October 25, 1999 Web posted at: 9:42 a.m. EDT (1342 GMT) by Jason Meserve

From...

(IDG) -- For those looking to get on the corporate portal bandwagon but fear the risk of failure, HP and Viador are offering an implementation service that lets you try before you buy.

The companies jointly will offer consulting, prototyping and hosting services to allow customers to get a test portal up in two weeks' time, says John Santaferraro, an HP marketing executive. Customers send their data to the HP-Viador tandem, which in turn will build a quick prototype of the portal.

The customer does not have to bring any hardware or software in house, but rather, just needs to pay for the professional services used. The portal prototype is hosted by HP-Viador and can be accessed via a standard Web browser.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
	IDG.net home page
Network World Fusion home page
Free Network World Fusion newsletters
Preparing your firm for corporate portals, 10/4/99
Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
		IDG.net's bridges & routers page
		IDG.net's hubs & switches page
		IDG.net's network operating systems page
		IDG.net's network management software page
Year 2000 World
Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for network experts
Search IDG.net in 12 languages
News Radio
	Fusion audio primers
	Computerworld Minute

Portals can be used to provide all-in-one access to company data through a single interface, usually a Web browser. With the Viador portal, users can customize their view of the data to reflect their role in the company, getting the data they need to do their job.

"We help the customer determine what areas of business and assets they want to build into an online offering," Santaferarro says.

For those that want to fully implement the prototype, HP and Viador offer a "Build it Fast" program they claim can deploy a fully functional corporate portal in six weeks. Customers can than choose to bring the portal in-house by purchasing the necessary hardware and software or have it hosted by Viador if they don't want to hassle with the infrastructure. The offering is built with Viador's E-Portal Suite and runs on HP hardware.

Viador is helping Dennis Ehle build a portal for clients of his company, which outsources ERP software. Ehle, co-founder and managing director of Atlanta's Transchannel, wants to use portal technology as another option to his PeopleSoft-based application services.

Transchannel originally tried to build a system from scratch, but something a little more robust was needed than could be built in-house, Ehle says. "Viador helped us build a proof of concept in less than a week, with a full-blown version completed in just two weeks."

Transchannel is hosting the application itself on an HP K-Class server.

Prototype pricing starts at $10,000. Full implementations are priced per customer.