IDC interviewed 1,113 people with a Web-based survey instrument in May 2004. Respondents were recruited through banner ads placed on Portals Magazine's Web site. Readers of Portals Magazine's email newsletter were also sent a link to the survey. The self-selecting respondents were offered free research as incentive to participate. Technology and software services firms involved in the portal ecosystem were removed from the data set to ensure this respondent base comprises portal buyers rather than suppliers.

IDC collected information from companies involved in portal initiatives that give insight into their interest in using various technologies to support this initiative. The data cannot be extrapolated to the overall worldwide market, but provides insight into current and future trends within the portal-buying segment.

"The portal software market performed well in 2003. Demand for technologies used to provide access to experts, applications, and information will continue to be strong over the next five years," said Brian McDonough, research manager of the Enterprise Portal Software and Packaged Composite Applications program at IDC. "Vendors in the portal ecosystem can capitalize on this opportunity by providing the appropriate mix of functions, as indicated by the findings from our latest demand-side survey."

"For CRM applications providers, the synergies between portal technologies and CRM applications technologies point to strong partnership and comarketing opportunities," said Mary Wardley, vice president of the CRM Applications program at IDC. "End-user organizations are wrestling with access to and distribution of customer information that a joint portal, CRM application architecture solves."