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When I joined IBM in early 2001, WebSphere Portal was little more than an idea. But
some believed this was going to be the future of web technology. When WebSphere
Portal v1 was released later in that same year, spending the time required to cobble
together the components needed to make it run, was an exercise in patience and
persistence. But it did run; and it got better, until eventually it evolved into the
robust enterprise platform that is the focus of this book.
The emphasis on the word 'Enterprise' within the content of this book is no
mistake. Portal projects within an organization are generally enterprise-level
projects. Of course, there are smaller and more focused portal implementations
that lean toward a specific value proposition; but generally, a portal's strength
lies in integrating an organization's content, processes, and systems in new,
productive ways. This allows the portal to provide one-stop access across the entire
organization. These types of large projects can bring out the best and worst of a
company's internal processes and systems. In some ways, they can be the most
challenging projects on the planning board.
Why is that? A portal can provide an integration and aggregation point for all of
your existing systems. This allows you to expose deep hidden knowledge and
information, providing immediate potential benefit. However, this can also expose
weaknesses in those systems, due to integration complexity, scalability, security
issues, or other lurking problems. It can also force an organization to reevaluate the
way it does business. Processes need to be documented, reviewed, or reinvented, if
maximum benefit is to be gained by the effort.
This book is all about providing guidance, expert advice, and counsel to the reader,
and is the culmination of years of knowledge and best practices in the industry. By
bringing together their own extensive knowledge combined with the knowledge of
other practitioners, consultants, developers, and customers and then distilling the
good bits, Chelis and Helmar have provided a new look at the industry, which is
both welcome and long overdue. One thing I love about this book is its appeal to
many types of different readers. |
