Portal technology improves corporate profits.

For several years, portal technology has been touted as a strategic business asset for companies and their organizational infrastructure. For some time, portals have been considered the next hot technology for helping to improve corporate communication and collaboration. Due to this advice from industry experts, most business leaders have heard of a Web portal, but still very few actually know what a portal is and how it can help improve their core business. In fact, as of late, many business leaders have been shying away from investing in a corporate portal because they have already sunk untold fortunes into other Web technology that has had seemingly zero impact on their business. So, given the advantages of portal technology juxtaposed to the lack of adequate return on other Web investments, what should companies do now regarding portals? Is the answer to build or not to build a corporate portal?

Well, the answer is simple. Portals have been proven over time to improve organizational efficiency through streamlined business process, more effective communication, and a higher level of collaboration. In other words, a portal can help a company harness the power of the Internet to streamline its operations by improving communication, collaboration, and providing easier access to vital information. A portal is essentially a central repository for data and knowledge so that information cat] be shared across the enterprise; it combines Intranet and Extranet technologies to put vital information at the fingertips of employees regardless of their location, or the location of the information. Information disseminated through a portal enables a high degree of coherence because communications are consistent. Portals also allow for the centralization of information, making it easier to maintain and to keep it up-to-date. The benefit to the end-user is simplicity and speed of information access. Providing instant and secure access to business critical information saves time and increases productivity.

I know that this all sounds great, but what does it actually mean to someone evaluating this investment? How do companies know if they are candidates for portal technology? In general, there are five key characteristics to look for in identifying business processes that can be vastly improved by an information portal.

* Any business process that involves the production, requisition, distribution, and update of dynamic information that has traditionally been published on paper (i.e., employee directories, employee benefits, product specifications, user manuals, price lists, marketing collateral, financial reporting, policies & procedures manuals, etc.)

* Any business process that involves the consolidation of information from multiple data sources, including customer information, supplier information, employee information, etc.

* Any business process that requires a high level of communication and collaboration between people. This includes project management, sales management, budgeting, training, etc.

* Any business process that depends on people finding or requisitioning information or products, such as: user manuals, product specifications, office supplies, furniture, computer equipment, etc.

* Any business process currently automated by client-server or mainframe systems, i.e., order entry, customer service, production, shipping, etc.

Most organizations, regardless of size, have dozens of different applications where information is stored. In most instances, this data is not shared between applications and is therefore redundant. For example, a company's sales staff may use a contact management application like ACT where they store information about clients. This information is probably not shared with the order entry system that the customer service team uses and, further aggravating the problem, the finance department might store information about clients in a separate accounting system. This means that companies have three or more different databases where it stores information about clients, and if client information needs to be updated, it has to be updated in three different locations. Obviously, this redundancy is an unnecessary waste of time and resources. A portal can help tie all of these disparate systems together and give a company one central source for updating and obtaining information; by organizing and consolidating information, a company can eliminate redundancy and create a more efficient work force. By doing this, the entire enterprise will benefit.

We've outlined how portals can help the overall enterprise, but now let's look at how portal technology can improve and impact specific departments within an organization.

Sales and marketing groups can take advantage of centralized information to enhance communication and collaboration with each other as well as with external resources. The centralized publishing of product, service, sales and marketing information provides quick and secure access to relevant company databases that contain product availability, pricing, historical proposals, sales forecasts, performance figures and customer information. As a result, marketing and sales personnel can collaborate more effectively mad ensure that field sales staff, outside contractors, channel partners, distributors and dealers have immediate access to the information that they need. The result is higher productivity, increased sales, and reduced costs.

The Human Resources (HR) department can reap huge rewards from a portal too because it creates a single, secure repository for all confidential HR information and processes. It can provide an easy-to-navigate environment that is accessible by all employees, regardless of where they are located or which computing platform they are using. Access rights can be established for each employee based on their level of management and the department they are in or the key job function that they manage. HR staff can maintain information online so that updates are fast, straightforward, and easy-to-manage. This means that employees have immediate access to the latest information and can use a simple Web browser interface to find what they need. Electronic search capabilities allow employees to spend less time searching through cumbersome manuals and having to wade through pages of irrelevant information. The result is a more productive, connected workforce where employees can spend more time focusing on their job function rather than trying to find the information they need to perform a task.

Portals give engineering departments the technology they need for workgroup communication and collaboration, document and resource control and project management. Engineers can share files through a portal to enhance communication and collaboration through schedulers, threaded message boards, and chat rooms. A portal also provides the means of centralizing, consolidating, publishing and updating project information that changes frequently. This results in a dramatic reduction in paper-based communication, facilitates accurate version control, and allows management to consolidate information that resides in different data sources. Engineering staff can then take advantage of the corporate knowledgebase in real time.

A company's finance and accounting department can benefit from a portal because it provides a secure central point for collecting and publishing financial information. It also provides a vehicle for online transaction processing, which ensures rapid updating of information and availability of accurate and timely information. As a result, managers across the enterprise can track financial performance and maintain effective control.

Using a portal, operational departments can consolidate data from multiple sources to simplify and speed access. Portals bolster collaboration between manufacturing and other functional groups within an organization to help identify product problems, design changes, enhance productivity, and improve inventory control. The result is reduced costs and higher margins.

Portals, the next major step in the evolution of information systems, are changing the face of business. They help empower employees in an enterprise to better perform their tasks by solving their day-to-day business problems through enhanced communications, collaboration, and accelerated information dissemination and access. The result is tighter relationships with customers, employees, and business partners (corporate stakeholders), which translates into increased revenues and profits. Because portals leverage the existing information system infrastructure, they also deliver these benefits in a cost-effective manner.

By applying portal technology, businesses are better equipped to respond to change necessitated by growth, and by the continual shift in market conditions and competition. Portals have a synergistic effect in that they provide the link that ties together not only disparate information systems but also the members of an organization. Even more, portals act as the catalyst that accelerates the attainment of key business advantages by helping companies dramatically improve their overall performance and competitiveness.

Given this argument, senior business and technology management executives should spend the time to analyze and consider the investment into building a portal for their organization. Given where portals are on the product lifecycle curve, companies no longer have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement a portal. In fact, companies will probably be very surprised at how cost-effective it is to implement this type of technology, and they'll be even more surprised when they realize the benefits of enhanced corporate communication, the streamlining of operations, and an improvement in their core business. Portals are a proven way to help maximize corporate profits, and that's the bottom line.

www.octigon.com

James Smith is the president and CEO of Octigon, LLC (Birmingham, AL).