Every so often, it's good to have a reality-check on new technologies. There is so much hype about how a specific technology will change the world, usually within the space of a few months, when actually, it's never quite like that.
If you remember the early days of the Internet, so-called 'bricks and mortar' companies were being encouraged to adopt the Internet and become 'bricks and clicks' to combat the rise of the Internet 'pure-plays'.
Now, in a cogent and well-written contribution to the RFID debate, Ronan Clinton, managing director of Irish mobile data terminal company HeaveyRF, has questioned RFID's ability to replace the bar code technology it has been predicted to outstrip, and likens the current 'RFID revolution' to the dot-com industry of the 90s, when everyone had to have an Internet strategy, or face being left behind.
Clinton doesn't envisage that RFID will die a death. Indeed, he suggests ' far from it'. Nevertheless, he does suggest it will never replace the bar code or reach a level where all the products bought in a supermarket will be electronically tagged. "It just isn't viable, and never can be," he suggests, adding that even the oft-quoted Wal-Mart effect on RFID, may not be quite the 'sure-thing' it seems.
He goes on to argue that despite his reservations over RFID's current hype, RFID can indeed "produce some real benefits when deployed correctly and professionally in a closed-loop environment."
The piece, RFID.Bomb, is worth a read just to get a sense of perspective on where RFID actually is now, rather than where many would like it to be.