According to data from market research firm Net Applications, Microsoft’s web browser market share has dropped below 70 percent in the month of November. Yes, 70 percent is still an overwhelming majority but considering Internet Explorer is said to have peaked with close to 95 percent of the market, this new data represents yet another area where the scales are continuing to level out. Is the era of the Redmond behemoth finally coming to an end? Not any time soon of course, but Microsoft is indeed having its fortress walls slowly chipped away in nearly every major area of its business. Windows OS market share, Microsoft’s bread and butter, is at a 15-year low and MSN / Microsoft Live Search usage is hovering between 5 and 8 percent of the market, depending on whose numbers you look at. Internet Explorer represents yet another area where Redmond is faltering and Microsoft is showing no signs of movement that might slow the burn. Conversely, Mozilla’s Firefox jumped above 20 percent in November – the first time it has maintained a share over 20 percent for a full month since Net Applications began tracking relevant data.
[Via Silicon Alley Insider]
