German business software supplier SAP and chip maker
Infineon Technologies have launched a new software management
system for connecting RFID (radio frequency identification)
hardware and software from multiple suppliers.
The RFID platform is based on SAP's NetWeaver integration and
application server middleware, including the software supplier's
Auto-ID Infrastructure and SAP Event Management applications, and
on Infineon's You-R Open software, designed to connect readers,
smart tags and other RFID devices with back-office software.
The platform aims to help companies speed up deployment of
smart-tag systems and reduce the costs of managing both hardware
and software components from several suppliers, according to SAP
spokesman Roland Edwards.
The end-to-end system is geared to manage the entire RFID chain,
from tags to applications, including device management.
Infineon - better known for its chips - developed software
designed to manage the interface between front-end RFID hardware
devices and back-end software, according to Edwards.
SAP is delivering software designed to take the captured RFID
data and "put it into business processes, allowing people to work
with this information", he said.
The platform focuses on supply chain management, an area in
which several companies, including Wal-Mart Stores and German
retailer Metro, are planning extensive RFID technology roll-outs in
the coming months, according to Edwards.
It is also an area less subject to data privacy concerns.
Hackles from privacy advocates over the use of smart-tags to track
products in store shelves and ultimately in shoppers' bags have
forced Wal-Mart and Metro, among others, to scale back their
ambitious RFID plans.
Last week, SAP issued a call to action for an open public
discussion on the benefits and implications of RFID technology,
beginning with a meeting of industry representatives in
Germany.
The company also plans to host RFID panel discussions in
conjunction with several key trade events next year, including
National Manufacturing Week in Chicago and Cebit in Hanover,
Germany.
In addition, SAP plans to establish a SAP Community Web forum
this month for customers, partners, suppliers and other interested
parties to share information on RFID-related issues.
John Blau writes for IDG News Service