A typical organisation relies on countless software applications – from mainstays
such as email & enterprise instant messaging & office productivity tools, to
ERP & CRM & knowledge management applications, to systems for purchasing, customer
service, billing & more. The applications exist separately, but users need to
combine them, & the information they contain, to find answers, make decisions
& complete tasks.
To optimise workplace productivity, IT managers are asked to provide each user with
the integrated tools he or she needs to access information & work efficiently.
To manage costs, IT needs to deliver these tools while minimising integration, deployment
& management expense.
Web portals can increase productivity while lowering deployment costs
A way to meet both objectives is to deploy a Web portal that gives each user personalised
access to tools, data & expertise necessary to do his or her job & manage interactions
with colleagues, customers & business partners – all delivered together within
a familiar, unified browser interface.
Portals reduce the need for expensive back-end integration; they can even allow
users to perform custom integrations of their own as needed, without IT intervention.
By integrating email & instant messaging tools across applications, portals can
help even the most geographically distributed users to collaborate within the context
of the work at hand.
Portals can provide users access to HR self-service applications,
& other applications that help reduce administrative costs. & IT can deploy
portal capabilities centrally according to defined roles, enabling simplified, inexpensive
custom deployment & management as well as faster time to value.