There''s an impending ''shakeout'' coming in the RFID industry, according to ABI Research, which says that tags and readers - which have for so long been the focus of attention - are soon to lose limelight to the software that drives the data usage.

      Tags and readers are often thought of as the ''business end'' of RFID, being where data about tagged items is stored and collected. But according to ABI Research, the business end of RFID is actually hidden deep inside the enterprise, and the raw data is of little value until it''s put to use in operational machinery. 116.30.151.81 This article is copyright 2005 UsingRFID.com.

Software
     Increasingly, attention is turning to the software that enables RFID data use within the enterprise, and new initiatives are popping up quickly. ABI Research believes that this space is primed for a shakeout in the coming six to nine months, predicting that there will be rollups, acquisitions and consolidation, as the need for more focused RFID-related software and applications grows.

     These changes are explored in the latest release of ABI Research''s ''RFID Research Service'', which offers regular updates on the RFID market. According to Erik Michielsen, ABI Research''s director of RFID and ubiquitous networks, movement into this software space comes from several directions: "SAP (with its Auto ID Infrastructure, part of NetWeaver) is pushing down from the enterprise application space and picking up functions traditionally done by OATSystems, Acsis, Connecterra, Sun, and Globeranger."

Broader focus
     In turn, some of those companies are broadening their focus beyond RFID middleware and into data analytics, business intelligence and automation networking. According to Michielsen, OATSystems is a good example of this: "OAT is pushing up and becoming competitive with some NetWeaver functionality; and it is joined in the business intelligence space by T3Ci."

     And Sun, Connecterra, Oracle and Microsoft are all moving into this field according to their respective strengths. Others, such as Manhattan Associates and Siemens, continue to develop RFID middleware in house, but Michielsen questions the need to keep building closed-system and/or customised solutions between the reader and the enterprise application integration layer, saying, "I think they would be better off partnering and focusing resulting free energy on services and higher end software."

 

 

 

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