Abstract:

The paper proposes an approach to transform an information based portal into a knowledge-based hub.  The study is made on the Agribazaar, which is an information-based portal provided by the Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-based Industry, Malaysia.  Basically, the portal has been developed to offer an internet-based commerce infrastructure for buyers and sellers of agriculture products.  Agribazaar has been found to be successful in bridging the rural connectivity between users locally and globally.  The applications has been accepted and utilized by a substantial number of users in Malaysia and other countries as well.  However, the percentage of usage of the portal could be increased if it is made more competitive.  One way to obtain a greater percentage of market shares is to reconstruct the portal into a new paradigm which is known as a “knowledge-based” hub.  The transformation approach proposed involves five stages namely data repository, metadata, knowledge-based services, application, and security.  The approach proposed aims to illustrate the use of existing information to reconstruct and transform the information-based portal into a knowledge-based hub.  It is also intended to serve as a model for transforming a information based portal to a knowledge-based hub.