WORLD WIDE WEB - The race for portal dominance is on. Despite the newness of portals in credit union land, the race has been going on for quite a while. A number of players have either launched or are getting ready to launch a portal product that they hope will become the portal of choice for credit unions. But portals aren't developed overnight. The average portal product takes at least six months of development, and in some cases can take up to a year, according to many of the current CU portal providers. Being an early player obviously carries some importance. Internet banking behemoth Digital Insight, Calabasas, Calif., showed the industry just how important being first with a hot technology product can be. The company, which has its roots in the credit union industry, was one of the first out of the gates with a quality Web design/Net banking product. Today Digital Insight is one of the dominant Net banking providers in the financial industry. Being first also helped the portal of all portals-Yahoo!-become one of the most popular personal home pages for Web surfers. But there's more to being first. There's filling a niche, and having a good product. Not surprisingly, each of the major players in the credit union portal space believes that its portal has something unique and different that sets it apart from the others. Credit unions, of course, will be the ultimate judges of portal prowess. Featured here are a handful of portal players that are aggressively targeting the credit union industry. One common theme echoed by these companies is that their portal is-and likely always will be-a work in progress. They say the changing nature of not only the Web, but of credit unions, makes it so. -
pgentile@cutimes.com
