A survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan indicates that the RFID market in the US is expected to grow at a combined rate of close to 20% per year
Kay. si. Jones, InformationWeek
In the next six years, the market for radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the US is expected to grow at a combined rate of nearly 20% per year - according to the results of a study published by Frost & Sullivan. Still, many businesses are still not prepared to deal with the growth, according to a survey conducted by the Computer and High-Tech Industry Association (CompTIA) in the USA. 75% of the companies that responded to CompTIA's survey stated that they do not have enough skilled employees in the field and 80% estimated that the lack of skill may harm the rate of adoption of RFID technology.
David Sommer, vice president of e-commerce and software solutions at CompTIA, points out that many factors are encouraging the growth of RFID technology - including the formation of uniform standards, mutual support and falling prices - but companies must train their employees in order to make the most of the technology's benefits.
"The prices of the tags, chips and antennas will drop to the level of 10 to 17 cents per unit, depending on how the technology is implemented, and the prices will continue to drop until they reach extremely attractive levels," Sommer estimates. In 2007, consumers will be able to distinguish more tags on the products themselves - from high-end electronic devices to medicines - and later also on more everyday products.
"In the first step, the tags will be attached to expensive products that are easy to fake," says Sommer. "It will be quite some time before they are attached to a tube of toothpaste. It's a question of time and price." When the tags arrive for clothing products as well, it is likely that devices will be installed at the cash registers that will destroy the tag. However, companies must train employees to use the technology. "Only a few know how to attach tags in a way that makes it easier to read and how to configure the readers so that they work correctly," says Sommer. He calls for training the installers of the solutions as well as the end users.
