Why do Portals and Content Management systems need each other ?

With Portals the emphasis is on the user, they control access and immediately deliver one of the key benefits required for a large corporate environment of a single sign on. Other benefits include:

	Access control over external web sites
	Personalisation through the filtering of information
	Task automation such as the aggregartion of news
	Context alignment of information between "Windows"

Portal technology is focussed on simplifying tasks from the user perspective to reduce learning curves and increasing productivity.

Content Management systems are concerned with the handling of the unstructured information in an organisation. This can include text, graphics, audio, video and email. Basic functionality includes Check-in, Check-out, version control, audit trail and security.

The capturing and maintenance of metadata for content is an essential part of being able to effectively manage the information that is held. Content Management provides the ability to separately handle content and presentation, the metadata for both these elements need to be controlled.

Like Portals, Content Management systems facilitate searching but only the information they control. Most deliver both Full Text and Meta-data search capabilities.

To support the creation and maintenance of content, most Content Management products have built-in workflow capabilities. These facilities assist the process of delegating content creation and editing by providing an enforceable approval process so that quality can be maintained.

Portals can make use of Content Management systems as a valueable resource to handle unstructured information and Content Management systems can benefit by allowing Portals to collect other information for users. Both technologies add to productivity by complementing each others functionality.