Chapter 1: Corporate Portals: What, Why, and When?

Overview

If opportunity does not knock, build a door.

Unknown

Corporate portals function as gateways, in an "open sesame" manner, to widespread e-business. This is a given, regardless of one's attempts to dodge it, deny it, or defy it. This connection and correlation between corporate portals and e-business can be justified in many ways at many levels. To start with, however, a simple and somewhat intuitive explanation will suffice. A corporate portal, by definition, is supposed to be a corporation's strategic, electronic interface to the Web or, at a minimum, to Web technology-based private networks (e.g., extranets). It serves both external and internal users. It becomes a high-profile, strategic extension to a company's mission-critical operation.

E-business, whether it be e-commerce, customer relatinship management, supply chain management, or professional services automation, is all about doing business over the Web. Consequently, in much the same way that call centers facilitate telephone-based business transactions, corporate portals open the way for secure, authorized e-business. Corporate portals reduce internal costs.

Corporate portals simplify, streamline, and expedite the entire process of interacting with a corporation. They provide an inviting and secure Web-based interface to a diverse range of corporate information, services, and applications. Corporate portals permit people to directly interact with a corporation to conduct authorized business or gain necessary information without having to deal with a company representative. Corporate portals thus heighten company efficacy and promote increased productivity. They reduce operational costs while increasing company reach.

Corporate portals can increase corporate competitiveness through better information...