Tagging the Future

RFID is coming!

That's the message in recent headlines declaring an HP partnership with BEA, a Sun alliance with SAP, and a series of case studies on RFID deployment. (See HP & BEA Tag-Team on RFID, Dutch Bookstore Rolls Out RFID, Sun, SAP Collaborate on RFID, TrueDemand Links Retailer Ops, Kimberly-Clark Goes for RFID, Axcess Teams With Texas A&M, and Alaska Opts for Universal Guardian.)

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is not just replacing barcoding worldwide it's also making headway wherever an organization needs to tag and track an item or device.

To review: RFID works by using tags on an item that emit radio signals. "Reader" devices pick up these signals, enabling the products to be tracked. Unlike barcode technology, RFID does not require direct contact, or what is known as "line-of-sight" scanning.

That expands the range of possiblities for tracking. Besides products in a retail store's inventory or auto parts in a factory, for instance, RFID can track medication for healthcare suppliers – and double as a security gatekeeper. (See Group Calls for Security Shakeup.)RFID is also being coupled with wireless technologies for a range of applications, as noted in our sister publication Unstrung. (See RFID: The Quiz.)

Indeed, RFID is cited as one of the emerging hot technologies by nearly every futurist in the IT world. Whether that's bad or good for storage managers depends on their organizations' readiness to pay for the underlying storage an RFID deployment requires.

That could be sizeable. By at least one estimate, RFID can generate 30 Mbytes monthly for just five products in a distribution center. (See RFID Rocks Back-End Storage.)

Is RFID coming to your SAN or NAS? It's worth taking a closer look.

— Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and SwitchOrganizations mentioned in this article: