IBM® WebSphere® Portal software provides a composite application or business mashup framework and the advanced tooling needed to build flexible, SOA-based solutions, as well as the unmatched scalability required by any size organization.
 Enhanced Web 2.0. support enables the creation of more intuitive, responsive, and participatory business applications
WebSphere Portal 6 currently supports a rich set of Web 2.0 features that improve end users' satisfaction and productivity, foster team collaboration and innovation, and improve overall business agility. Features include:
- Richer, desktop-like application interfaces (based on AJAX)
- User contribution to portal sites through built-in content and document management
- Business user assembly of situational applications through composite application templates, a drag and drop portlet palette, browser-based wiring tool, 1000s of configurable components (including portlet-based access to Google Gadgets), and wizard-based automation tooling.
- Built-in AJAX support for core WebSphere Portal features
WebSphere Portal directions* for the second-half of 2008 include advanced Web 2.0 capabilities planned to dramatically improve the performance of the browser-based user experience, without having to rework existing portlets. Other planned directions include allowing customers to simplify the creation of secure, governed mash-ups, using:
- REST-based services
- Semantic tags
- Improved Atom and RSS consumption
 Powerful composite application tooling now delivers additional enterprise integrations and out-of-the-box AJAX components
WebSphere Portlet Factory, IBM's award-winning portlet automation tooling, now includes new capabilities that make it even easier for customers with Oracle E-Business Suite, Workplace Forms, WebSphere Process Server, and Java Content Repositories to create high-value,service-oriented composite applications that tap into these assets. This new release of WebSphere Portlet Factory helps:
- Mask the complexity of Web 2.0 technologies by providing out-of-the-box AJAX components that enable point and click creation of rich, browser-based applications.
- Organizations easily deploy high performing, intuitive applications that include features like drag and drop across portlets and inline edit, satisfying end users' expectations for desktop-like functionality within a browser.
- AJAX-enabled portlets be deployed to WebSphere Portal 5.1.x and 6.x., meaning that customers do not have to upgrade to take advantage of these latest features.
 Improved support for federation services enables a single, unified portal experience, underscoring IBM's commitment to openness and extensibility
Most organizations today have heterogeneous IT environments, including multiple portal applications built on different portal architectures. We are continuing to invest in our commitment to openness and extensibility, enabling customers to easily create standards-based portal applications that leverage their existing assets and skill sets. New capabilities in this area include:
- Improved standards-based support for federation services, making it easier for companies to create overarching or "umbrella-portals" that federate services from other portal providers like Microsoft SharePoint Server and SAP Enterprise Portal.
- Federation support based on standards-based Web Services that enable centralized configuration and user access across multiple portal applications and components.
- A lab services offering designed to help customers quickly federate their existing portals into one integrated WebSphere Portal interface.
The net result is increased efficiencies and reduced costs through a unified portal experience.
 WebSphere Portal directions* support faster time to value
WebSphere Portal enhancements planned for the second-half of 2008 include making the product easier to install, configure, and deploy. Plans include:
- Streamlined installation that sets up the core portal services in under an hour, saving customers time and making it even easier for ISVs to create solutions that leverage WebSphere Portal's core services.
- Site management capabilities to quickly deploy fully configured portals, eliminating the time and cost of performing new installs for each environment required.
- Entitlements to Lotus Component Designer, easing portlet creation for Lotus Domino or Visual Basic developers.
WebSphere Portal is one of the few portals easy enough for small companies with limited IT staff to install and deploy, yet still scalable enough for global companies needing to deploy applications that support many thousands of users.
*Planned to be available later in 2008 |
