Is Firefox the business browser of choice?

Is Firefox gaining ground on Microsoft in the enterprise? According to a recent Forrester Research survey, Firefox moved almost doubled its market share to 18% in 2007 while Microsoft’s market share decreased by 10%. In an article posted by InformationWeek, author Hoover went on to say the numbers also point to poor adoption of IE7 in the enterprise as well,

…Internet Explorer 7 is having trouble finding traction as companies are sticking with the 6-year-old Internet Explorer 6. Microsoft released IE7 in October 2006, but 55.2% of companies still used IE6 as of December 2007. Only 23.4% of companies used IE7, barely outpacing the growth and use of Firefox.

What might be even more compelling is that Firefox 1.5 has been almost completely replaced by Firefox 2.0, a sign of a loyal client following eagerly consuming the October 2006 release. Thomas Mendel, author of the Forrester Research report, points to an air of “enterprise apathy” which illustrates there is nothing exciting keeping the attention of the end users.

Those thinking to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 should be cautious as well, Hoover. The upgrade to version 8 may likely break some enterprise applications, so testing will be key to a successful roll out.

Is Microsoft being threatened in one of their own wheel houses? Is Microsoft’s marketshare being lost with upstart companies that are higher touch? Is Microsoft’s distribution business model antiquated?