professional and office-user demographic. But that isn't necessarily good news for Netscape --- company officials conceded in September that Navigator browser use was higher in business settings than in homes.

And while PSR's results represent only a single finding -- the only one to date that has pushed Internet Explorer to the market's top spot -- they are likely to add fuel to the legal fires burning underneath Microsoft in Washington D.C.

The Justice Department has alleged that Microsoft illegally bundled Internet Explorer with its Windows operating system, violating the terms of a binding 1995 consent decree.

Although browser market share figures don't play a direct role in the case, Microsoft has defended itself in the past by pointing to Netscape's continued dominance of the browser market. The new figures --- if corroborated by other researchers --- could play into the judge's decision.

Janulaitis said that neither Microsoft nor Netscape had commissioned the study or were PSR clients. The survey was initially launched in order to figure out how the company's clients' Websites would handle different brands and generations of browsers, he explained.