The Evolution of the PortalTM is the concept LDS uses to describe the common portal characteristics that we see among our clients. We use The Evolution of the PortalTM to spark conversation (everyone has an opinion about where "their" portal fits in this progression) and reflection on what their portal needs to convey.
We refer to the phases within The Evolution of the PortalTM as:
Start the conversation...order your beautiful, full-color copy of the The Evolution of the PortalTM today.
Register or sign in to request a copy.

Within Access Portals, basic concepts are applied to organize online assets and to aid in findability. Access Portals traditionally are characterized as follows:
- Thin "gateway" with a single point of entry
- Aggregation of sites with inconsistent designs and no integration
- Superficial information architecture, giving the appearance of being little more than "link farms"
- No common standards, foundation or governance.
Within Action Portals, new design concepts are applied to convert functional capabilities into effective user enablement:
- Portal experience is informed by business context, not just information categories
- Effective "self-service" is enabled through interaction designs that integrate content with business applications (e.g., transactions, workflows)
- Collaborative capabilities are contextualized to enable various knowledge work practices
- Platform complexities necessitate the design of a "portal foundation" situation within the enterprise architecture
- Emergence of the Enterprise Portal as a strategic platform for business integration features governance as a critical success factor.
A fundamental paradigm shift occurs within Intelligent Portals, as business practices become the dominant factor in portal design:
- Previous advances are retained, but the provision of information and tools is now a "means," not an "end"
- Strategic programs are integrated into the user experience to coordinate and align complex knowledge work
- Portal design is correlated with business practices, such as communications and change management
- Portal value creation is extended to human and social capital, in addition to the top and bottom line
- Strategic and operational portal governance sustain value over time
- Demands on the portal foundation necessitate support for operations and increased adaptability.
The workplace of the future will be marked by co-evolution of the portal and the enterprise:
- Business activities and relationships will be increasingly mediated by the portal channel
- Integral business practices will be carried out via portal synchronization with offline channels and additional devices (e.g., mobile connectivity)
- Strategic portal governance will track shifts in business priorities
- Operational governance will enable orderly, widespread participation in extending the portal's scope and impact
- Networked business will become a reality within the extended enterprise as business governance and portal governance merge
- Portal "lives out" the desired attributes and outcomes of the workplace of the future.