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7 Technical Questions to Ask in Your Portal Evaluation (Pt. I)
If you are struggling to choose the right web platform for your project, you’re not alone. There are many options to choose from, each claiming to be better than the rest. How do you choose for your specific project? The answer largely depends on the context of what you are trying to achieve. But whether you intend to build an employee intranet, e-commerce site, or anything in between, there are a few technical questions to consider.
We are publishing a series of posts that will guide you through some of the most important technical questions to consider in your evaluation. Our hope is that these practical tips and snippets of insight will help you arrive at the right decision. Enjoy the takeaways!
1. IS THE PLATFORM STANDARDS-BASED AND HOW ARE THE STANDARDS SUPPORTED?
You should select a portal platform that is based on modern technology standards rather than proprietary technology. Here’s why:
Standards-based technology is easier to implement when finding resources with experience.
Standards-based technology provides higher levels of interoperability, which provides the opportunity to fit easily into your current system architecture or adopt numerous technologies.
Standards-based technology has a higher chance of outliving the technology platform, granting you the ability to move to another vendor platform while retaining your underlying code base.
As for key technology standards to consider when making your selection:
It is recommended that you find a platform that supports these listed standards. The proper support allows you to utilize modern technology standards, which could result in greater interoperability as well as money saved and escape from vendor lock-in.
2. HOW DOES THE PLATFORM INTEGRATE WITH IDENTITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS?
Authentication and permissions provide the foundation for secure access to information and rich personalized experiences. Many organizations have existing personnel databases and related authentication mechanisms already in place. To reduce redundancy and drive down costs, the web platform must be able to integrate with these existing environments. Here are a few of the common identity management platforms:
By finding a platform that integrates with your specific identity management system, you remove the need to manage user information in two separate locations, saving you costly hours of trivial and redundant work. If you have a non-standard identity management system, understanding the platform’s security architecture will be necessary to evaluate whether integration is possible. Two-factor authentication is also becoming necessary for many systems, as increased access security is desired in many verticals, such as financial services and the government.
Remember, this is only the first part of a three series blog. Be sure to read the second part of our series here, where we discuss two more technical questions to ask during portal evaluation.
If you want to learn about other factors to consider in a portal evaluation, we explore this topic in depth in our Liferay Buyer’s Checklist. It features a basic summary and a comprehensive checklist on evaluation criteria.
Download the Checklist
