Various core applications that are now outsourced--such as sales and customer management systems, advanced project management tools, extensive network and system security infrastructures, collaboration tools, and a heavily customized enterprise content management system--will soon move in-house. All of these core applications are now delivered over the Web in a software as a service (SaaS) model, so the applications are accessed via a web browser that is essentially acting as the operating system. The concept of the browser acting as the operating system has been around since the early days of the Web, and it is widely believed that Microsoft went after Netscape so hard because it feared that the Netscape browser would become more significant than the operating system on which it ran. At that time, their fear may have been unfounded, but now we are much closer to being able to access everything from the confines of a humble web browser. Therefore, businesses should now start to take a much closer look at the web browsers on which they standardize, particularly in the areas of compatibility, security, and adaptability. One of the best things about using an online application is the flexibility it offers users, and users currently have various choices. But all browsers may not be equal when it comes to security. The next generation could turn things around by offering greater security but less choice. As single-point browser platforms continue to mature, many more SaaS vendors can be expected to take advantage of them to provide customized and more secure application interfaces. With these benefits could come increased platform lock-in, but the browser will likely not decrease in importance. Our browser is already acting like our operating system in the sense that it is the place where all of our applications live.