Portals - Their role in the emerging networked economy

The number of Internet users has increased significantly in recent years bo th in the corporate environment and residential market. Internet users have become familiar with the concepts of home pages, browsers and search engin es. The buzzword which accompanied this technology into the 21st century wa s portal and this concept has been the latest to take root. But what exactl y is a portal and what are the implications for businesses moving into the networked economy? During a study in Autumn 1999, approximately 70 corporate users were asked what they thought a portal was. The common belief was that it was a gateway to a variety of resources and tools available on the Internet. The feedbac k from users suggested that this was independent of the type of terminal de vice in use-for example PC, WAP-enabled mobile telephone or a personal digi tal assistant (PDA)-and that the users could organise and personalise the p ortal. However, the portal is much more than a starting page for accessing Interne t resources and toots. It is the first step in the long process of structur ing a new Internet socio-economic model. It plays a part in building the br idge between stakeholders in the electronic communications market. A clear understanding of the concept, development requirements and the users' needs is essential far any business environment. This article provides an overview of portal categories, an analysis of cust omer needs and trends, the resulting success criteria for portals, and the business implications for portal services. It is based on a series of recen t studies carried out by BT research teams focusing in particular on a EURE SCOM collaborations. The objective of this article is to understand the 'bi gger picture' for portals and their role in the emerging network economy.