RFID Software Planned

Radio frequency ID (RFID) tag-tracking software will be bundled with BizTalk Server 2006 R2, which could help customers build RFID-tracking solutions on Windows. RFID tags are inexpensive wireless data storage chips built into billions of identity cards, shipping pallets, and labels for high-value consumer items, replacing or augmenting earlier tracking technologies such as bar codes. By standardizing RFID hardware interfaces and providing basic infrastructure for processing incoming RFID tag data, Microsoft’s planned BizTalk RFID software could make the technology more usable on Windows. However, the software faces entrenched competitors, and RFID technology itself continues to face adoption barriers.

RFID Increasingly Important in Key Markets

Microsoft is introducing its BizTalk RFID software because the technology has become increasingly important in several critical industries, including government, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare.

RFID tags are electronic chips with small amounts of data storage. The tags can be read and sometimes written to by radio signals and are often small enough to embed in consumer items or even paper labels attached to items. They have several advantages over tracking technologies such as magnetic stripes and bar codes: they can be read at longer distances, without requiring exact positioning of the reader by a human operator, and readers can access many tags simultaneously. These characteristics have made RFID tags attractive for a variety of applications: