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From...
Netscape is still the champ
Web posted June 26, 1998
at 3:05 PM ET
by James Niccolai
While Microsoft Corp. gained in every segment of the U.S. Web browser market last year, Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator browser remained on top, according to a study released yesterday by International Data Corp. (IDC).
Netscape's share of the browser market in 1997 was 50.5%, while Microsoft's Internet Explorer was the Web software of choice for 42.8% of Web surfers, IDC said. America Online, Inc.'s browser came in third, with 3%.
But Netscape's market share increased only in one segment -- among small business users, IDC said. However, because it has more than 50% of the overall market, Netscape is unlikely to be toppled from its position this year, predicted Joan-Carol Brigham, a research manager in IDC's Internet continuous information research service and one of the report's authors.
Neither Microsoft nor Netscape derives revenue from their browsers at this point, but they consider having a larger share of the market strategically important. And Microsoft has gained steadily on Netscape's original lead. In 1996, Microsoft held 18.5% of the small business market against Netscape's 44.4% share. In 1997, Microsoft gained 8.2% in small business, for a total of 26.7% of the U.S. market, whereas Netscape gained just 2.3%, giving it a 46.7% share.
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Other findings in the report, titled "U.S. World Wide Web Browser Market Review And Forecast, 1997-2002," included the following:
- From 1996 to 1997, a shift occurred in applications used
with the browser software. E-mail, calendaring and
scheduling, and document management software made
significant gains.
- An examination of five user segments -- home, small business, medium and large businesses, government, and education -- found most of the growth in the browser market occurred among small businesses.