There is an evolution that takes place when organizations start to develop
Web applications as part of their IT infrastructure. Initially, an
application is written for a particular purpose, say a contact management
system or an inventory control system.
These systems typically require a facility to log in with a username and
password to control access. As time passes, several of these systems will be
built across the organization, each in isolation of one another. The problem
soon arises where users need to access several of the Web systems, all with
different usernames and passwords. The next logical step is to create a Web
portal to provide a single point of entry to the Web applications. The Web
applications are then moved into the portal so that users can go to one ... (more)