The end of the world ... As we know it
I have often looked at the way portal implementation programmes are run, and can’t help but wince at the wastefulness that takes place.
There are two major sources of this waste:
1. Enterprise Portals are unlike any other software that is deployed in the enterprise. The raison d'être for the Portal is to create a channel of communication between the enterprise, its customers, employees, suppliers and partners. This requires a huge degree of flexibility, speed to market and creativity. These are inhibited by traditional software development cycles.
2. Many organizations are led to believe that their Portal would provide them a competitive advantage. These Portal programmes are then injected with large sizeable funding and even larger expectations from a multitude of stakeholders. In the rare cases where competitive advantages are achieved, sustainability requires a continuous stream of funding. I haven’t yet found a single (traditional click-and-mortar) organization that has managed to gain a competitive edge through an innovative portal.
I believe we need to fundamentally change the way businesses and System Integrators approach portal implementation. My Top Three :
1. Citius at the cost of Altius & Fortius: Get the portal into production quickly and at a smaller scale. Once initial success is established, scale up and expand. Smaller initial investments translate into smaller risks which give you more wiggle-room to innovate.2. The technology is a commodity – focus on the message: When your organization produces a TV advert, it doesn’t obsess over the features of the camera and the editing suite that is used to produce the ad. When your organization rolls out a portal, focus on the message (and features) that you want to get across to your customers. That is where your core competence lies. Select a good SI and trust them to use the right tools.
3. Vertical Portal Products: COTS Portal software today provides a horizontal, technology-oriented solution. These need to give way to vertical industry-oriented solutions that can be quickly customized and rolled out. Today, every bank builds its eBanking portal from the ground-up (or uses a web-solution that was bundled with its core banking solution.) This is wasteful when you consider that (a) most banks offer similar transactions to their customers and (b) Customers will not switch their banks just because they offer a better eBanking experience. The same can be said of other industries.
Comments
Spot on article Freddi - strongly agree that Business and IT alignment is a must in any enterprise portal.
Posted by: anurag vijaywargiya | October 29, 2008 06:08 PM