Essence of portal

[Acternaweb]

What would you say is the essense of a corporate portal? And what problem does it solve?

thanks

[dmorison]

A portal doesn't solve any problems as such, rather it is a new concept in corporate communications enabled by the now widespread take-up of "The Internet".

Your "Corporate Portal" provides a customised, Internet (web) based communications channel that offers content, information and tools appropriate to the users' relationship with your company; be they an employee, customer, supplier, partner etc. etc.

Taking it a step further, switched on companies could do away with terms such as "Intranet" (your internal web stuff) and "Extranet" (some companies even have lame URLs such as extranet.example.com); instead combining everything into a single online presence.

Accessible from anywhere, your "Portal" (think of a cool name, don't use "Portal" ;) would make content, information and tools appropriate not just to your user group (employee, partner, supplier etc.), but also how you were connected (internal WAN, external via VPN, external via clear Internet etc.).

This opens up your traditional "Intranet" tools (such as expenses claim forms etc.) for employees to use from home when connected over the VPN.

The sky's the limit, and corporate politics aside; the limiting factor within most companies is a lack of creative vision as to what the Internet can do for their business rather than the technology limitations.