AXCESS International Inc. has published the results of a case study determining the return on investment (ROI) for using semi-active RFID to tag computers and peripheral equipment at a high-security computer laboratory at the US Department of Defense.

     The study was based on an AXCESS ActiveTag system installed at the computer laboratory. Numerous man hours are expended daily at computer labs locating, tracking and protecting assets. Published asset losses for government agencies have ranged from 1% to 4% of the asset base per year, whereas losses at typical businesses are higher. 116.30.142.201 This article is copyright 2006 UsingRFID.com.

Instant ROI? 
     According to the study, the use of battery-powered RFID tags, when placed on equipment valued at US$5,000 or more, and activated only on-demand at doorways, provided automatic inventory, location determination and protection against theft. The study covered more than 1,300 assets in 14 different rooms, identifying more than US$37,000 in labour savings, with an immediate payback. The study concluded that the ROI would be even greater for lower security and typical enterprise installations, providing both technical and economic

justification for installing semi-active RFID tags for IT physical asset management.

     "We''ve established a clear ROI for the automatic physical asset management of IT equipment," said Allan Griebenow, president and CEO of AXCESS. "The true power of RFID tagging comes from labour savings, reduced asset counting and protection (including intellectual property, trade secrets and personal data privacy). The ability to automatically locate, count

and protect IT assets and data has the potential to reduce costs and exposures at all enterprise and government facilities."

Interviewing the chief
     Using RFID interviewed Griebenow, and was told that the coming trend for active RFID will be in the use of the technology for locating and protecting high value items, assets and inventory. Griebenow''s view is that the future is very promising for active RFID, despite the current market focus on its cheaper cousin, the passive tag. Indeed, as far as security and secure identification applications go, we can expect "cradle to grave" tie-ups with vehicle and cargo weight monitoring stations (e.g. weighbridges), drivers, trucks, ships, containers,

ports, docks, warehouses, offices, and even employee access control systems. Even the furniture is likely to be tagged and tracked, eventually.

     We asked Griebenow if he thought Wal-Mart and the other major mandate implementers were missing opportunities for greater efficiency and tracking by specifying passive RFID tags, despite the obvious cost benefits. Griebenow maintains that such initiatives are doing exactly the right thing for the current market conditions, based on the technology that is available at a viable price point. In fact, he asserts that the active RFID market will benefit greatly in the long term from such a widespread implementation of passive technology, as the market is being opened up, and vital educational and operational processes are evolving on a global basis. And this growing awareness of the technology expands the potential for all

RFID-based systems, not just passive systems.

Corporate applications
     In the shorter term, however, there seems to be a positive need for semi-active RFID in keeping track of - and providing accountability for - high-value assets. For example, in the USA, the average value of intellectual property on a corporate laptop computer is around US$28,000 (not even considering the US$3,000+ cost of the equipment itself). At the same time, around 3% of corporate laptops go missing each year, and AXCESS reports that around 94% of assets that leave companies without being assigned to a named custodian also go missing. On a company-wide scale, the losses are worrying. On a national scale, the losses are incredible. And that''s how semi-active RFID-based tracking, tracing and accountability systems can achieve ROI so quickly.

     The results of the company''s ROI study are available in a white paper entitled ''The ROI for Automatic IT Asset Inventory, Location, and Protection Using RFID'', which has been made available for free download from the company''s web site.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                             Extract From Using RFID