Corporate web portal is a single point entry to all information related to the business entity. It contains diverse information accessible by every employee of the company through a single channel bringing about a unified system of working culture within the entity. This system gained popularity during the 1990s when the world opened up to globalisation. With the consumers spread world wide, providing information on the type of business involved, the products and services rendered, the customers, etc became the need of the hour.

From the point of view of the employees and the prospective employees, the corporate web portal plays an immense role in the fulfilment of their professional goals. Identification of the type of business involved, the kind of working culture being followed, and the type of work associated with the entity, all play a crucial role in choosing a career based for a prospective employee on the basis of his individual strengths. If the work involved is in tune with the individual strengths, the probability of the prospective employee contributing significantly to the business entity is high.

In case of an employee of the organisation, corporate web portal is the window that assists in ensuring the smooth flow of work within the concern. Information related to company policies and procedures are unified and are made available to all the employees using the corporate web portal. For example, the information related to human resources functions will be placed under a single window. Details on the individual salary, leave history, list of holidays, directions for the submission of bills, data on employee stock options, etc can be retrieved by accessing this window. Laying out the procedure to be followed on an onsite visit being made to the customer work place can reduce the wastage of time involved in unnecessary running around the organisation. In case of large business entities which have many offices within the same city, identifying the role of each office in the absence of a corporate web portal will otherwise be time consuming. Thus the web portals can direct the time and energy of the employees to more productive channels.

The corporate web portal brings the entire workforce under one single umbrella, making it possible to have a single unified code for the whole entity. The changes in the company structure, policies, and other modifications can be easily communicated to the entire work force within a short span of time. Access to updated information on a real time basis is required for taking effective and productive decisions. Web portals remove the barrier of redtapism to a great extent within the large business undertakings.

Corporate intranet is a source for climbing up the career ladder. Information on the training and developmental activities are made known through this system. Similarly, the modern day companies use its intranet to recruit people from within the company. India’s IT major Wipro, gives the employees the option to map their individual career through the opportunities advertised in its intranet, ‘Wings Within’. Opportunities within the same entity can be exploited on the basis of the information provided by the companies in its intranet, thereby augmenting the productivity of the individual.

Knowledge-sharing through the intranet channels helps in augmenting one’s productivity considerably. Intranet is also used as a medium for applauding the contributions of the employees to the organisation, thereby serving as a motivating channel. Corporate portals also add to the productivity of the employees by adding the fun element into it. "We were redesigning our intranet and realised what we had was rather flat. We wanted something that would mean that employees went to it of their own volition," says George Joseph, manager of talent engagement and development at Wipro. Channel W was set up with this intention in mind which gives the employees the forum to share knowledge, set up interest groups, buy and sell their personal belongings, etc.

Corporate web portal as a unifying and motivating channel thus contributes significantly to the productivity of the employees.