New research from International Data Corp has found that Netscape Communications Corp still leads the browser market, ahead of bitter rival Microsoft Corp. Nevertheless, Microsoft is gaining. The IDC research, which measured the installed browser base as the end of 1997, showed that Navigator had fallen to 50.5% in 1997 from 54.6% in 1996, while Internet Explorer rose to 22.8% from 16.4%. While Netscape posted growth only in the small business sector, Microsoft gained market share in all sectors. Still, Microsoft has only 18.5 % of the small business market, compared to Netscape’s 44.4%. Overall, the browser market is set to explode, if IDC’s predictions pan out. From 10.1 million in 1997, the research company expects to see shipments skyrocket to 124.3 million in 2002.
