NETTING IT OUT

Our survey on portal issues was extremely well received by our readers, with over 500 responses (86 percent from CXOs, directors, and line of business managers). Based on these responses, we have come to the following conclusions and insights:

• Customer-oriented portals are a primary focus of the majority of companies responding—90 percent of responding companies list customers as a major target for their portal initiatives, with customer-oriented portals ranking as the single highest priority. This contrasts with the conventional view that portals are being used for only employees and partners.
• Portals are being used to change (or try to change) key business processes within companies and with their customers and partners.
• The key issues facing companies in their portal initiatives are: making the business case/ROI, integration with other systems, content management, and delivering a compelling user experience.
• Companies are confused, anxious, and do not have a lot of confidence in the portal technology nor in the portal suppliers.

Goals of the Survey

In late May, Patricia Seybold Group sent out an invitation to participate in a Web survey on Portals. Our goal was to find out what companies believe the key issues are around portals, including what they are currently using them for and how far they’ve gotten in using them effectively.

Specifically, we wanted to know the breakdown of employee portals vs. customer and/or partner portals and how many companies were implementing for more than one constituency. We also wanted to know the relative importance of the issues around portals—including business, organizational, and technical issues. Finally, we wanted to get some sense of whether the suppliers and products that are considered the leaders in the portal space are indeed the ones actually being used.

We were extremely pleased with the response to the survey. Over 500 of our readers, a large proportion of them corporate executives, filled it out—and to their credit, this was not simply a multiple choice questionnaire, but required quite a bit of thought.

A Summary of Results

Our survey found, first and foremost, that portals are critical initiatives in many companies. They are generating interest at a very high level in organizations. And they are receiving the scrutiny that is typically reserved for mission-critical applications.

Our specific findings include:

Customers are important! They are included in the portal initiatives of about 90 percent of the companies responding to the survey. Customer-oriented portals also constitute the largest, albeit by a very small number, target among companies with only a single portal audience.

Portals change business! Key drivers for portal initiatives are not simply convenience or cost savings, but actually changing the way companies do business internally, as well as with customers and partners.

Companies must have a business case! The top issue, by far, is around cost—making the business case, ROI, and getting executive buy-in.

Focus on hidden costs! The next two critical issues are integration and content management, two hidden costs that companies recognize will sink any portal initiative if not properly addressed.

Focus on ....