Microsoft said goodbye to Internet Explorer on June 16, and while it happened quite quietly for users with so many alternatives, the measure sparked panic in Japan.
According to the Japanese newspaper “Nikkei”, many companies and government agencies in the country who waited to update their websites until the last minute, were deeply concerned about Microsoft’s action.
Since April, Tokyo-based software development company Computer Engineering and Consulting has received requests for help, one of which appealed to the company, saying: “Can you do something so we don’t run into any problems?”
Most of these customers were government agencies, financial institutions, manufacturers and logistics companies that operated websites only compatible with Internet Explorer.
“They’ve known about (the phasing out) a long time ago, but they must have put off taking action,” said a company official, who expects the chaos among stalled customers to last “a few months.”
Microsoft officially discontinued Internet Explorer support on June 15, after 27 years of service, and now many users are switching to Google Chrome.
A survey conducted by IT provider KimansNet in March revealed that a large number of organizations in Japan rely on Internet Explorer, with 49% of respondents saying they used the browser for work.
The suspension of the Internet Explorer browser causes a prolonged and complex crisis for Japan
