Microsoft has taken another step towards the withdrawal of its Internet Explorer browser, pre-installed in old versions of Windows. The company announced that from August 2021 both this program and the old version of Edge Legacy – not based on Chromium – will not be compatible with the applications and services of its Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
As a first measure, as of November 30, 2020, Internet Explorer 11 -the last update of the browser, launched in 2013- will no longer be compatible with the Microsoft worksharing app, called Teams.
Likewise, Internet Explorer 11 will no longer be supported with all applications and services of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem as of August 17, 2021.
This situation also affects the old version of Edge – prior to the launch this January of the current Microsoft browser based on Chromium -, which will also no longer have support with Microsoft 365 apps from August 17, 2021, and with Teams since November 30, 2020.
Although the company claims to “respect applications developed with Internet Explorer” and old versions of Edge and that these will continue to work, it has recommended companies and users to migrate to the new version of Edge.
For users who would like guidance on how to plan, implement, or adopt the new Microsoft Edge, there is a tool called FastTrack. It is available at no additional charge to customers with 150 or more paid Windows 10 Enterprise seats. To begin with this process, it is required to submit a Request for Assistance through the FastTrack site .
Microsoft Edge is built on the open source Chromium engine, providing support for enterprise sites and extensions . It integrates Cortana, among other tools, and its processing engine is optimized, which leads it to offer more speed and compatibility. It can be used on both Windows and Mac, as well as iOS and Android.