The steady (but inexorable) decline of a web monopoly

This new chart from Barclays Capital shows the steady but sustained decline in the global market share for the internet explorer browser.

For years Microsoft has been in dispute with the European Union competition authorities over alleged abuse of its dominant position in the browser market. From now onwards, it will now offer European users a choice of web browser options like Apple’s Safari, Google’s Chrome, and Opera, in addition to its Internet Explorer (IE). Mozilla’s Firefox now has a quarter of the browser marke and Chrome has made a good start in this increasingly contestable market. Google is positioning Chrome as both a browser and an operating system - a real challenge to the Microsoft model.