Best Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals)

Portals and websites each have characteristics that make them distinctive from one another.

1. The first major difference between a portal and a website is where they are hosted. Portals are hosted on secure servers that are only accessible by people who are in possession of a specific set of authorized credentials. This means that someone who is merely surfing the internet cannot accidentally gain access to a corporate portal. If you are a member of the public and lack the proper level of authorization and the right credentials, then you will not have the ability to view or access a portal. The same cannot be said of websites, which are hosted on the internet. They can be easily found and viewed by anyone who stumbles upon them or who searches for the uniform resource locator (URL) that is connected to that website.

2. Another major difference between portals and websites is the actions that one takes to access them. Usually, a website will not require any specific actions to be undertaken in order to gain access to its contents. However, as has been noted, unique credentials are usually going to be required before a given user can access the contents of a portal. The user will be prompted to supply their credentials when they attempt to enter the portal.

3. The very purposes of portals and websites could not be more different. Portals are meant to secure data and make it so that only specific users can access the information stored within. They take active steps to make sure that only specific users can use them. However, websites usually work in exactly the opposite way. They have no interest in limiting access to their contents. Websites usually seek to attract as many users and as much traffic as they can over the smallest periods of time possible. Companies build websites with the intention of drawing new users into their spheres of influence. Websites are usually meant either to help a brand expand its reach or to provide previously unknown information to the public.

4. Additionally, the nature of the data that is contained within portals and websites can differ rather drastically. The content that portals contain are always shifting and changing to reflect the changes taking place within the corporation or organization. Portals will always contain this kind of changing content that is known as dynamic content. While websites can contain dynamic content, it is not a given that they will have content of this kind. It is equally possible that the content of a given website will be unchanging. This static content will not change when a new user enters the website.

Enterprise portal software enables enterprises to integrate process information using a web-based interface. It also allows authorized personnel to access web services; this includes portal networks that span the entire enterprise.

EPS packages may include:

• Content management systems
• Document management systems,
• Customer relations management
• Business intelligence
• Collaboration software
• Wiki
• Company blogs

Some of the benefits that corporations can reap by using corporate portal software include:

• Increase the quality of internal communications. Corporate portal software enables employees and managers to more easily and clearly communicate. Appointments, alerts, and ideas can be posted for the relevant parties to see. Collaborating departments can also keep information relevant to projects they are working on up to date throughout the length of the project.
• Create a feeling of convenience. Corporate portal software gives customers, partners, clients, and employees the ability to conduct business from anywhere at any time. They can access the information and services at the time that is most convenient for them.
• Reduce overall expenses. When corporations use corporate portal software, they create a system that allows customers, partners, and clients to service themselves. Staff that would otherwise be needed to deal with customer service concerns are no longer needed to answer many queries. This cuts some staff costs from the company’s overall budget.
• Streamline business operations. Corporations that employ corporate portal software create a culture of knowledge that ultimately creates more streamlined business operations. With information that enables employees to address common issues readily available, more time can be spent addressing the most critical operations.
• Increase overall productivity. Corporate portal software solutions enable the corporations that employ them to automate operations that might otherwise have taken up time and manpower to complete. Additionally, critical information, such as the type that would appear on forms that a customer might fill out, can be sent directly to the parties to whom it is most relevant.
• Securely and quickly transfer confidential data. Corporate portal software solutions enable the corporations that employ them to move proprietary data securely. The critical information that they are sending never leaves the system. In a matter of seconds, the employee, client, or partner who is the designated recipient will receive the data. These solutions make sure that corporations do not need to sacrifice either speed or security.

In order for corporate portal software to be considered effective, there are certain features that it should possess:

• Document management capabilities that make it easy for employees to collaborate on projects.
• Automated workflows to save time. Employees should be able to automate routine tasks so that they can focus on the most critical tasks.
• Mobile capabilities: Employees should have the ability to access their work and be responsive even if they are away from their computers.