“Share off mind, share off experience are key. A trusted relationship is necessary, even in business portals”
Internet, Intranet, Extranet, Website, Portal? What is what actually? Different names for the same thing?
The difference between these terms is the focus of the owner. The technology is basically the same.
The Internet is the public environment where anybody can go and find info, contacts, bargains, etc.
An Intranet is a network structure in the same fashion as the internet with focus on company personnel only and has exactly the same functionality as the internet. Access is regulated with login facilities. The contents is always company related
An Extranet is focused on a companies customers. Access to the extranet is granted in exchange for contact information or subscription. The contents is company and service related.
A Website is a company’s presence on the Internet. Websites have evolved from static information provision to customers into dynamic points of sale directly connecting to internal business processes. This differentiated websites and the term Portal was introduced.
A Portal is something that gives access to …, is the only entrance to… and therefore allows only privileged access. It is the only access to all relevant resources. In case of an internal Portal this means that the portal gives access to all business processes, all applications, all employees, but only to those with the right privilege. A portal can be directed outward, to the customer’s side, or inward, to the employee side. I will treat these two types of portals as one.
por·tal (pôr'tl, pōr'-) Pronunciation Key n.
A doorway, entrance, or gate, especially one that is large and imposing.
An entrance or a means of entrance: the local library, a portal of knowledge.
The portal vein.
A website considered as an entry point to other websites, often by being or providing access to a search engine.
Internet, Intranet, Extranet, Website, Portal? What is what actually? Different names for the same thing?
The difference between these terms is the focus of the owner. The technology is basically the same.
The Internet is the public environment where anybody can go and find info, contacts, bargains, etc.
An Intranet is a network structure in the same fashion as the internet with focus on company personnel only and has exactly the same functionality as the internet. Access is regulated with login facilities. The contents is always company related
An Extranet is focused on a companies customers. Access to the extranet is granted in exchange for contact information or subscription. The contents is company and service related.
A Website is a company’s presence on the Internet. Websites have evolved from static information provision to customers into dynamic points of sale directly connecting to internal business processes. This differentiated websites and the term Portal was introduced.
A Portal is something that gives access to …, is the only entrance to… and therefore allows only privileged access. It is the only access to all relevant resources. In case of an internal Portal this means that the portal gives access to all business processes, all applications, all employees, but only to those with the right privilege. A portal can be directed outward, to the customer’s side, or inward, to the employee side. I will treat these two types of portals as one.
por·tal (pôr'tl, pōr'-) Pronunciation Key n.
A doorway, entrance, or gate, especially one that is large and imposing.
An entrance or a means of entrance: the local library, a portal of knowledge.
The portal vein.
A website considered as an entry point to other websites, often by being or providing access to a search engine.
It is well known that the doctor’s children are usually ill as the shoemaker’s children wear the most worn shoes. Companies that excel in organizing their external processes and communication have to realize that this excellence has to be met with internal processes that facilitate service workers to intervene in those external processes.
There is a strange thing to companies. They are very interested in creating a relationship resulting in transactions. But when transactions fail, they tend to look a way or at least create thresholds with the aim to slow reclamation processes. In the Netherlands companies offer new customers a 0800 number to be able contact them. This number range is free of charge for the caller – because: future customer - . Once you are a customer, there is only one means of communications left. 0900 numbers costing between €0,10 and € 0.90 per minute. Cost for usage of the mobile phone is not included. In fact companies earn money by messing up.
The basic reason for this behaviour is the cost element of after sales service. To many people involved, outsourced call centre facilities causes high cost and loss of quality and involvement.
We have seen this in recent rapidly growing markets like web-hosting, mobile telephony etc. Fast in sales, slow in service!
Other types of companies will have to deal with these problems as soon as they start extending their processes outside the company’s borders for the simple reason that the company is no longer able to decide when a business process is to start. Customers will start the process. Resulting in unpredictable use of resources. To regulate this companies throw up thresholds minimizing effort but maximizing customer frustration.
The answer to this is a different way of designing business processes. Processes have always been designed by ICT specialists who were aware of the limitations of their machinery and software. Introduction of internet type technologies have opened a new range of possibilities to design and manage business processes.
As the outside world of individuals is slowly but steadily organizing itself in social networks, interest groups, ideology communities etc. Companies have to counter this by servicing the individuals in a manner that creates respect, or run the risk to be nailed to the wall by consumers in the same fashion someone can get world famous in 24 hours. Chat rooms, bulletin boards etc. There is a strong need for a long term strategy regarding redesign of business processes.
Portal Technology is readily available and proven technology, yet companies use it to share knowledge and call it a knowledge management environment. In fact it could be the mirror image of what is happening in the outside world. Faster information in the outside world requires faster and better information in business processes.
Digitals relationships between companies and their customers require adequate management tools. Not only standard CRM and ERP type solutions, but also Customer Self Care type solutions outbound AND inbound. Showing all relevant information at any point in time to anyone authorized.
This requires two basic conditions;
1. A central identification and authorization mechanism is in place.
2. All company resources are connected.
This implies that the portal is the employee’s window to the company and its customer’s. Business processes will be redesigned on this level creating a 3 tier process structure. People are allowed to work together in different settings. From simple production tasks to complex project teamrooms where all project info and resources are combined.
Companies will in the end have to manage their new digital environment consisting of three main areas of interest.
1. External portal with processes and interactivity
2. Internal portal with processes and information
3. Networked data structures
Only the third area is a typical technology issue. The first two are a combination of communication, commerce, organization and ICT. It is evident that new ways of managing these areas create a new challenge to companies. There will be a strong change in governance. Both decision making and project management need a different approach. Multi discipline projects ask for different ways to manage knowledge and skills. The old concept of project or process owner seizes to exist
All major companies in the world have a portal installed, still far from complete or effective but still.
Forrester stated three relevant issues to portals
1. “The portal becomes as essential as e-mail and telephony.”
2. “The allure of new features, combined with lessons learned (…) is an irresistible opportunity to give portals a second or third shot.”
3. “Ambitious firms extend portals to partners and customers.”
The first statement has all ready been proven true. Sales of portal technology is at the moment the fastest growing sector in software sales.
The second will prove itself shortly. When introducing new concepts like for instance VoIP (.. or rather Internet Telephony), no intensive implementation projects are needed. Simply add the function to the portal and it is available to all users.
Portals come in all sizes and shapes and they are not easy to compare. An easy way to categorize them is the ambition level in the portal.
Ambition levels
In recent studies of business cases we found three levels of ambition;
1. Function based, providing (personalized) information.
2. Activity based, providing (personalized) knowledge and communication facilities.
3. Task based, providing (personalized) guidance and prioritization.
Ultimately aligning activities with business objectives and goals.
A portal consists of a number of generic business functions – aside from identity management and authorization – that enable users to work with the resources or processes.
o Communication tools like mail, instant messaging, video conference, meeting maker, etc.
o Collaboration tools like, document sharing, discussion platform, knowledge finder etc.
o Content management systems using push and pull mechanisms supplying news and information.
o Clippings, RSS, Press Releases etc.
o Workflow management processing tasks, documents, etc.
o Personal space
o Business Intelligence
o Web-services
o Knowledge Management Facilities
Employees or customers will create their own way off working with these new environments. Many companies allow departments and individuals to create their own space and presence within the portal. New ways of exchanging information new way of planning a career, new ways of managing activities will arise from these portals.
There are all ready excellent examples in the area of open-source” collaboration. On the Geneva Car Show showed a new model of an environmental friendly vehicle was presented, entirely designed in an open portal environment by technicians and scientists all over the world.
In a large infrastructural project I have worked in myself teamrooms with project planning facilities, instant messaging and document sharing, resulting in perfect collaboration.
Portals have a lot of benefits coming with them. We already identified the ease of introduction of new technologies. Portals glue everything together thus creating a standardization of infrastructure, communications etc. The technology also enables benefits of a non financial character;
1. Save time, More time for value added activities like strategy development and innovation
2. Create flexibility. Easily implement new technologies. Portal platform can be used by internal AND external stakeholders at the same time.
o Workflow management processing tasks, documents, etc.
o Personal space
o Business Intelligence
o Web-services
o Knowledge Management Facilities
Employees or customers will create their own way off working with these new environments. Many companies allow departments and individuals to create their own space and presence within the portal. New ways of exchanging information new way of planning a career, new ways of managing activities will arise from these portals.
There are all ready excellent examples in the area of open-source” collaboration. On the Geneva Car Show showed a new model of an environmental friendly vehicle was presented, entirely designed in an open portal environment by technicians and scientists all over the world.
In a large infrastructural project I have worked in myself teamrooms with project planning facilities, instant messaging and document sharing, resulting in perfect collaboration.
Portals have a lot of benefits coming with them. We already identified the ease of introduction of new technologies. Portals glue everything together thus creating a standardization of infrastructure, communications etc. The technology also enables benefits of a non financial character;
1. Save time, More time for value added activities like strategy development and innovation
2. Create flexibility. Easily implement new technologies. Portal platform can be used by internal AND external stakeholders at the same time.
3. Share Knowledge and
4. Increase productivity by implementing simple workflows, and give users their own digital space to have them come back regularly and work with the portal through natural motivation.
5. Improve decision making by creating best practices, business cases and benchmarks etc.
The financial benefits will differ per situation. Standard financial benefits how ever lie with standardization activities. The infrastructure (both hard and software) and supporting processes can be standardized easily. Simple cost saving can come from P&O processes like declarations, trips administration, easier communication facilities. Faster access to information, and so on.
The burden off legacy systems
All companies, large and small have a legacy of old systems. These systems are often of a design incapable of dealing with real-time processes the customer wants in interactive environments.
Getting your legacy systems web based is normally far to costly
Circumvention of legacy systems with a portal type layer is the only strategy that incorporates two ingredient for future success.
1. Modern interfaces for customers and customer service workers.
2. No des investment and loss of knowledge by forced replacement of legacy systems.
It is necessary to draw up a business case showing at least actual cost and predicted cost cuttings. Use this to evaluate final results and you will notice that portals make companies better.
Cases
Recently I initiated a program to realise an internal portal for an international media company. We researched best practices and came up with many interesting cases. They all showed the same pattern. Only from reorganising support processes an internal portal can be financed. ROI period lies regularly under 1 year. The real benefits in the area of knowledge management and flexible re-styling of business processes are difficult to calculate because many benefits are of a quality nature, so these cases may com in handy.
Summary
Means : Portal technology is the fastest growing ICT market world wide and this is only the beginning. Without portal technology companies are just not agile enough to keep u the pace of rapid changes in technology
Message : The single point of entry must be clear about what it stands for. It will be – in fact – your shop window, behind which your entire product catalogue will be available.
Media : Portals need to be tuned to portable devices and tuned to the context. Geographical context is key. “Sat-nav” suppliers have a great future.
5. Improve decision making by creating best practices, business cases and benchmarks etc.
The financial benefits will differ per situation. Standard financial benefits how ever lie with standardization activities. The infrastructure (both hard and software) and supporting processes can be standardized easily. Simple cost saving can come from P&O processes like declarations, trips administration, easier communication facilities. Faster access to information, and so on.
The burden off legacy systems
All companies, large and small have a legacy of old systems. These systems are often of a design incapable of dealing with real-time processes the customer wants in interactive environments.
Getting your legacy systems web based is normally far to costly
Circumvention of legacy systems with a portal type layer is the only strategy that incorporates two ingredient for future success.
1. Modern interfaces for customers and customer service workers.
2. No des investment and loss of knowledge by forced replacement of legacy systems.
It is necessary to draw up a business case showing at least actual cost and predicted cost cuttings. Use this to evaluate final results and you will notice that portals make companies better.
Cases
Recently I initiated a program to realise an internal portal for an international media company. We researched best practices and came up with many interesting cases. They all showed the same pattern. Only from reorganising support processes an internal portal can be financed. ROI period lies regularly under 1 year. The real benefits in the area of knowledge management and flexible re-styling of business processes are difficult to calculate because many benefits are of a quality nature, so these cases may com in handy.
Summary
Means : Portal technology is the fastest growing ICT market world wide and this is only the beginning. Without portal technology companies are just not agile enough to keep u the pace of rapid changes in technology
Message : The single point of entry must be clear about what it stands for. It will be – in fact – your shop window, behind which your entire product catalogue will be available.
Media : Portals need to be tuned to portable devices and tuned to the context. Geographical context is key. “Sat-nav” suppliers have a great future.
No comments:
Post a Comment