With multiple portal models out there (not to mention lots of hype), IT executives can narrow their search by first identifying
how well products meet some fundamental requirements.
ManageabilityCan administrators, through a central Web interface, create users and groups and delegate management of portals to others?
Don’t forget basic system-level tasks, such as backup, replication, and versioning.
SecurityIdentity management through SSO (single sign-on) is imperative: Determine how well SSO works with your business intelligence
applications. Does the product integrate with LDAP or similar schemes? Remember to judge authentication when you move outside
the firewall if you’re allowing customers, partners, and remote employees access to your portal.
CustomizationAll portals let users customize their portal space to some extent. But you also need the ability to deliver personalized content
based on users’ roles, business groups, or other conditions.
Share and Share AlikeMost portals build in productivity tools, including e-mail access and discussion forums. If end-users can publish documents
and other knowledge and then subscribe to relevant information posted by others, you’ll get maximum value from the portal.
ExtensibilityStandards implementation varies widely by vendor. If you will only use a portal for assembling a few BI applications, vendor-supplied
connectors for Siebel or SAP may be adequate. But look for interfaces to various Java APIs and Web services, as well as use
of XML, if you will be customizing the interface and integrating with third-party applications.
ScalabilityPortals typically support many thousands of users. Therefore, the application server should offer a distributed, multithreaded
architecture -- plus other enterprise-friendly characteristics such as load balancing and replication.
UsabilityPortals, especially B-to-C (business-to-consumer) sites, are typically accessed by untrained users, so the interface needs
to be intuitive and information must be easily found through search tools.
CostThe up-front price doesn’t automatically equate to TCO; remember to factor in training and the expense of possibly customizing
the portal to plug in to other applications.
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