Enterprise Knowledge Portals: Next Generation Portal Solutions for Dynamic Information Access, Better Decision Making, and Maximum Results [Hardcover]

Enterprise portal is gaining increasing acceptance because there is great value in having a single repository for all the information knowledge workers need to do their job. Knowledge workers should not waste their precious time locating information or answering questions again and again that could be addressed on the enterprise portal. In the process, innovation could get a definitive boost by facilitating both internal and external collaboration. Enterprise portal strategy should not be separated from alliance strategy for that reason.

A portal reporting team made up of cross-functional members from diverse business functions should be identified to get widespread buy-in. The portal reporting team could meet resistance or deal with skepticism from entrenched interests that are happy with the status quo. An executive sponsor is key to deal with these eventual obstacles effectively. A budget roadmap should also be defined to keep track of costs associated with the project and facilitate ROI calculation.

Portal components should be defined and organized around work processes and then prioritized. Data and/or applications needed to support portal components should be determined and documented. Data should be scrubbed, mapped and validated to guarantee credibility. Security and confidentiality should not be overlooked in the process.

When the portal is ready to be launched, one individual or a dedicated team should be identified as the single contact responsible for managing the portal and keeping its content fresh and relevant to the target audience. Before making the portal widely accessible, a portal pilot is advisable. Usage should be tracked. Furthermore, the pilot audience should be surveyed on a regular basis to foster acceptance, document key learnings and tweak the portal wherever necessary.

The portal management should keep in mind that the portal is a collective effort that requires buy-in from multiple constituencies to avoid stall content. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly delineated to insure accountability on that point. Ultimately, a portal is dynamic because its objectives are associated with corporate strategy and vision.

As portal project manager and administrator in addition to my marketing roles and responsibilities in a large company, I have only one regret about Enterprise Knowledge Portals. Some portal pages reproduced are generic screen snapshots that have little bearing on what a portal reporting and/or managing team is expected to tackle in the life of such a project.

Technical Editor: SAP BW Certification: A Business Information Warehouse Study Guide

Naeem Hashmi,
CTO, Information Frameworks
Author: Business Information Warehouse for SAP
Co-author: Getting the Most from Business Intelligence & SAP Business Warehouse
Technical Editor: SAP BW Certification: A Business Information Warehouse Study Guide