Enterprise Portals
What’s a portal?
– Web page customized for a particular user. E.g.
MyYahoo, Amazon.com.
• It knows who you are because of a directory of users
and their attributes and/or cookies on your computer.
– Also customizable by user. E.g. Gartner Group.
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Portal Initiatives at Princeton
DEMAND
– Using JA-SIG uPortal “framework”, this is a
collaborative effort between several universities
and a vendor (Interactive Business Solutions.)
– Originally intended to meet needs of
DEMAND project to aggregate typical
administrative applications in a single interface.
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Portal Initiatives at Princeton
continued
Blackboard
– Grew from Blackboard’s original CourseInfo
courseware, it is powered by a commercial
vendor’s software (Epicentric).
– Currently used to integrate materials from
multiple courses, etc.
– Academic Services requires that “Princeton
Portal” integrate this relevant Blackboard data.
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Portal Initiatives at Princeton
continued
Alumni Portal
– Outsourced. Working with two vendors - PCI
and BSR.
– Will be integrated with Advanced Web
Community for attribute data.
USG “portal” – Though maybe not a portal in the
technical sense, it was the FIRST site on the PU
web that was targeted at a specific audience.
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Portal Initiatives at Princeton
continued
PeopleSoft
– Portal for Higher Education (financials, HR,
student)
We OWN Oracle portal – used for access to
Oracle data. Potential for use.
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Portal Initiatives at Princeton
continued
Web Services “Meta Portal” Evaluation
– Impartial evaluation of numerous vendors.
– Implemented three (Epicentric, Hummingbird,
Sequoia) to evaluate operation, functionality.
– Frozen because:
• No immediate mandate from “higher authority” to
implement.
• Content Management considered more of a priority and
prerequisite to any portal efforts.
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Portal Considerations
Technical
– “Single sign on” is important so users only have to
authenticate ONCE. (DIFFICULT!)
– “Data Sharing” between these systems is necessary
but can be problematic.
– “Buy or Build?”
• uPortal based on open-source code written by a
cooperative.
• Commercial portal software is VERY expensive, but
supported..
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Portal Considerations continued
Administrative
– What is the value of multiple portals vs. a
single “MyPrinceton” portal?
– Several projects have moved forward with their
own portals. How would attempting to
standardized on one portal impact the existing
portal projects?
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Portal Considerations continued
Administrative continued
– How MUCH of a portal is needed?
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•
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May 10, 2001
Role based?
Level of user customization?
Who are the communities?
Princteon only?
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