RFID Use on the Rise

By Greg McNevin

August 11, 2008: According to a new survey from the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), there is growing interest in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, with 46 percent of the firm’s customers around the world having implemented it in one form or another.

The survey canvassed 155 IT companies around the world and found that almost half have implemented one or more RFID solutions, either as pilot projects or production deployments, and represents a significant jump from a similar 2007 survey where 34 percent had initiated RFID projects.

The most popular RFID deployments are asset tracking, which is used by 32 percent of those surveyed, personal identification (28 percent), supply chain (25 percent), retail marketing (15 percent), and closed-loop manufacturing (9 percent).

The deployments are quite diverse too, with industries including services, government, finance, healthcare, retail, communications, and manufacturing all deploying the technology.

“RFID offers adopters of the technology a number of benefits, from improvements in manufacturing, inventory and distribution processes, to reduced costs for product theft, spoilage or obsolescence,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and chief executive officer, CompTIA. “It's incumbent on our industry, with help from organisations such as CompTIA, to help customers overcome any obstacles to RFID usage and help them benefit from the efficiencies RFID can deliver.”

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