Sybase launches revamped portal product

Sybase Inc. on Monday announced the release of the next edition of its flagship Enterprise Portal product, which features better access for mobile and wireless users.

Enterprise Portal 2.0 extends services to mobile users, providing what Sybase calls "ubiquitous Web accessibility," said Sybase Federal Manager Gerald Gourdain. The product can extend the portal to any number of portable devices mobile workers use.

"And you haven't given up any of the personalization" a portal can provide, Gourdain said.

EP 2.0 enables mobile Web browsing, wireless messaging and "always available" access to enterprise data and applications, according to Sybase officials. Workers are able to modify data off-line and synchronize changes with the enterprise portal later.

An enterprise portal integrates information and applications for secure and personalized transactions via the World Wide Web.

Within a federal agency, EP 2.0 can integrate stovepiped back-end systems whose information previously may not have been accessible to everyone, Gourdain said. Organizations with multiple databases and repositories may have a lot of information on hand, but making sense out of so much data can be difficult.

The question becomes, "How do you turn that information into knowledge?" Gourdain said. With the new portal, "you now have access to each resource."

The product also features automatic event notification, which can remind managers when certain tasks need to be done. Users can issue manual event notices as well.

The General Services Administration uses Sybase's enterprise technology to integrate its internal applications and power its GSA Advantage procurement portal.