From ERP Systems to Enterprise Portals

Abstract

This chapter describes the development of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems toward Enterprise Portals (EPs). Enterprise Portals aim at creating a single entry point for its users to all internal and external applications, information, and services necessary for performing their jobs. EPs can be personalized to users depending on the roles they perform. There is a growing interest in EPs, but EP-research is scarce. Using a content analysis, we evaluate one specific EP—SAP AG’s Enterprise Portal my SAP Workplace. The evaluation had an overall effectiveness approach. The evaluation suggests some of the strengths of current EPs, for example, their internal and control focuses, and some of their weaknesses, for example, lack of external focus and lack of support for top-managers.