Corporate Portals Empowered with XML and Web Services

Anura Guruge155558280X, 9781555582807, 9780585459578

Following the humbling of the ‘dot.coms’ it is well implemented corporate portals that are ushering in a new and prosperous era of e-business. Corporate Portals Empowered with XML and Web Services provides decision makers with a clear and concise explanation of what portals are all about, why you really need a portal strategy, how you go about implementing one, and the issues you have to encounter and surmount. Guruge shows how you can successfully use XML and web services to empower your portals for collaboration, knowledge management, CRM, ERP and supply chain management.*Extensive examples of corporate portals illustrate the viability of the technology*Architectural and network diagrams show detailed portal implementations*Comprehensive references to guides, solutions, products and terminology leverage living outside resources

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Table of contents :
Header……Page 0
Cover……Page 1
Table of Contents……Page 2
Corporate Portals Empowered with XML and Web Services……Page 5
Foreword……Page 8
Preface……Page 10
What is covered?……Page 11
Navigating through this book……Page 12
Overview……Page 13
1.1 What are corporate portals?……Page 15
1.1.1 Focal point for corporate information……Page 17
1.1.2 A logical portal serving both internal and external users……Page 18
1.1.3 Aggregation, syndication, search, and collaboration……Page 19
1.1.4 What is XML all about?……Page 21
1.1.5 What are Web services?……Page 23
1.2 Why do you need a corporate portal?……Page 26
1.2.1 A big investment with a positive ROI……Page 28
1.2.2 Why XML and Web services?……Page 30
1.2.3 Why Web services?……Page 31
1.3.1 A corporate portal is mission critical……Page 32
1.3.2 A phased implementation……Page 33
1.4 What have others done with portals?……Page 34
1.6 What can you gain?……Page 36
1.7 Why have people procrastinated?……Page 37
1.8 Q&AŠA time to recap and reflect……Page 38
Overview……Page 39
2.1 “Public” versus corporate portals……Page 42
2.2 Types of corporate portals……Page 46
2.2.1 XML to aid collaboration……Page 48
2.3 Partitioning a corporate portal……Page 49
2.3.1 User authentication……Page 50
2.3.2 Personalization……Page 52
2.4 B2e portals……Page 54
2.5 B2c portals……Page 56
2.6 B2b Portals……Page 59
2.7 Wireless portals……Page 61
2.8 Q&AŠA time to recap and reflect……Page 62
Overview……Page 63
3.1 An overall architecture for corporate portals……Page 66
3.1.1 Data management services……Page 67
3.1.2 Rules engine, directories, and external data access……Page 68
3.2 Portal-facilitating techniques: Portlets, gadgets, and Web parts……Page 71
3.2.1 Digital dashboards, Web parts, iViews, and skins……Page 73
3.2.2 Domains, roles, gadgets, and breadcrumbs……Page 74
3.3 A corporate portal relative to the rest of IT……Page 77
3.3.1 Standalone dedicated platform or a shared system?……Page 78
3.4 Integrating data-center resources……Page 79
3.4.1 Host publishing and host integration……Page 81
3.5 Putting portals on a platform……Page 84
3.5.1 Windows NT/2000 or UNIX?……Page 85
3.5.2 Java or decaf?……Page 86
3.6 Q&AŠA time to recap and reflect……Page 87
Overview……Page 88
4.1 Trying to put locks on corporate portals……Page 90
4.1.1 Digital certificates……Page 92
4.1.2 Public key infrastructure……Page 96
4.1.3 Secure sockets layer (SSL)……Page 98
4.1.4 Intrusion detection systems (IDS)……Page 103
4.1.5 IP security (IPSec)……Page 104
4.1.6 Single sign-on and LDAP directories……Page 105
4.2.1 Some guidelines for determining initial capacity……Page 107
4.3 Factors that influence speed……Page 109
4.3.1 System issues……Page 110
4.4 Planning for scalability……Page 111
4.5 Q&AŠA time to recap and reflect……Page 112
Overview……Page 113
5.1 Content management……Page 116
5.1.1 Content creation and control……Page 118
5.1.2 Content categorization, publication, and surveillance……Page 120
5.2 Keeping on top of usage patterns and statistics……Page 121
5.3 Enhancing reliability, resilience, and availability……Page 122
5.3.1 Bolstering memory and storage reliability……Page 124
5.3.2 Self-managing and self-healing technology……Page 125
5.4 Mirrored portals……Page 127
5.5 Managing and monitoring corporate portals……Page 128
5.6 Q&AŠA time to recap and reflect……Page 130
Overview……Page 131
6.1.1 Supply chain management as an example……Page 137
6.1.2 ERP applications and corporate portals……Page 140
6.2 Contemporary knowledge management……Page 141
6.2.1 KM and corporate portals……Page 144
6.3 Data collection for knowledge management……Page 145
6.4 Data mining……Page 148
6.5 Web mining……Page 149
6.7 Q&AŠA time to recap and reflect……Page 151
Overview……Page 152
7.1 Supply-chain management using portals……Page 157
7.1.2 Leveraging portals to realize adaptive SCM……Page 158
7.2 Supplier relationship management via portals……Page 162
7.3 Customer relationship management via portals……Page 164
7.4 Synthesizing all of the portal-related applications……Page 166
7.4.1 Building blocks of the universal application architecture……Page 168
7.5 Other pertinent portal-related applications……Page 170
7.6 Q&AŠA time to recap and reflect……Page 172
Overview……Page 173
8.1 The scoop on Web services……Page 176
8.1.1 Pricing, security, reliability, and scalability……Page 177
8.2 The role of XML……Page 179
8.2.1 Mandatory XML health warning……Page 180
8.2.2 Some of the mechanics of XMLŠDTDs and schema……Page 181
8.2.3 XSLT and the XML APIs……Page 184
8.3 SOAP and WSDL……Page 185
8.4 UDDI……Page 188
8.5 Java or Microsoft .NET?……Page 189
8.6 Q&AŠA time to recap and reflect……Page 190
Overview……Page 191
9.1 Laying the costs down for a corporate portal……Page 193
9.2 Budgets and mandates……Page 194
9.3 Taking the plunge……Page 195
A-C……Page 196
D-H……Page 197
I-P……Page 198
R-U……Page 200
V-Z……Page 201
Acronyms……Page 202
Bibliography……Page 204
List of Figures……Page 205
List of Tables……Page 209