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DQI Bureau
New Update

Even with the dot-com downturn, companies are sticking by their eBusiness

objectives. Companies now have a greater need for integrated IT business

solutions in order to: compete, discover new ways to grow their business, be

first to market, improve efficiencies and effectiveness, exploit synergies,

nurture strategic relationships etc. The concept of enterprise portals is fast

becoming the face of eBusiness–focussed, personalized, and productive. An

enterprise portal transforms the way companies do business by allowing secure

personalized access to business processes and corporate data by any employee,

customer, or partner with a Web browser.

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“An enterprise portal transforms the way companies do business. It allows secure and personalized access to processes and data by any staffer, client, or partner”

Personalization



One of the key reasons that organizations are starting to use portals as the

interface to their eBusiness initiatives is that portals can be customized to

the needs of each user or group of users. Personalization is the component that

brings about a significant increase in productivity. Effective enterprise

portals are the ones that personalize the entire experience by using the

structure, processes, and identity information that is already stored in your

network directory services. You can therefore create a unique experience for

users with different business roles, locations, addresses, genders or salary

ranges. Portals are generally personalized according to business roles, which

apply to business objectives. Role-based personalization provides all employees

who have the same role (for example, account managers) with access to the same

resources and information. Portals that are tightly integrated with a

centralized directory will not only deliver a higher RoI but will deliver a

lower ongoing cost.

Security in the business context



A portal can provide several layers of network security, although most

portal solutions address only the minimum layer of security by authenticating to

a centralized corporate directory to gain access to a portal. Most important is

the portal’s ability to integrate with existing security schemes for

authentication and authorization.

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One-step authentication



Security need not mean that the system is difficult to use. It should be

able to provide one-step authentication to content that is integrated into the

portal. The authentication credentials should be encrypted and if the portal

solution were integrated into the directory, the authentication credentials

would be stored in a centralized directory so you can access your information

from any device and from any location.

Integration of information and business processes



The portal solution should be able to integrate various islands of

information, which is scattered across the enterprise. Only then will it have

added value. For instance, it should be able to integrate with other enterprise

applications like Exchange, Lotus Notes* and Novell GroupWise. Providing

integrated information and processes also helps employees collaborate more

effectively. When all employees see the same information at the same time, but

in the context of their personal work environment, they are able to come to a

consensus and make well-informed decisions very quickly.

Key components for building a business portal are:
  • Personalization
  • Security based on business context
  • One-step authentication
  • Integration of information and business processes
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Planning for a higher RoI



Estimating your RoI will break down the barriers for solutions addressed at

different business needs as well as ongoing improvements to increase your

company’s competitive edge. The first step to creating higher RoI is to

identify the problems that you need to solve.

If you can identify, document and set up a measurement matrix for the

internal and external issues faced by your organization, you will be able to

establish the business objectives that a portal solution can address. Aligning

the business objectives with those of the group or department that the solution

will support, is necessary to justify the investment you will make as well as

provide a measurement for your ongoing success.

BY Satyen Parikh The author is area

director, Indian subcontinent, Onward Novell Software (I).

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