Netscape Communication Corp’s Web browser is the primary desktop browser for 87% of users, but few companies are loyal to one particular browser, according to a survey by Zona Research Inc, Redwood City, California. It found most users have access to two browsers and companies don’t mandate which employees should use. It’s easy to substitute browsers, so it’s a fluid market. A lot of folks are still running Navigator 1.0 which shows that often whatever lands on the desktop wins, Zona said. That could be good news for Microsoft when Windows 95 ships with Internet Explorer 3.0 if users take the easy option and default to Explorer – but that’s assuming Windows 95 penetrates the corporate market. Currently Explorer is the primary browser for only 4% of users, but it’s present on 17% of desktops, compared with Netscape, which sits on 59%. Zona says its survey of 100 corporate IT professionals is more accurate than looking at Web site hits, which don’t measure Intranet use.
