RFID is on of the best business opportunities on the horizon for VARs. Vendor are pushing as hard as they can to make it work. So far, though, it's not clear when it will either work for users, or turn into contracts for VARs.

When Wal-Mart decreed that its top suppliers would have to install Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips in pallet and case-sized loads, a lot of potential RFID users celebrated. It meant Wal-Mart and its cronies would be doing a lot of the work to get RFID working. Fast forward a couple of years and Wal-Mart's cronies still don't have it working very well, and everyone else who's interested in it is having problems, too. Installing RFID networks would be great business for network and data integrators, analysts say. Vendors are putting all the effort they can into making RFID work, but so far, customers aren't biting. Below are links to recent developments in RFID that can help you get up to speed on RFID, even if no one can really predict when you'll be able to get to work on it. RFID-Ready (or Not)

Issues

Homeland Security Denies it's Using RFID for RFID-like Application

SAP Plans RFID Roadmap for SMBs

Group Aims to End VAR Ignorance on RFID

HP, Microsoft Launch RFID Development


Costs: Analysis from CIOInsight:

Resource Library:

RFID: The Cost of Being Smart

Planner: Calculating Costs of Tracking Individual Items with RFID

Calculator: RFID Set-Up Costs

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