Portals Then and Now

This article investigates the evolution of two different types of Web portals, one in Bangladesh and the other in Australia. The initial data collection was conducted in the early 2000s and revisited in 2009. The idea of a Web portal is not new, but in the last few years the portal concept has gained considerably in importance as new types of portal are developed and new uses found for portal technology. The article begins with a brief classification of the types of portals in use today and then considers some of the advantages conferred on a business in using portal technology. Developed and developing countries have different problems in making use of e-commerce and see the advantages and problems of using portals rather differently. In the article the authors examine and compare case studies of a Horizontal B-B Industry Portal in Melbourne, Australia, and a Vertical Industry Portal in Dhaka, Bangladesh.