Portals have been around for a while. Sites such as Yahoo, AOL and MSN offer a broad range of services such as e-mail, news, stock prices, entertainment, forums, search engines, and on-line shopping malls.

These have evolved and a new breed of Portal is causing a lot of interest and excitement - the SmartPortal.

A SmartPortal provides to multiple information systems through a simple, consistent and intuitive user interface that most people are familiar with - the Browser. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, or any other can be used. Use of mobile devices such as Blackberry,Palm, iPaq and many others also means that users can get retrieve information from anywhere at any time. They don’t even need to be at a computer any more!

Seamless access is now possible to the internal SAP system, the Oracle Database, Finance, Marketing, Human Resources, Time Recording, or any other system developed for ‘internal’ use. Obviously, security will be tight and access will be managed appropriately. The advantages are huge, a consistent look and feel across multiple applications provides a more intuitive approach for users who can become productive very quickly. No need to learn multiple different systems, just interact with all information through a single, easy to use interface. The productivity benefits are obvious.

The spread of Portals

The scope of a SmartPortal and how it is used will vary depending on the context in which it is used. A public sector organisation may use it to ensure its audience has access to information on services available. A private sector business may use it to build and maintain competitive advantage in its market.

Government and Public Bodies

These organisations have portals so that citizens can easily access information on the services they provide. In recent years, these have improved and the Inland Revenue in the U.K. is a good example. This enables citizens to check the range of benefits to which they could be entitled, to calculate their tax liability and submit their tax return on line.

As more people access the web, this service will continue to grow and soon it will become the accepted way of working. So, will we need as many physical offices in future? What impact will this have on jobs? We can speculate, but one thing is certain, there WILL be an impact and today, no-one knows for sure what that will be.

The Enterprise Sector

Businesses are embracing the power and value of SmartPortals to achieve the following:-

• Improve Internal Efficiencies - through managing workflows, increasing collaboration between work groups, and allowing content creators to self-publish their information.

• Gain and sustain competitive advantage - through value added services like product reviews, one-click purchasing, links to complementary products and access to on-line customer service personnel. All of which is focussed on providing the best experience possible for customers - and more business for the enterprise.

SmartPortal Framework

We create, implement and support SmartPortal solutions for clients in the Public and Enterprise sectors. Our SmartPortal Framework defines the common components we use when working with any client as it provides a structure with which to plan the roadmap to achieve success.

However, not all SmartPortals are created equally. The way it is configured, what information systems it encompasses and how it operates will vary from client to client. Having said that, there are basic components that will be common in almost every SmartPortal. To describe this best, we developed our SmartPortal Framework.

Our goal is to work with our clients to assemble exactly what they need. Using a range of tools and technologies, we develop, configure and implement the solution to suit their needs.