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This is a complicated subject that deserves some attention. First, what is a web portal? Simply stated, a web portal presents information and software services in a unified way through a web browser. It is far different than running your own software on your own servers. A web portal application runs on one or more host computers storing data in one or more locations and the use of the portal is paid for on a recurring basis as in a monthly or annual fee. The major advantages of a web portal are:

• No investment in hardware
• Little or no investment in software (unless the service is customized) as the application is rented as needed
• No support staff is required to maintain server or client systems
• Software can be operated from anywhere in the world

So let’s look at a custom Inventory Control system to compare. If you were to purchase this and the server that it requires, it would cost upwards of $25,000 not including customization and portable data terminals / bar code scanners and the monthly support would cost roughly $225 per month. So if you amortize the cost over 5 years and add the month-to-month, it would add up to about $650 per month at which point new hardware and would probably be needed.

Compare this to the cost to of a basic Inventory Control Web Portal Application – between $420 and $600. A maintenance-free solution at a considerable savings.

So when you are looking at new software, consider Web Portal solutions.

The Path Less Traveled

When was the last time you visited with nature, all by yourself.  To walk, sit, watch, hear and most of all empty your mind of the clutter. I know, it’s harder than cleaning the basement. But it’s a powerful and rewarding experience.  This time of year especially.  Sounds seem to travel farther.  Colors are more brilliant.  Air seems fresh and clean. 

The birds are transients this time of year, gathering, singing and nervously flittering  as if something was beckoning them.  Leaves rustle from the footsteps of chipmunks or squirrels or maybe some larger creatures.  Ponds are full of ducks and geese catching their breath before they once again begin the arduous journey south. 

So why wouldn’t you spend some time pondering.  Calm yourself.  Take a moment to consider….. nothing.  And if you do it once, why wouldn’t you do it again and again? Think about making a change in your schedule.   Think about calendaring an hour to have a meeting with nature. Combine it with a walk or a jog.  Breathe the air deeply. Look past the trees in front of you.  Find water. Puddles, ponds, lakes or oceans. Look for small creatures moving in the water.   Consider how nature works.  How water flows.  How the wind blows.  How the trees sway.  How the clouds move.  How the rain falls.  How the leaves fall.  Just spend some time contemplating the things you don’t spend time contemplating every other day.  It does change your perspective.

Looking for an interesting book?  Have a look at Blink. Blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. It is a study of the impact our instantaneous unconscious thought process has on our decisions, judgments and reactions.  The evidence is uncanny how our unconscious mind does not communicate with our conscious mind, but does communicate with our emotions and judgments. It explains why we might react in a certain way without understanding why, it is our unconscious brain affecting our emotions. 

It is used by marketers to manipulate our first impressions. And it can be seen in our faces when we instantly react to a statement or situation. It makes you ponder how you think in the moment vs. with sense and sensibility.  Your first reactions can be tested by looking at your pulse, sweat and breathing.  You can’t help your instantaneous immediate reaction.  It is part of you.  You don’t think about it because it arrives in a blink of an eye. Some might call it intuition.  Whatever it is, it is powerful and commanding.