Software
giant Microsoft on Thursday unveiled its plans for a technology that moves data
to and from handheld radio frequency identification devices and helps develop
applications that make use of that data.
The announcement of Microsoft's increased involvement in the market could be
good news for RFID, a technology that has been plagued by high component and
setup costs and low adoption rates among smaller businesses.
Microsoft BizTalk RFID Mobile is an extension of the company's eight-year-old
BizTalk Server which acts as a kind of aggregation and management point for
corporate data stored in various devices and applications. BizTalk Server
already includes support for fixed RFID devices.
BizTalk RFID Mobile, which is expected to debut later this year, collects and
distributes data to and from mobile RFID devices and allows companies to store,
update, and share that data with the appropriate departments.
"For RFID to be widely adopted it has to be integrated into the general
business operation, instead of being a separate piece requiring separate
management," said Allan Krans, an analyst with Technology Business
Research.
RFID has evolved as a fairly self-contained technology used in activities such
as asset tracking, automated toll booths, supply chain management, and shipment
tracking.
"Microsoft's product helps to integrate the use and management of RFID
into the rest of the business operation particularly among SMBs where Microsoft
is strong," Mr. Krans said.
RFID has been championed by very large entities such as Wal-Mart, and the
Department of Defense, and has been heavily marketed by firms focused on large
businesses such as IBM. But the cost of RFID hardware along with the various
setup and upheaval costs has kept it out of the reach of many SMBs.
But integrating mobile RFID into Windows Mobile and Windows CE devices could
expand the reach of RFID into the SMB sphere.
"If you are going to offer an RFID solution, you need to offer a wide
variety of form factors to accommodate all kinds of devices and for Microsoft
to offer an application that spans fixed and mobile devices is important,"
said Yael Maguire, CTO of ThingMagic, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm
which designs and markets fixed and embedded RFID readers and antennas.
"Microsoft is going beyond supply chain and thinking about applications
that involve mobile devices," he said.
On Thursday ThingMagic made a technology integration announcement with
InnerWireless, a Richardson, Texas-based wireless location services specialist.
The two companies are integrating RFID, WiFi, and other real-time location technologies into a single system for asset tracking, document management, and
location awareness.