It has concentrated knowledge resources in the one spot and had a unifying effect on the organization. For the public, the advantages of the system are significant. The day after a meeting, a resident or ratepayer with Internet access can look up and download the minutes of the previous night's meeting without ever needing to leave their home or office.
Staff produce information and save it to the portal drive.
There is no need to create a set of mirrored HTML documents, which avoids duplication and version problems. By adding the Rich HTML functionality, the Council is able to maintain document formatting integrity, presenting the native files as they would be seen in the original without the need for plug-ins or the authoring environment on the desktop. The system works just as well for the Council's external users who access information via the website. The Council's Internet administrator simply publishes a URL and immediately a permanent link to the document is created. Apart from Council reports and minutes, external users are able to access Council policies and keynote publications such as the organization's management plan, the annual report and the annual budget.