Japanese organizations are struggling to find alternatives to the Internet Explorer browser after waiting until the last minutes to update their websites.
Affected organizations include government agencies, financial institutions, and manufacturing and logistics companies that operate websites only compatible with Internet Explorer.
Microsoft announced it will end support for most versions of its Internet Explorer 11 browser on June 15. Announced more than a year ago that IE would be removed from most versions of Windows 10 this year. Microsoft has spent months encouraging customers to get ready by proactively retiring the browser from their organizations.
Despite the announcement, Tokyo-based software developer Computer Engineering & Consulting has been inundated with requests to help organizations in Japan update their systems.
“They have known [about the phaseout] for a long time, but they must have postponed taking actions,” said one CEC official, who expects the chaos among hesitant customers to continue for “a few months.”