On Portals: A Parsimonious Approach

Abstract

In this chapter we present our views and observations concerning portals. We introduce the notion of a portal, review several possible characterizations, and focus our discussion on one type of portal—the enterprise portal. We review what functionality the enterprise portal should provide and discuss, in brief, why interest in portals and associated technologies remains strong. We ponder the ecosystem of the portal components that include wireless applications and discuss why portals might be useful for information intensive small and medium-sized enterprises. We offer a general list of portal vendors supplying a variety of solutions and the most current software, services, and relevant hardware vendors offering solutions for the small and medium-sized enterprises. We conclude the chapter with our views concerning the portals market.