Firefox is IBM’s browser of choice

Mozilla Firefox

IBM employees have been told to use Mozilla's Firefox as their default browser, shunning the likes of Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Google's Chrome.

The company has made public its browser decision through a blog post from Bob Sutor, vice president of open source and Linux.

He claimed many people started using the browser because it was "new and fast and cool" but its ability to be customised, its security nous and its open source developer community has kept users coming back.

"It is not news that some IBM employees use Firefox," wrote Sutor. "It is news that all IBM employees will be asked to use it as their default browser."

The move will see employees who do not already using Firefox "strongly encouraged" to do so. The browser will be installed on any new computers at IBM.

Sutor claimed the browser was integral in IBM's plans to move further into cloud computing.

"For the shift to the cloud to be successful, open standards must be used in the infrastructure, in the applications, and in the way people exchange data," he wrote.

"The longstanding commitment of Mozilla to open standards and the quality of the implementation of them in Firefox gives us confidence that this is a solid, modern platform that should be part of IBM's own internal transformation to significantly greater use of cloud computing."

The endorsement from one of the world's largest and best known tech companies is likely to give Firefox a boost and help build on its 23.81 per cent market share.

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.