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Siebel Portal Framework

This topic provides an overview of Oracle's Siebel Portal Framework and summarizes the technologies that make up the Portal Framework. It contains the following information:

• Portal Framework Overview
• Portal Framework Architecture

Portal Framework Overview

Enterprises are often composed of many different information technology resources, such as:

• Shared network directories.
• Department intranet sites.
• Legacy applications.
• Applications developed in-house.
• Purchased Web applications.

With many disparate applications and technologies, IT resources are difficult to maintain and difficult to use. For example, applications:

• Follow different user interface guidelines.
• Are rendered with different themes.
• Track profile attributes differently.
• Vary in the quality of online assistance.
• Have separate login and password credentials.
• Have different search functionality.

One solution to this problem is to integrate the various applications and content sources used in an enterprise and present them in a single user interface, called a portal. The Siebel Portal Framework allows you to do this. The Portal Framework provides you with the tools and supporting technologies that allow you to:

• Aggregate external data with Siebel data and present it in the Siebel user interface.
• Deliver Siebel CRM data to external applications.
• Integrate external application business logic and data with Siebel Business Applications.

Portal Framework Architecture

The portal framework includes the following framework components:

• Enterprise Application Integration
• Portal Agents that integrate external content into the Siebel user interface

Enterprise Application Integration

Siebel EAI provides mechanisms for sharing data and business logic with other applications, including:

• Integration objects
• Virtual business objects
• Programming APIs
• Predefined adapters and connectors

For more information about Siebel EAI, see Overview: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration and other EAI titles on the Siebel Bookshelf. The Siebel Bookshelf is available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN) and Oracle Software Delivery Cloud. It might also be installed locally on your intranet or on a network location.

Portal Agents

Portal Agents provide you with a mechanism to retrieve content from a non-Siebel source and display it in the Siebel user interface. The Portal Agent retrieves content on behalf of the user, logging on to the external application using the user's credentials and retrieving only the content that is targeted for the user. Portal Agents provide single sign-on capability and a profile tracking mechanism. For more information about Portal Agents, see About Portal Agents.