An identification and classification of enterprise portal functions and features
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570210439481 |
| Pages | 390-399 |
| Date | 01 October 2002 |
| Published date | 01 October 2002 |
| Author | Jaydip M. Raol,Kai S. Koong,Lai C. Liu,Chun S. Yu |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
An identification and classification of enterprise
portal functions and features
Jaydip M. Raol
Computer Systems Analyst, CACI, Incorporated, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Kai S. Koong
Director and Professor, Southern University at New Orleans, New Orleans,
Louisiana, USA
Lai C. Liu
Associate Professor, Southern University at New Orleans, New Orleans,
Louisiana, USA
Chun S. Yu
Assistant Professor, School of Business, University of Houston-Victoria, Victoria,
Texas, USA
Introduction
Information technology and the Internet
have drastically increased the amount of
information that companies must process
everyday. One solution for managing large
and complex amounts of data is the use of
enterprise portals. This innovative
technology can be used to gather, manage,
share, and utilize information that has been
stored in disparate databases throughout the
company (Aneja et al., 2000; Bock, 2001). An
example of a success story about how
enterprise portals have provided users with
competitive advantage is Herman Miller, Inc.
(Flash, 2000).
Prior to 1995, suppliers were transmitting
business transactions to Herman Miller, Inc.
over facsimile machines. In a quest to use
technology to improve its bottom line,
Herman Miller elected to use enterprise
portal software to bring all of its supply chain
data onto a single screen and make it
accessible over the Internet to its suppliers.
As a result of this investment, shipments to
customers have improved because of the
immediate cross-communication capabilities
between the suppliers and Herman Miller.
Five years ago, about 75 per cent of their
manufactured shipments were classified to
be on time. With the enterprise portal, they
are attaining an improved on-time shipment
rate of over 95 per cent. This success is
contagious; more than 50 per cent of Herman
Miller's main suppliers are now accessing
their enterprise portal system regularly
through the Internet.
Other organizations that are successful
with the use of this software technology
include mid-size and large conglomerates
and public as well as private institutions.
They are also from diverse industry sectors.
AT&T, for example, is a leader in the area of
telecommunication. Corporate portal
solutions were used for improving the
performance of their international sales
force. This software technology is credited
with helping to reduce the time necessary
to close business deals (Johnson, 2000).
J.D. Edwards and Co., on the other hand, is
an example of a company that offers a variety
of financial services. Corporate portal
software was estimated to have provided
them with a 1,080 per cent return on the
investment. Employees claimed that the
software provided them with the capabilities
to respond to complex requests for proposals
quicker because the information was readily
available (Rapoza, 2000). Institutions of
higher learning are reporting similar success
stories. With over 60 per cent of faculty
electing to use the portal's online grade-input
system the first time it was made available,
Pepperdine University was able to eliminate
the need for a full-time employee who
normally takes about two weeks to process
grading forms. Okanagan University College
in Canada saved $30,000 a year when it began
distributing grades through its portal instead
of mailing them out (Moskowitz, 2001).
Knowledge management companies are
particularly optimistic about the future of
the corporate portal software market. The
Delphi Group, for example, estimated that
the corporate portal market would grow from
$178 million in 1998 to $740 million by 2001
(Flash, 2000). Their study further predicted
that nearly 90 per cent of large organizations
would be developing portals by the beginning
of the next year. The Connecticut-based
Gartner Group was less optimistic
(Schroeder, 2000). They surveyed Fortune
1,000 companies and found that about 50 per
cent of them are planning to implement some
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[ 390 ]
Industrial Management &
Data Systems
102/7 [2002] 390±399
#MCB UP Limited
[ISSN 0263-5577]
[DOI 10.1108/02635570210439481]
Keywords
Information systems,
Knowledge workers, Internet,
Information management
Abstract
Enterprise portal is a type of new
information system that can help
companies and their employees to
manage, share, and use previously
disparate information. There are
more than 60 vendors that are
offering corporate portal solutions.
With so many vendors, selecting
the right one can be a difficult
task. The primary objective of this
research is to identify and
evaluate the functions and
features in enterprise portal
products. In particular, this study
develops a simplified model that
can be used for identifying and
classifying the functions and
features in corporate portal
software. The results of this study
may be useful to information
technology managers, educators,
and students involved in
knowledge management, business
intelligence, information systems
resources management, and data
management. System developers,
software engineers, project
managers, financial managers,
and data architects can use the
functions and features identified in
this study as benchmarking tools
for evaluating portals capabilities.
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