As the Internet has increasingly been used to connect people, information and applications, companies have raced to support business units and customers with online solutions. But many such solutions -- corporate sites, extranets, intranets, self-service applications, and the supporting infrastructure -- have been developed in discrete initiatives utilising a host of technologies.
Maintaining these "siloed" initiatives is costly, and controlling the aggregate customer experience has become increasingly difficult. As a result, the solution may not be meeting the needs of employees, partners, customers or suppliers -- putting loyalty, productivity and revenue at risk.
Portals have gained popularity because they address these issues. Planned and implemented well, a portal provides a single point of access to diverse sets of information and applications. However, many portal initiatives fail during implementation, or quickly fall into disuse.
Portal initiatives are complex, but the reasons for failure (or success) are virtually universal. The following 10 steps outline the requirements for planning a successful portal initiative.
1. Establish your objectives
Is this an internal portal, or intranet; a public portal; or private extranet? Is it part of a larger effort to integrate multiple sites and/or applications, or are there other reasons? Your answers will guide choices of architecture, technology and design.
Then, determine the business goals you expect to achieve with the portal. Common goals include:
- Reduced operational costs
- Increased productivity
- Improved decision-making
- Stronger business relationships
- Streamlined business processes
- Increased customer satisfaction
2. Build your business case
Before starting a portal effort, build your business case. Failure to identify business objectives and success criteria can lead to failure, even before you begin.
Often the assumptions behind the business plan ultimately define the success criteria for the portal initiative. Frequently, internal portals focus on increasing operational efficiency, while external portals concentrate on increasing market share, revenue streams and customer retention.
Next, estimate the cost of the initiative. Before selecting a platform, understand the user experience, integration options, and security solutions that are required. Consider the full range of expenses, including licensing, training, design, development, testing and maintenance costs. Costs should be revisited once the platforms are identified and a plan is established, when the investment required may be more accurately anticipated.
Finally, consider re-evaluating your approach after building the business case. Ask yourself: Is this portal needed? What is the potential ROI?
