Corporate Portals: A New Trend in Business Research Paper

Abstract

This paper examines the risen interest of the companies toward implementing corporate portals as a new trend in business. A survey was conducted to examine the willingness of 25 companies to implement corporate portals to meet their needs. The overview of the concept of the corporate portal as well as the related literature revealed an increasing demand from both the companies and the vendors in that industry. The result of the study implies the need for future researches to build a case study of the expectations and the effects of implementing corporate portals.

It cannot be argued that informational technologies seriously influence the course of modern business. As far back as a couple of years ago, the issues of integrating computers into an organization were seriously discussed, where the benefits of such integration were calculated according to the influence on business process, considering computer technologies as another accounting system that should be maintained. Today the role of informational technology is properly acknowledged, where it can be said that there is no company, regardless of its size, that can manage without implementing such technologies. In that regard, the trends in using informational technology in business saw a major turn.

The tendencies of contemporary business development as such that collaborative work is rapidly becoming a strategic advantage of any corporation. Accordingly, the concept of corporate portals is seen as a necessary element of business today. (Collins, 2001). In that regard, this paper is addressing the aspect of using corporate portals as a trend in business, showing the main tendencies in that sector. Accordingly, the paper examines the effectiveness of using corporate using a quantitative analysis of the results of a conducted survey.

The paper starts with defining the main types and purposes of corporate portals. The literature review shows the main implementation of corporate portals along with the data showing the significance of this topic. Finally, the paper explains the methods used in conducting the study, summarizing with a discussion of the results.

Overview of Corporate Portals

A corporate portal is a set of applications that allows the company to open and offer the information stored within and outside of the organization, and to give each user a uniform point of access to the information intended only for himher, which is necessary for making administrative decisions, i.e. direct use of the acquired technologies of public information portals in the corporate purposes. The main point of interaction that should be mentioned is the way the corporate portal can be used in collaborative commerce. (J. C. C. Terra & Gordon, 2003). Corporate portals provide personalized access to important information, applications, and processes for the enterprise employees, its clients, distributors, and suppliers.

Portals can be classified based on their functions as follows:

• EIP (Enterprise Information Portal) – A portal that provides a personified access to the internal and external informational resources of the company.
• EEP – (Enterprise Expertise Portals) – A portal that provides the connection between the users based on their level of expertise. In case the portal does not contain the needed information, wherein case of its absence, the portal connects the user to corresponding experts and specialists who can provide the necessary information.
• EAP (Enterprise Application Portal) – A portal that provides different applications and services for users and connects them to different corporate information systems.
• ECP (Enterprise Collaboration Portal) –A portal that presents different information and services that support the joint work of a group of employees on a particular task.
• EKP (Enterprise Knowledge Portal) – Integrated portal which combines the functions of the previously mentioned portals, which is designed for the provision of collective work, automation of business processes with maximal information support, and accumulated corporate information. (Firestone, 2005).

Literature Review

The importance of corporate portals as a rapidly growing trend can be seen in distinct directions. On the one hand, one factor is the rapid evolution of the emergence of the networked era, and on the other hand, the raised dependence on knowledge management. (J. C. C. Terra & Gordon, 2003). In that sense, the corporate portal can be seen as the business platform that links those aspects along with connecting people. One of the unique attributes of the corporate portal is that they are “being implemented to serve the needs of employees, communities, and even the extended networks that go beyond the walls of traditional organizations.” (J. C. C. Terra & Gordon, 2003).

Accordingly, the business advantages of corporate portals include such aspects as manageable deployment when planning at the activities and processes levels, corporate portals being suited to the unique needs of the company, and budgeting responsibilities being assigned at “roles and responsibilities, activities and processes, or department and working group level.” (Collins, 2001)

The trends in using corporate portals can be seen through the raised demands, whereas of 2002, a research conducted by Butler Group showed that “79% of the respondents intend to, or have already, implemented a Corporate Portal, up 4% from this time last year.” (“Corporate Portals resist economic downturn.,” 2002).

Additionally, Gartner analysts’ data showed that in 2007 a raised demand was observed in corporate portals development software, where the market size was estimated to $1.1 billion. In that regard, it can be seen through the outlined benefits that corporate portals are key platform that from the demand indicators can be designated as a business trend in organization. However, the observed benefits and the demands of the company’s are not observed through a direct connection. In that sense, there is a need to establish a link between the company’s current requirements and the way corporate portals can be established as a direction toward fulfilling such requirements.

Statement of Hypothesis

The purpose of this study is to show the trend in implementing corporate portals, through analyzing the requirements of the companies and their willingness to integrate corporate portals in the near future.

Method

Participants

The study includes a conducted survey which was sent to the local companies in the city. The participants of the study were 25 small to middle sized company’s which were found through the internet. The IT managers of these companies were contacted, and they agreed to participate in the survey. All the companies did not have corporate portals, and at the same time all of them had websites which had information about the companies’ products and contacts. Approximately 75% of the participants had affiliates in other cities with which the companies exchanged information and shared projects.

Results

The surveys represented approximately 15 items which were to be rated by IT managers of the company. The items included aspects that represented common needs related to corporate portals. These needs included but not limited to positions such as the following:

• The level of accuracy and effectiveness of exchanging information between the company and affiliates, partners and customers.
• Opportunities of cost saving through supply chains management.
• The cost as a factor in implementing and integrating corporate portals.
• The rank of the corporal portals as a priority among other requirements.

The items were rated using Likert-scale were a particular score would be summed to represent the companies’ willingness to integrate corporate portals in the near future.

Other questions were merely informative, including such questions as number of employees, the industry in which the company operates, years in market and etc. No identifying private information would be gathered which exceeds the amount that could be obtained from the internet.

Discussion

This study would be a part of a larger analysis, where accordingly the effect of implementing corporate portals could be studied and measured through building an appropriate case study. (J. C. Terra). In that regard, the result of the present study would serve as a measure of significance where it will indicate the common trend for using corporate portals in business and establishing dependant and independent variables for future studies. It can be assumed that the findings of the study will indicate high need to address companies’ knowledge management. An interesting point would be to measure the cost factor as an obstacle for implementing corporate portals and to what degree it plays a role.

The limitedness of the study can be indicated by the small sample size and validity in which the survey might need to be revised accordingly. Nevertheless, the study will indicate the direction toward which future studies should be moving.

References

Collins, H. (2001). Corporate portals : revolutionizing information access to increase productivity and drive the bottom line. New York: AMACOM.

Corporate Portals resist economic downturn. (2002). Web.

Firestone, J. M. (2005). DEFINING THE ENTERPRISE INFORMATION PORTAL. Web.

Ruszkiewicz, J. J., Hairston, M., & Friend, C. (2007). The Scott Foresman handbook for writers (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Terra, J. C. Developing a Business Case for Corporate Portals. Web.

Terra, J. C. C., & Gordon, C. (2003). Realizing the promise of corporate portals : leveraging knowledge for business success. Amsterdam Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Appendix A

Corporate Portal Survey

1. Indicate the number of employees in your company_____
2. Indicate the number of affiliates of you company if any_____.
3. Does your company integrate corporate portals? YesNo.

Select the answer that is the most applicable to your company’s situation

• The level of information exchange between the company’s department and affiliates is
  • Outstanding
  • Above average
  • Average
  • Below average
  • Poor
• There is a need for information exchange between the employees within the company’s departments
  • Strongly disagree
  • Moderately disagree
  • Neutral
  • Moderately agree
  • Strongly agree
• Geographical location of company’s affiliates is not an obstacle for effective work.
  • Strongly disagree
  • Moderately disagree
  • Neutral
  • Moderately agree
  • Strongly agree
• The local network is fulfilling all the company’s informational requirements
  • Strongly disagree
  • Moderately disagree
  • Neutral
  • Moderately agree
  • Strongly agree
• The relationship between the company and its partners has to be decentralized
  • Strongly disagree
  • Moderately disagree
  • Neutral
  • Moderately agree
  • Strongly agree
• Knowledge data base is a necessity
  • Strongly disagree
  • Moderately disagree
  • Neutral
  • Moderately agree
  • Strongly agree
• The cost factor of integrating corporate portals is influential in making such a decision
  • Strongly disagree
  • Moderately disagree
  • Neutral
  • Moderately agree
  • Strongly agree
• Informational technologies’ priority in the company is
  • High
  • Above average
  • Average
  • Below average
  • Poor
• The need for corporate portals is based on the company’s size
  • Strongly disagree
  • Moderately disagree
  • Neutral
  • Moderately agree
  • Strongly agree

Answer the following questions

1. List three competitive advantages of your closest competitors.
2. List the available implementations of the company’s website
3. What are the forces that might lead the company to implement corporate portals?