Retail giants Wal-Mart in the US and Metro in Europe have given new impetus to radio frequency identification (RFID) technology by demanding its implementation by top suppliers, but surprisingly, neither of these markets seems any more mature than the South African market.
At an international RFID workshop hosted by Siemens in Munich, Germany, this week, it soon became clear that SA is not lagging in any way when it comes to this technology. Why did I ever assume we would be?
Although SA may not be engaged in the RFID patient-tracking and record-keeping projects in hospitals that were highlighted at the event, local companies are making strides in other areas.
As far as I could tell, local implementations of access control systems are on a par with anywhere else in the world, while several South African implementations of RFID systems, such as those for tracking and identifying miners, vehicles and cargo pallets, are on the leading edge.
South African developers of RFID-based solutions have done a good job of ensuring they have access to the latest technology, whether developed locally or overseas.
Warwick Ashford, portals managing editor, ITWeb
It was also clear from the event that South African developers of RFID-based solutions have done a good job of ensuring they have access to the latest technology, whether that is developed locally or overseas.
Not only do South African solution developers and RFID equipment vendors appear to have a good handle on the technology, but they also understand that RFID is not an automatic replacement for bar coding.
Speakers at the event suggested that bar coding would not disappear any time soon and that RFID and barcodes were likely to co-exist for years to come, but this attitude is already well established locally.
While South African solution developers and equipment vendors are well-informed, the local market still needs a lot of education around the strengths, weaknesses and overall potential of RFID as an enabling technology, but in this we are not alone.
In session after session in Munich, it also became clear that the US and European markets are in as much need of education around RFID as those in SA. But surely overseas markets are more developed than ours?
Not so. Speakers at the RFID workshop consistently described markets as "undeveloped, extremely small and still in their infancy". Considering the hype surrounding RFID, who would have thought that even overseas, markets are far from developed or mature?
Contrary to the impressions the recent hype around RFID may have created, to get real about the international RFID market means to realise it is still extremely small and that growing the market is more a priority in the short-term than having to develop anything to meet market needs.
Having seen some of the innovative projects being undertaken in SA, I am confident that local RFID technology and solution developers could easily tap into international markets with products that are likely to be highly competitive.
South African companies have been involved in several RFID pilot implementations around the world and the event in Munich made it clear why. In the absence of any world standards around RFID, the international market is open to solutions that work well and deliver measurable business benefit.
In recent times, much attention has been given to developing SA as a software competency centre, but it seems the focus should also be on developing the local RFID-based industry as a world leader.
As IBM technology strategist Nick Donofrio pointed out during a recent visit to Johannesburg, SA could be the leader of technological innovation in the 21st Century as easily as any other country in the world. So, what are we waiting for?
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