WebSphere Portal Server, being announced Thursday, is a slimmed-down version of the more powerful WebSphere Portal Enable and WebSphere Portal Extend, the top of IBM's portal product portfolio.

Portal Server, which is designed to insulate IBM against entry-level portal offerings from Oracle and Microsoft, sells for US$2,500 for a 20-user pack or $50,000 per processor. That compares with $95,000 per processor for Portal Enable and $130,000 per processor for Portal Extend.

IBM has been selling Portal Server online since July and will begin disk shipments starting Thursday, said Chris Lamb, WebSphere Portal market manager.

The product is targeted at businesses that want to build customized Web applications to be used in customer call centers, human resource departments, or other areas for the first time. The core functionality and simple licensing is designed to help customers get the sites up and running fast.

"Because of the stress and strain IT departments are under, they need to get products out quickly," Lamb said.