Citrix iForum2002T Africa

The demand for Web-based application access will undoubtedly fuel the adoption of the portal as the new corporate desktop. This is one of the themes at Citrix iForum 2002T Africa, to be held on 23 July at Vodaworld Midrand, where delegates will learn how portals can help enable the virtual workplace.

The industry is buzzing with talk of Web services and their potential impact on business strategy. Web services are appealing because they aim to simplify the integration of back-end systems and allow the Internet to be leveraged to its full potential.

"While much is being discussed about the operating and security platforms that will support the roll-out of Web services, it is the portal that looks likely to be one of the real `killer apps` of this computing model," says Chris Norton, channel manager at Citrix Systems SA, the local office of Citrix Systems, Inc (Nasdaq:CTXS), a global leader in application serving and portal software and services.

While the concept of the portal is nothing new, its ability to provide real-time access to applications and information via the Internet makes it a key element of the Web services proposition. So much so, the demand for Web-based application access will undoubtedly fuel the adoption of the portal as the new corporate desktop.

According to Norton, traditional computing models, while delivering the ability to automate certain processes, have been guilty of making it difficult for users to find specific information from a large pool of disparate data.

"Desktops are often cluttered with multiple user interfaces to applications, and supporting and maintaining high application performance to geographically dispersed users under client/server networks can prove to be problematic," he says.

Where Web services promise to simplify the management of organisational networks, the corporate portal will provide the gateway to mission-critical data and information resources residing on the network. A true hallmark of a portal is the ability to personalise information and deliver content presented in a manner that suits the user`s role. Portals also present the ability to standardise the user interface for all applications and data resources, improving the manageability of application access and the user`s experience.

"Portals also provide the ability to aggregate applications of all origins together with content and live information feeds from different sources. Essentially, all that users need is access to the Internet to gain a personalised view of corporate applications and resources, regardless of where the user is located or which device they are using," explains Norton.

"Obvious target uses of the portal are employees and many companies are already implementing business-to-employee (B2E) portal projects to enhance collaboration and information flow throughout the enterprise.

"Portals also provide a compelling method of extending information beyond the enterprise, with business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) portals transforming the way organisations interact with and support suppliers, business partners and customers."

The industry has made significant strides to ensure the infrastructure is in place to support the full effectiveness of a portal environment. Server-based computing has provided organisations with the ability to reduce the complexity and cost of their IT infrastructures by centralising the management of data delivery and application administration. The computing model has also driven the move towards anytime, anywhere computing, where a user can access applications from any device without the need for client-side support. There is now a natural progression from this kind of environment to Web-based computing, to achieve the ultimate virtual workplace.

"As the world`s established leader in application serving technology, Citrix Systems has led developments in server-based computing. It is now focused on helping organisations benefit from Web-based computing, offering new technologies in the area of portal software," says Norton. Citrix`s upcoming access portal, NFuse Elite, is designed to provide employees with secure, role-based, personalised access to applications, and information aggregated from an organisation`s disparate systems and across the Web, without the extensive customisation and costs associated with typical enterprise portal servers.

"Any roll-out of Web services must depend on the integration of existing systems and not just the writing of entirely new applications. With Citrix`s approach, applications are not converted to HTML or another language. Instead, they are delivered in their original form with full functionality intact. In addition, the user interface remains the same, so there is no need for user retraining on the application," he explains.

By simplifying information access and providing an organised view of mission-critical data, an organisation can streamline its operations and increase user productivity. Improved efficiency of business processes can be achieved through greater collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Norton concludes: "The ability to make better informed and faster decisions enabled by access to up-to-the-second data will also affect competitive advantage. With the buzz around Web services, the portal is destined to share some of the spotlight. And as companies prepare for their Internet future, portals must become an integral part of an organisation`s business strategy, as they become the essential and ubiquitous information access tool."