With all the exciting announcements last week at BUILD, we want to highlight the great news about Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11. Enterprise Mode provides better backward compatibility for Internet Explorer 8 and earlier, and effective this week is available as an update for Internet Explorer on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, and Windows Server 2012 R2; see below for links. With Enterprise Mode, Internet Explorer is helping you stay up-to-date with Windows 8.1, services like Office 365, and Windows devices like the Surface Pro 2; but how?

For Windows:

Many enterprises standardized their web apps on Internet Explorer 8, on both Windows 7 and Windows XP. Some of these web apps have long, multi-year lifecycles and can’t be upgraded easily, effectively making these businesses dependent on Internet Explorer 8 - which means that web app compatibility is an issue for some Windows upgrades. With Enterprise Mode, Internet Explorer 11 can help these businesses upgrade to Windows 8.1.

For Office 365:

Office 365 is designed to work best with the latest browser. Because many customers have standardized on Internet Explorer 8, some Office 365 customers may feel the need to run Internet Explorer 8 for legacy web apps and another browser for Office 365 and other modern web services. Internet Explorer 11 with Enterprise Mode means you don’t need two browsers. Internet Explorer 11 now provides the best of both worlds: A no-compromises web browser with modern standards and great backward compatibility.

For Windows Devices:

Today’s Windows devices run best with the latest version of Windows, but many enterprises are dependent on earlier versions due to web app compatibility issues. Enterprise Mode can facilitate the upgrade to Internet Explorer 11 and therefore Windows 8.1, helping you adopt Surface and other great Windows devices.

With the addition of Enterprise Mode to Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft has listened to our customers in taking an important step towards helping you stay up to date with the latest software, services, and devices. There is already a lot of great content available to help you get started, click the links below to discover more:


Documentation and Other Resources

• The IE blog announcement - Stay up to date with Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11.
• TechNet contains updated information for exploring, planning, deploying, managing, and supporting Internet Explorer.
• A section on Enterprise Mode has been added to the Internet Explorer 11 Deployment Guide.
• The Build session on Better App Compat with Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11 is available as a technical overview.
• Public forums for discussing Enterprise Mode deployment, management, and best practices are available on TechNet Forums.

Enterprise Mode Site List Manager

• Enterprise Mode Site List Manager

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

• KB article - Description of the security update for Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2: April 8, 2014
• Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 7 (KB2929437)
• Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 7 x64 Edition (KB2929437)
• Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 11 in Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 Edition (KB2929437)

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

• KB article - Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 Update April, 2014
• Windows 8.1 Update (KB2919355)
• Windows 8.1 Update for x64-based Systems (KB2919355)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Update (KB2919355)
• MSDN Subscribers – Full versions of Windows 8.1 Enterprise with Update

Fred Pullen, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Windows Commercial

More...


See also:

• How to Enable or Disable Users to Turn On and Off Enterprise Mode in Internet Explorer 11
• How to Turn On or Off Enterprise Mode for Sites in Internet Explorer 11
  

Posted By: Brink
09 Apr 2014