Plumtree Fuels Growth With New Corporate Portal Product

Corporate portal vendor Plumtree Software, Inc. has enjoyed extremely high revenue growth in its first two years of operation. The recent release of Corporate Portal 4.0 is sure to support further growth as corporate portal technology captures the attention of the Global 2000, and as products in this market support a larger number of business applications.
Corporate Portals DefinedTEC describes corporate portals
Both the business constituents and the data sources can be internal or external. The typical portal technology consists of; middleware, a personalization engine, security, and automated Internet search agents. Other servers and data stores may fall between the data sources and the portal technology.
Middleware is a key component to the portal because it provides the links between the numerous data sources and the user's web page. Plumtree calls its middleware components "gadgets," and there are over 250 gadgets commercially available with the release of Corporate Portal 4.0. The gadget is responsible for providing the user with a carefully chosen subset of the functionality of a specific business application. A Plumtree representative told TEC that 90% of users typically use only 5% of the functionality provided by a business application. The gadget provides that 5% of the functionality through a browser. Figure 2 is a screenshot of the list of gadgets in a user's portal web page. The gadgets are the sub-windows titled, "Threaded Discussion," "Task List," "Document Management," "Plumtree Telephone List," etc.
Plumtree's extensive gadget development is made possible by partnerships with business application vendors and content providers. Plumtree remains independent of any particular vendor. Over 20 technology partners have entered into agreements with Plumtree, including the likes of Siebel, Onyx, Microstrategy, IBM, and iSyndicate. Plumtree also has over 25 channel partners that provide custom gadget development and implementation services in addition to co-marketing Corporate Portal 4.0.
Another feature of Plumtree Corporate Portal 4.0 is syndication over Plumtree's Portal Network. Syndication allows gadget output to be distributed outside the organization or to other web platforms. This technology can be used to distribute gadget content to wireless devices or to a partner's intranet. Plumtree software does not need to be installed on recipients' systems for them to receive syndicated content. The Portal Network is a virtual space for customers and partners to share information regarding Plumtree product development, implementation tips, usage tips, or other related information.