Enterprise portals: A set of pre-built apps and a place to host them isn't enough.

If you're considering building a portal, this article might be helpful.

One interesting point it makes is: "A portal may provide a nice set of built-in applications that can get you off the ground in a short period of time. In reality though, what often happens is that portals prove to be just the tip of the iceberg, with much more work to customize and integrate the various layers than most customers expect."

The secret, is knowing how to create those customized and integrated portal applications on your own in a fast and efficient way.

If you'd like to get started, but aren't sure how to serve a portal, here's a list of Portal vendors you might want to check out.