Portlets, their basic building block, let developers focus on unique aspects of their application,
while the middleware handles common functions for life cycle, per-user customization,
aggregation, and integration with other components. In addition, portals might provide
valuable service functions such as security, search, collaboration, and workflow. Portals
provide the ability to aggregate and integrate the UI in a similar way SOA run times can
combine and integrate services. Component UIs are aggregated into larger, higher value UIs,
giving users a single view of IT services with a single UI to master. Applications originally
designed separately can be integrated (aggregation and context) together to enable new
function. The portal model allows for improved agility for on-demand businesses. Portal
administrators become application integrators who create new applications for their users
without programming: by defining new pages, adding portlets to them, connecting the portlets
together in context, and setting entitlements. With portal technologies, end users can become
their own application assemblers by customizing their portal-based workspaces.
There are many reasons why a portal would benefit your organization, for example:
Control information glut
Improve cycle times
Empower knowledge workers
“A complete portal solution should provide users with convenient access to everything they
need to get their tasks done anytime, anywhere, in a secured manner.”
Stefen Liesche, IBM Portal Architect
Chapter 1. What is a portal?
3
Reduce it complexity
Enhance partner and supplier communication
Streamline processes
WebSphere Portal (Portal for short) supports multiple industry portals and various
communities within a company. Portal consists of four basic services: Framework, Integration,
Content, and Collaboration. Figure 1-1 illustrates the IBM WebSphere Portal framework.
Figure 1-1
IBM WebSphere Portal framework
1.2
Transforming the business
Today, titles, positions, and personal network are the keys to unlocking the doors to get work
done. Getting the right information in a timely fashion takes individual effort, takes a lot of
time, causes a lot of stress, and is not always the best approach. Finding the right people who
have answers or who can help requires an extensive amount of active work. A manager is
expected to do more, is equipped to do less, and has less people and budget. The intranet
offers a wealth of information but takes an incredible effort to mine. A typical intranet today
has hundreds if not thousands of pages.
Framework
Services
Integration
Services
Content
Services
Collaoration
Services
WebSphere Portal
Mainframe/
Traditional
Business
Processes
Content
Data
Applications
Banking &
Finance
Insurance
Retail
Government
Consumer
Package
Goods
Industry
Portals
Customer
Community
Sales
Community
Marketing
Community
Pre-Built
Workspaces
Employee
Intranet
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Communities
in a Company
IBM WebSphere Portal:
Helps build scalable and
reliable portals that help improve
employee productivity and increase
customer loyalty.
