Portal Software
DataChannel Server 4.0
Data-Channel Server 4.0 is heavily reliant on eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Effective use of XML and of Java makes the software (and the resulting portal) portal highly flexible (and extensible) but means that specialist knowledge is required for configuration. The software makes significant use of eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) and Document Object Model (DOM), both of which work with XML. (Configuration of layout and design must be done through XSL editing, but there are no tools included for this task.)
The result of this combination of technologies is that Data Channel Server should adapt well to future needs and, importantly, should easily integrate with third-party data sources.
The portal handles structured data well, but unstructured data less well. It can integrate with almost any back-end data delivery but additional scripting is needed in almost every case.
DataChannel uses Excalibur Technologies' RetrievalWare to index file directories and Web sites (though other search engines can be used). This one could be better integrated into DataChannel: indexing content may need recourse to a command-line interface.
Authentication is very well handled - the server easily synchronises with Windows NT and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directories. Using group-based roles, it is fairly simple to define access rights based on folder and file permissions.
Along with the standard personalisation options for configuring a user's portal page, the DataChannel Server includes basic email and portal page notification for content additions. Users can easily add content to the portal through a browser-based interface. DataChannel's use of Inso's Outside In Server delivers superior data-handling capabilities and allows it to handle conversion of various file types within the portal.
The DataChannel Server is priced in US dollars from $100,000 for 250 named users. The server is supported on Windows NT and Sun Solaris operating systems.
iPlanet Portal Server 3.0
The Sun-Netscape Alliance's iPlanet Portal Server, provides extended features for those willing to exploit them, and strong administration features for managing multiple portals. However, the product functions more as a platform than as an application.
iPlanet Portal Server has excellent support for diverse authentication schemes and makes good use of LDAP directories for data access. The software also has strong hooks into back-end data sources and third-party applications, and includes a built-in Citrix client that provides remote access to applications within the portal.
Although the iPlanet server is very extensible and has very strong data and application integration, it surprisingly lacks many of the features one might expect from such software - features such as Web indexing and collaborative filtering (that Netscape pioneered in its Catalog Server and Compass Server products). According to iPlanet, such features are 'on their way'.
The product provides good control over access to content and can track users and disconnect them from the portal. Although most of the content on the portal is straight Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), the server makes heavy use of Java in its integral engine and uses Java for a feature called Netlets, which power a variety of end-user applications.
Good personalisation features let users select content and control the layout of their pages. The iPlanet Portal Server is extremely configurable and can be easily converted into other languages. The server can be extended through Java application program interfaces (APIs) and an available XML interface. The product's excellent browser-based management features make it possible to easily manage multiple portals from a single interface.
The iPlanet Portal Server runs only on Solaris, although iPlanet plans to port it to other operating systems in the future. Pricing for fully open access is $25,000 per server CPU. Secure portals start at $90,000 per CPU, with a minimum outlay of two CPUs.
Plumtree Corporate Portal 3.5
Plumtree's Corporate Portal 3.5, is heavily reliant on Windows NT and Microsoft's Active Server Pages technology, but can benefit companies looking for a quick portal solution with a minimum of initial customisation. (Not surprisingly, products that make the least use of open standards are the most likely to offer a quick and complete, or nearly complete, portal solution. However, this reliance on NT and ASP limits the flexibility of the product.)
Plumtree has been in the corporate information portal business longer than any other company except perhaps Netscape and Verity, and offers a very polished application. Organisations looking for a quick portal solution with a minimum of initial customisation should investigate the Corporate Portal 3.5 platform.
Plumtree's Web site and file directory search and index capabilities are based on the Verity search engine. The Plumtree portal provides a very good management interface for controlling indexes and Web crawls. Administrators can easily update indexes and filter content to fit portal categories. The Plumtree server also has excellent integration into multiple back-end data sources. This capability, as well as many application components for users, is based on Plumtree's 'Gadget' technology. Gadgets are small ASP-based applications that can easily be built by Web site developers.
The Plumtree portal has solid personalisation features, letting users customise content and layout, and choose Gadgets to run on their personal pages. Users can submit a variety of content for inclusion in the portal, following a process of 'content approval'.. The Plumtree Corporate Portal can directly import users from an NT Domain, but it will not support LDAP until the next release, due later this year.
Business-to-employee pricing starts at $75,000 for 250 named users. Business-to-business pricing starts at $50,000 per CPU, with a four-server minimum.
Update: June2002
Project Performance Corporation (PPC) has released PT Tracker, an advanced tool for measuring usage of the Plumtree Corporate Portal. Available as a service from PPC, PT Tracker allows organizations to use business intelligence tools to understand the content, applications and collaborative forums most popular among portal users. This information empowers administrators not only to optimize their portal deployment but also to measure the return on information technology investments across the wide range of systems integrated in the portal.
See http://www.ppc.com/
Update: June 2002
The Butler Group suggests that there will be a signicant shift in the portal market over the next two years. Dedicated portal suppliers will come under increasing pressure from established enterprise software firms such as SAP who believe that portals are best integrated as part of a broader, comprehensive strategy. The first portal phase - essentially stand-alone and immature - has been useful in learning lessons; but there are too many vendors and not enough integration.
The portal specialists - such as Plumtree (see above) - not surprisngly disagree. They see their strength in their platform and application independence. A portal must give access to the widest variety of source, not lock you into a software set from the same supplier.Watch this space - the batle is now joined!
Update July 2002
BEA Systems, Inc, which claims to be the world's leading application infrastructure software company, has unveiled BEA WebLogic Portal 7.0, the latest version of its award-winning enterprise portal software. BEA WebLogic Portal 7.0 is designed to simplify the development, deployment and management of enterprise-wide portals, and is the industry's first unified portal platform that can natively support Web services. It is available for download from http://www.bea.com/.
New administration tools are designed to quickly consume and display Web services created in BEA WebLogic Workshop, Microsoft SOAP ToolKit clients, or other tools. BEA's new portal and portlet wizards can reduce time to market by cutting portal development time. In addition to new partner portlets available from the BEA Portal Solution Center (http://portalsolutions.bea.com/), BEA WebLogic Portal 7.0 ships with new collaboration portlets and commerce portlets for catalog, shopping cart, purchasing process, and other commerce services.
Update February 2003
Plumtree Software has announced the availability of the Plumtree Extranet Portal Package for customers seeking to offer better service and work more transparently with customers, partners and other external audiences such as retirees, organization members, students or citizens. This package currently includes the Plumtree Corporate Portal with Plumtree Search, Plumtree Content Server and Plumtree Collaboration Server, and a framework for integrating charts and graphs from Microsoft Excel. Customers of the Plumtree Extranet Portal Package also receive one week of professional services, training, and the first year of maintenance and support.
See http://www.plumtree.com/extranet_portals for more information and for terms and conditions.
