Oracle Unwraps RFID Edge Server Upgrades

Oracle Corp. rolled out upgrades to Oracle Sensor Edge Server on Wednesday.

Oracle Sensor Edge Server, an important piece in Oracle Fusion Middleware 10g, lets companies integrate a variety of products from existing IT infrastructures with RFID and sensor networks.

Companies can expect this version to provide out-of-the-box integration with RFID devices; management for RFID tag readers, antennas, tag printers; and better real-time visibility and event management capabilities. "We're trying to make deployment easy for companies that are forced to put in RFID systems," said Amlan Debnath, Oracle vice president of server technologies. "We're continuing to look for ways to simplify the process for companies that have been dragged to the table."

Debnath said companies forced to deploy RFID spend about $100,000 on deployments. But those executives that recognize RFID can deliver a competitive advantage spend more.

Oracle has built in analytics. Once data collects in the repository, reports are available to help employees make sense of the data. "We have made all RFID and sensor information available in a data repository, which enables companies to analyze the data to drive business processes," Debnath said.Integrating Oracle Sensor Edge Server with Oracle Fusion Middleware gives customers RFID-driven business process management and workflows through integration with Oracle's Enterprise Service Bus and BPEL Process Manager. It also delivers pre-packaged business analytics.

Oracle Fusion Middleware, an open standards-based middleware connecting applications, supports service oriented-architecture, a foundation that IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp. and SAP AG also have built apps on. SOA lets companies easily reuse blocks of code that contain business processes.

Debnath said companies forced to deploy RFID spend about $100,000 on deployments. Those that see a strategic advantage spend more because they see the possibilities to improvement their supply chain.

The Oracle Sensor Edge Server and Oracle Fusion Middleware also integrate with Oracle's business applications. This provides customers with a platform to manage one end of the supply chain to the other.

By deploying the Oracle Sensor Edge Server and a platform to support SOA, companies can integrate sensor data into business applications to adapt business processes more easily.Debnath said Oracle will focus future efforts on ease of use, standards, and analysis available in the applications.