Patent ID: 7093285

Claim:
A process for managing business, technical and operational data which uses a single interface in a shared space environment over the Internet comprising the steps of: providing a supplier portal from which new guests indicate, using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the supplier portal Web page, whether they are a registered user or not; determining whether a guest is a registered user from input by the guest, and if not a registered user, prompting the guest to select “Register” to link to guest registration (GR) where they can obtain a Web userid/password that enables them to obtain user-level registration for any of global procurement applications available under the supplier portal; when a guest obtains a Web userid/password in GR, storing guest information in a GR data store; determining whether any applications have been authorized for a registered guest and, if not, prompting the guest to register for restricted applications in a portal common registration (PCR) where information is stored in a PCR data store throughout an application's approval cycle; accessing information from the GR data store to automatically build a customized home page for the guest, this home page being modified and updated as the guest's requests for access to applications get approved; determining whether approval is needed for a requested application and, if so, sending by email a request for approval to the application administrator and receiving a response from the application administrator; storing links to all applications for which the guest is approved, these links being reflected in the personalized supplier portal home page which displays a list of links to all of the applications for which the guest has been registered and authorized; defining 1 to n level approval cycles a user must go through to get authorized to access an application; logging in by a registered guest by inputting the guest's userid/password once for each session, as long as applications requested by the guest are in a same realm; and invoking by a logged in guest any of their approved applications by simply clicking the link to the desired application in the guest's customized home page.