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Portal
What's a Portal?
Simply put: a single gateway. Common elements of portal solutions include: user interfaces, search engines, directory services, authorization and access control, collaboration support, knowledge capture and management, and application/process/data integration.
What Does a Portal Do?
Create a browser based, Internet/Intranet software application
enabling users to schedule and request services on-line. Internet
application: users may reserve services directly into service calendars.
Intranet application: users may schedule employee tasks, appointments
and general work load.
The Portal processes that may be served include:
- Structured data management, including enterprise reporting and metadata handling
- Unstructured data management, including document review and workflow, proactive information delivery, and document directory creation and management
- Search, including directory, document, Internet, and report searches
- Collaboration, including online meeting rooms, Internet chat and messaging, and community management
- End-user administration, including role management and default end-user views
- Security, including authorization, authentication, and administration
- Personalization
Why Do I Need a Portal?
From “Infoglut” (information overload) to business and employee efficiency, productivity and enhanced communication – Portals have become more than a nice-to-have. Portals are a necessity.
Statistics reveal Portal implementations are on the rise for their ability to increase profitability through greater employee efficiency, as combining and customizing the information a user needs reduces
"infoglut" (information overload). This enhances productivity by giving staff efficient access to pertinent information without having to waste hours searching for needed data.
In many corporations and school districts, valuable information is locked away in poorly integrated or unintegrated, packaged applications. Portals can crack the code by providing
timely and accurate data on human resources, student information systems, and other data, enabling a company or school district to become more responsive. Organizations can then adapt to changes faster, develop better
forecasts/reporting, and provide data for decisions and future planning. School districts can better drive student achievement as measured on state-mandated standardized tests.
Portal computing is also growing because customer satisfaction levels go up when portal are deployed. The portal model increases the speed of communication, information and business
services which translates into well informed employees, customers and tax payers, open two-way communication with employees and services on-line such as enrollment and payment of annual fees for school districts.
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