The Dream of a Single Sign-On B2E Portal

By Eric Knorr

Sun, February 15, 2004CIO Last month, I wrote about the forthcoming Longhorn version of Windows and Microsoft’s plans to eliminate the distinction between client and server by making Web services protocols part of every Windows application. It’s a fabulous idea?when and if the whole world runs Longhorn, which will arrive in 2005 if Redmond is lucky.

Meanwhile, a countertrend is shuffling toward a similar goal from the opposite direction: boosting the number, integration and functionality of thin, browser-based clients. Increasingly, the framework for all those thin clients is the business-to-employee (B2E) enterprise portal. Employee-facing portals began with knowledge management, but during the past few years, Java portal servers have provided an organizing principle for Web app integration and development. The dream is a single-sign-on B2E portal tailored to each user, where everything from self-service HR to core business apps sit under a single Web interface.

Recession-Proof

During the downturn, when enterprises killed other tech initiatives, many portal projects kept rolling, mainly because the benefits were so clear. I’m not talking about vague, top-down plans to give every employee a MyCompany page with a Reuters feed and the CEO’s latest quotes. The consultants and customers I’ve talked to say the most successful implementations have been from the bottom up?to serve specific departments that need to automate a related set of functions.

Sounds like the usual app dev agenda, right? But when you throw a portal server at the problem, you can pull together applications that already exist, from Web-based conference room scheduling to a subset of SAP R3. The portal server’s profiling and identity features can then handle security, authorization and self-service customization.

Most portal projects begin as integration projects. But increasingly, portal servers bring a lot to the party by themselves. In a process known as "integration at the glass," developers and even savvy end users can link portlets and create composite applications. IBM has been cultivating a community of third-party portlet providers for its WebSphere Portal. And BEA’s WebLogic Workshop has done the best job so far of helping developers whip up Web services applications that provide a portal-based user interface.

Portal Portents

Customer lock-in is one effect of the proprietary development environments that run atop these stacks of portal, integration and application servers. But two new standards are working against lock-in: Web Services for Remote Portals (WSRP) and Java Specification Request (JSR) 168. WSRP lets any server publish a Web service for consumption by any portal, as long as both comply with the standard. And JSR 168 lets developers write a portlet once to run on any J2EE portal server. Both standards will eventually help IT spread portlets across the enterprise.


Loading...
Network MarketSpace
Thinking About Deploying Mobile Broadband?
Explore lessons and best practices experienced by companies that have deployed mobile broadband to their workforce. Learn more »
Increase Application Performance and User Experience
This research shifts the attention from basic load-balancing features to application delivery features. Learn more »
Gartner Magic Quadrant, Application Delivery Controllers 2009
The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic. Learn more »
McAfee's Network Security Platform IPS
McAfee's Network Security Platform IPS; the costs, benefits, flexibility, and risk elements. Learn more »
The Cost of SQL Sprawl
Learn how a new approach to SQL server consolidation can reduce server counts by 50%, lower maintenance costs by 70% and reduce administration time by 75%. Learn more »
A Bottleneck-free Infrastructure
Storage bottlenecks have a significant impact on performance and productivity. Learn more »
Application Delivery Despite Emerging Challenges
IT organizations need to choose appropriate application delivery solutions that can scale to support the emerging challenges. Learn more »
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

ROI of Application Delivery Controllers

Upgrading to VMware vSphere with vWire

Maximizing website Return on Information with high-quality search

See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Webcast: Unleashing the Power of Customer Data

White Paper: Improve Agility with Operational Responsiveness

White Paper: Legacy Tools: Not Built for the Helpdesk

Taking a Seat at the Executive Table: The Reality of Virtualization

White Paper: Next Generation Remote Infrastructure Management

Keeping Your Members Safe from Online Scams and Predators

The Total Economic Impact of Network Security Intrusion Prevention

Generation Remote Infrastructure Management - Changing the Paradigm

Cloud-Based Email Management: Opinion Shifts In Favor

eBook: How Can You Make Your People Productive Anywhere?

Achieving Business Agility with Application Grid

Ready to virtualize tier one applications? Check your virtualization maturity.

Seven Ways ITIL Can Help You in an Economic Downturn

Tips for successful virtualization management.

AT&T Synaptic Storage as a Service. Expand on demand

Trend Micro ranked #1 against real-world malware. Read more.

Webinar: Jump-start your in-house e-discovery with Ringtail QuickCull from FTI Technology

Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization.

Build your 1st app FREE with Force.com

TDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

Gartner Magic Quadrant, Application Delivery Controllers 2009

Return on Information: Google Enterprise Search pays you back

Cut Costs & Green Your IT Operations with PC Power Management

White Paper: 4 Customer Service Myths

White Paper: Managed Security for a Not-So-Secure World

White Paper: 5 Best Practices for Smartphone Support

Global Research: CIOs Weigh In On Virtualization

5 Key Virtualization Management Challenges

Secure Email and Web-Based Communication from Evolving Attacks

WagerWorks Takes Fraudsters Out of the Game using iovation

Seven Design Requirements for Web 2.0 Threat Protection

Increase UPS efficiency without sacrificing protection.

Learn how advanced forecasting tools can deliver significant business results for global corporations.

Lower IT Costs with Oracle Database 11g Release 2

White Paper: Visibility and the New Normal of Mobile Work

Taking the Service Desk to the Next Level

Learn about The Information Technology Infrastructure Library.

Return on Information: Google Enterprise Search pays you back. Get the facts.

VMware. The source for Business Infrastructure Virtualization.

ShoreTel tells businesses to untangle from competitors' complexity and turn to its brilliantly simple UC solution

Top Five CIO Challenges

Read the RSA report: Security for Business Innovation

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

 
 
RESOURCE CENTER