My major project right now is the new portal. You may wonder what a portal is and how it's of any interest to you. You get the same data, applications, setup everywhere and anywhere! New computer, moved office, working from home, business travel, even around the world. Using SRA(Secure Remote Access), users can securely access our network and its services over the Internet, including web applications, legacy apps and access to file systems (like VPN).
Portals shift the focus of the online experience from public web sites that show the same face to everyone, to user-oriented web sites that provide tools, reports, and services specifically designed for an individual or group of users. Our users will be able to authenticate to our portal and receive consolidated information that is relevant to their needs. This information can be generic and publicly accessible, or it can be confidential and specific to an individual's or group's needs. And it's not just for computer desktops. Content can be made available to a variety of devices over a variety of protocols, such as mobile devices. It will be a one-stop-shop for all our users. Check out sun's portal at http://mysun.sun.com/portal/dt. Specific information will be available to students, faculty and staff and will be further customized depending on department and user needs.
The best part of the portal, it is written in Java and XML, therefore it truly is completely customizable and portable. This means we can add any feature that we need and can make it conform to our style. To view a sample customized portal page, look at this large image (833 x 458). When complete, the portal will be on the server 'sundown', the same server our new email and calendar are on. Upon login with your current username and password (no new password to remember), each user will have access to all the applications they will need in one place, already logged in, thanks to Single Sign On. SSO provides users with the ability to present their user ID and password one time and gain access to a variety of services, such as portal, mail, calendar, address book, file systems, even office applications, such as excel and word! Really, the possibilities are endless.
Having one place to go to get all your data and applications will increase efficiency, decrease confusion and make it more accessible to more users. What's not to love?
