Cisco Systems and SAP have ploughed millions of dollars
into emerging radio frequency identification (RFID) supplier Reva
Systems.
Cisco and SAP have joined venture capitalists in putting a total
of $13.5m (£7.3m) into Reva, with Cisco intending to work on RFID
standards with Reva, and SAP entering a strategic relationship with
the firm.
Reva is developing an RFID appliance to support network
management and scalability challenges “that the RFID community now
recognises as the key to widespread RFID deployment”, said
Reva.
Ashley Stephenson, Reva chairman and co-founder, said, “Reva’s
approach to RFID system management through a network appliance is
being embraced because it is easier to deploy and maintain,
especially in large-scale applications that sprawl across multiple
facilities and locations.”
He said, “It is an approach that will become the standard model
for managing readers and collecting data across any RFID
implementation.”
Reva is helping to develop industry standards to help define
network-to-reader protocols and other standards that will
streamline RFID network integration.
Reva was one of the first RFID suppliers to deliver certified
integration with SAP’s Enterprise Services Auto ID Infrastructure
(SAP AII) solution, launched last year.