CRM News: RFID

Customer Data and Wireless Payments: Does Convenience Trump Security?
August 18, 2008

Warning: Your personal data may be at risk. As RFID devices work their way into consumers' everyday lives, the potential for data breaches grows rapidly. RFID technology used to be used primarily to track warehouse operations and perform inventory control through. Now, this same technology is finding its way into smart keys -- keys that merely need to come close to a lock in order to unlock it.

Study: RFID Tags May Scramble Hospital Equipment
June 25, 2008

A new study is raising questions over how radio frequency identification chips could be interacting with hospital equipment. The report, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests RFID chips could cause some medical devices to fail when in close contact.

Cisco Tackles Enterprise IT's Wireless Tangle
May 28, 2008

Cisco on Wednesday unveiled a new hardware platform and four applications it said will help enterprise IT departments effectively manage their mobility services across a broad spectrum of mobile networks. The core component of Cisco Motion is the Cisco 3300 Series Mobility Services Engine, a single appliance-based platform with an open application programming interface.

Smarter Than Your Average Card
April 17, 2008

Think having a credit or debit card with your photo on it is cool? Well, how about a card the same size and thickness as a credit card, with a window that shows a passcode, and with a public key infrastructure chip on it? When you need to use the card, press on its switch and the PKI chip will run an algorithm that generates a one-time passcode for you to use.

IBM Soups Up RFID-Ready Server
April 07, 2008

IBM is unveiling upgrades to its WebSphere Premises Server at Impact, its SOA event taking place in Las Vegas this week. The buffed-up SOA software -- Version 6.1 -- and IBM's RFID Information Center will be the two main product spotlights at the event. The cumulative effect of the improvements is that users will find it far easier to gather, analyze and act upon data.

Reports: RFID Ripe for Supply Chain
March 06, 2008

RFID has gained ascendancy in the corporate world more by fiat than through efforts to persuade suppliers that the technology could deliver internal returns -- at least, in the beginning. With the requirement to deploy it or lose contracts handed down by such entities as Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense, partners scrambled to comply.

Easing RFID Integration With Microsoft BizTalk Server
January 24, 2008

Microsoft recently announced RFID enablement for its BizTalk Server software and numerous supporting RFID partner companies. These announcements and the use cases and solutions resulting from them reflect Aberdeen Group research, which shows that 62 percent of survey respondents now cite data integration as their chief cost concern regarding RFID.

RFID: Thinking Outside the Box, Part 2
October 18, 2007

RFID technology vendors are now seeing demand from a wider range of end users for a broader range of applications -- from ID and access control to asset tracking, traceability and supply chain management. Vendors and developers are looking forward to the day when process improvements and demand reach a point where competing suppliers will drive down costs and lever RFID growth to the next level.

RFID: Thinking Outside the Box, Part 1
October 11, 2007

Vendors and developers have invested large sums in RFID (radio frequency identification) and heavily promoted its use, especially in the retail, credit card and transportation industries, as well as across sectors for supply chain and inventory management. Retailers, among others -- small and medium-sized businesses, particularly -- haven't been keen to jump on the RFID wagon, however.

New Opportunities for RFID in the SMB Arena, Part 2
October 08, 2007

Improving RFID systems for specific applications and industry sectors -- along with mandates from governments and large companies with extensive supply chains and logistics needs -- is spurring adoption by a wider range of small and medium-sized businesses in the public and private sectors.

IBM Continues to Push RFID Open Standards
October 02, 2007

IBM made several developments in its RFID partner and product platform that should make software and hardware integration of the technology easier for firms. For starters, standards organization GS1 EPCglobal has certified the IBM WebSphere RFID Information Center as fully compliant with its EPCIS standard.

New Opportunities for RFID in the SMB Arena, Part 1
October 02, 2007

Radio-frequency identification has been a highly touted technology in recent years, but concerns -- particularly among small and medium-sized businesses -- about high costs and actual benefits have hindered its adoption. That's gradually changing as developers and vendors focus on systems design, development and interoperability of specific applications in the public and private sectors.

Possible RFID-Cancer Link Rattles Market
September 11, 2007

News that there may be a link between implanted RFID chips and cancer in mice and rats sent VeriChip shares plunging by as much as 14 percent on Tuesday. The company's troubles began over the weekend with reports of three studies in the United States and Europe detailing increased risk in rodents that received implanted chips.

Tracking Medication With IBM's RFID Tech
August 14, 2007

IBM upgraded the functionality in its RFID technology tailored for the pharmaceutical industry that it introduced in December. The company's WebSphere RFID Information Center version 1.1 will now help pharma companies comply with the ePedigree laws going into effect in California and elsewhere. The application also has new alert functionality that can help identify counterfeit products.

Survey: RFID Development Outpacing Demand
June 25, 2007

While vendors are gearing up for greater use of RFID applications in the supply chain, customers have been slow to accept them, a new survey shows. Retail, pharma and automotive "are the areas in which we have seen the greatest interest and deployment of RFID," said Steven Ostrowski, spokesperson for the Computing Technology Industry Association.

IT Shrugs Off Criticism of Dual-Purpose RFID Label
May 21, 2007

Checkpoint Systems earlier this month rolled out a line of RFID-enabled labels with both advanced inventory control and item-tracking capabilities. The Thorofare, N.J.-based company said the dual-purpose label will help retailers consolidate their use of radio frequency identification technology.