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IBM WebSphere portal integration
The integration hub: IBM WebSphere portal
In cooperation with our technology partner fully adequate integration of FirstSpirit™ in the IBM
WebSphere Portal has been achieved in conformity with the standards.
With this solution, the topic of enterprise content management is completely covered, even in the
WebSphere portal. Compared to integrated CMS, which only covers simple basic functions, with
FirstSpirit™ you acquire a tool which also satisfies sophisticated aspects in complex and dispersed
companies. This especially applies to the topic of usability, too.
Seamless integration of look and function
A central paradigm of FirstSpirit™ portal integration is the approach in which editorial content from
FirstSpirit™ is perfectly integrated in the portal servers, especially with respect to the "fully coordinated"
look. This also includes using the "native", portal server specific mechanisms (themes, skins, screens)
to automatically output the content and navigation elements in the current look & feel of the portal.
FirstSpirit™ is capable of servicing both standard portal themes, as well as supporting any custom themes
via suitable page attributes.
Advantage:
Even complex layout scenarios can be completely covered by this, always starting from the defined
corporate design.
The editing process is not affected by this flexibility of the portal look. Editors continue to maintain their
content as usual, without having to worry about the output logic.
Single sign-on (SSO)
Efficient content management in the portal requires that the switch between the live portal and the editing
environment is only "a click" away. To ensure this, a single sign-on has been implemented between
FirstSpirit™ and the portal server. Within the portal, each page is checked to ensure the logged in user has
write privileges for the object.
Advantage:
Each editor can immediately modify the content using a "one click edit" button. Content management could
hardly be any quicker or more practical.
Content maintenance without portal know-how
Displaying editorial content and embedding it in existing portal navigation is a technically demanding task.
Aspects such as
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seamless visual integration,
support for any designs required (theme, skin and screen compatibility) and
hyperlink capability through special portal links and
multilingualism
are necessary properties, which make the added value of the solution plausible. Nevertheless, in
FirstSpirit™ the focus is on ease of content maintenance.
Advantage:
An editor can completely concentrate on the creation and maintenance of their content without having
to have any portal know-how. For example, setting a link to other pages is done conveniently using a
tree selection dialogue, even if technically complicated portal references are created as a result in the
background. FirstSpirit™ ensures the link consistency, even if the referenced element is moved.
FirstSpirit™ also does the layout creation and integration in any specified portal theme, completely
in conformity with the portal due to its powerful template engine, without the editor having to concern
themselves with it at all.
Native portal navigation
Truly deep portal integration of a CMS stands and falls with the elegant integration of content in the portal's
own navigation structure. FirstSpirit™ generates "native" portal navigations.
Advantage:
Administratively generated portal menu items and content menu items from FirstSpirit™ are no longer
visually and technically distinguishable. This makes it possible for all portal functions available in the
standard, e.g. the
portal's own bookmark management,
navigation forwards/backwards using portal buttons and
click history or automatic breadcrumb navigation
generation of labels and pages
to be automatically used for FirstSpirit™ content, too.
Personalized presentation of content
Portal servers provide sophisticated user, rights and role management, which enables personalized display
of content and applications. FirstSpirit™ supports the rights and role management of the portal server by
re-using the existing existing permissions infrastructure. This makes it possible for editors to define read
privileges for their content, while the portal server checks compliance with the runtime privileges for each
user.
Advantage:
Re-using the portal infrastructure for security and permissions, avoids duplicate data storage for users and
roles, while at the same time the complete permissions control for content can be carried out by editors
in FirstSpirit™. Administrative interventions on the portal side are no longer necessary for permissions
control.
Combination of applications and content
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The free programme of portal integration
The full capability of a corporate portal can always be achieved when work processes and editorial content
are optimally combined. To achieve this, FirstSpirit™ introduces a new role: the portal editor .
The portal editor cannot only create and maintain conventional editorial content but at the same time is also
able to use FirstSpirit™ to directly position and configure applications (portlets) previously released by the
portal administrator in any places within the portal.
Advantage:
Portal applications and editorial content can be freely combined and positioned by using FirstSpirit™. At the
same time, the arrangement of the elements on the page can be determined by the FirstSpirit™ editor, for
example, the choice of a single or multi-column layout.
The portal administration is therefore relieved of many tasks, as the usually technically motivated
integration of applications in the portal shifts to the portal editor in FirstSpirit™. Ultimately, the complete
content and applications of the portal can therefore be conveniently maintained by FirstSpirit™.
In conformity with the standard: JSR-168
The portlets for display of the FirstSpirit™ content within the WebSphere portal are one hundred percent
in conformity with the Java portlet specification standard (JSR 168). This ensures the maximum portability
and upgradability of this solution.
Virtual portal support
The IBM Websphere portal server supports a concept of virtual portals, which can be created in a very
convenient way without repeated performance of the installation process. Such virtual portals are created
by partitioning an existing installation into several logical servers. End users do not notice any difference
whatsoever, whether their query is serviced by a full installation or a virtual portal.
FirstSpirit™ supports this concept of virtual portals and is able to service this client capability of the IBM
Websphere portal server through separately configurable deployment targets and mechanisms.
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