In the latest issue of BusinessWeek, there is an in depth piece on cloud computing – Cloud Computing’s Big Bang for Business. One of the sidebars includes a piece on Coca-Cola as an example of a company using a cloud-based system to streamline distribution. In a nutshell, 12,000+ store merchandisers (the guys in the red trucks that stock the Diet Coke at your local grocery store) no longer have to pick up instructions at the warehouse every morning before they head out on their route. “Using smartphones and a cloud computing setup…they stay in constant touch with their bosses and the company’s information storehouse. At the end of each stop, they complete online surveys that give the company a complete picture…in real time.”

This article is one of many recent cloud computing articles, which can make it look like cloud computing is the answer to almost any business problem imaginable. But can cloud computing alone ensure correct, on-time deliveries and solve all of the supply chain problems within large organizations such as Coca-Cola?

In PR, we are always mindful of the hype cycle…when a technology becomes the hot new thing and then becomes over-hyped. Often the interest in the new technology can overshadow the many other technologies it takes to provide a complete solution. For companies like Coca-Cola, the cloud computing infrastructure needs to work in combination of a large number of IT and supply chain management hardware and software.  Over time, reality sets in and the technology loses its youthful allure. Even as the technology matures and gains more widespread adoption, it likely will not be considered as newsworthy as the latest thing.

For example, I recently wrote about RFID, which not too long ago was considered a red hot technology.  Today it’s used for solving multiple business problems ranging from tracking items from the warehouse to the distribution plants to the store shelves, and everywhere in between. Using RFID, if a Coca-Cola employee were to pick up the wrong pallet, he would immediately realize it before hitting the road. More businesses are adopting RFID, even though  it is not garnering national magazine coverage like it once did.

Cloud computing and mobile devices are very important business technologies that justifiably are  getting national magazine headlines. But it’s also important  not to forget that these technologies are only a small piece of a much bigger puzzle.

Imagine what I thought when I saw this as a subject for a newsletter in my Inbox last week. Even in this economy, it seems businesses are searching for business solutions – including RFID – according to RFID Switchboard. However, RFID vendors were mostly absent from a recent industry trade show.

In the article, Andy Kowl says, “Breaking news: thousands of optimistic businesses in one place…If any audience must be talking about RFID, facilities management is a no brainer, right?…Exhibitors use this show as a gauge for how business will be for the balance of the year, and their conclusion was positive. Attendees were also upbeat. Nobody was happy about the economic mess the world was in; but everyone was there to learn, buy and sell.”

Andy isn’t the only one shouting from the rooftops about long-term success with RFID. RFID Monthly posed the question – “Does RFID Have Longevity?” - in a recent newsletter as well, pointing out that RFID is used in many, many applications, from tracking inventory in a warehouse to preventing the counterfeiting of luxury goods.

I think the key piece of information to take away here is that RFID is, in fact, a solution for many business problems. It’s no longer just a system to track a package of pencils from the distribution center to the shelf at your local store. During this time when every penny spent is counted, it’s nice to see a technology that can solve multiple business problems. RFID has all along. But now that people are finally starting to take notice, will the RFID industry deliver the sales and marketing effort to take advantage of the demand?

What do you get when you combine a $250 used RFID scanner purchased on eBay and a low-profile antenna stashed in your car as you drive around Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco? Well, if you’re Chris Paget, you get a half-dozen or so electronic passports within one hour. And thousands of viewers to your video on YouTube and numerous comments on Engadget.

Oh yea, and many articles about your successful hack as well. Including one by Kelly Jackson Higgins of Dark Reading, who explains that, “The security weaknesses of the EPC Gen 2 RFID tags, which lack encryption and true authentication, have been well-known and of concern to privacy advocates for some time. These tags are being used in the new wallet-sized passport cards that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers under the new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative for travel to and from Western Hemisphere countries.”

An article by Dan Kaplan of SC Magazine quotes Paget as stating, “I personally believe that RFID is very unsuitable for tagging people, so I don’t believe that we should have any kind of ID documents with RFID tags on them,” he said. “So my dream for this research would be to see the entire Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative just be scrapped.”

Pretty harsh words across the board. As Vantage has a number of RFID clients, I decided to ask Vivek Khandelwal, Director of Marketing for Verayo, for his opinion on the subject.  Vivek said, “I wouldn’t agree that RFID itself is inappropriate for the WHTI application. I firmly believe that RFID is a great technology for identification application if it ensures that it can prevent unauthorized access to the identity information and protect information stored in the identity document, even if it lands in unauthorized entities.”

According to Vivek, the problem is with the technology currently used. “Unfortunately, the current WHTI cards issued so far are based on long read range RFID (UHF). And even worse, these long read range RFID chips don’t have security of any kind, they can be cloned and they emit all information in the clear to any sneaking reader. But technology exists today that can perhaps be incorporated into the future versions of these cards that can address the security issues.”

He went on to say, “Verayo provides a silicon ‘biometric’ technology that makes these ID chips effectively ‘unclonable.’ Verayo’s silicon biometrics technology works just like human biometric technology, such as fingerprints or DNA. With Verayo’s technology, DHS could collect silicon fingerprints of the ID chip in each WHTI card they issued, and then authenticate the card at the port-of-entry by comparing the ID chip’s silicon fingerprints with those they collected before issuing. It is effectively impossible to copy or model these silicon fingerprints from one ID chip to the other, making these ID chips effectively unclonable.”

So it turns out that there really is a debate over the security of RFID. I look forward to continuing the discussion.

For the Olympics, that is.

EE Times has had some great articles over the last few weeks, leading up to this monumental Olympics. Laurie Sullivan, a freelance writer, contributed a great article a few days ago entitled, “RFID’s the ticket for secure Games.”

In the article, she points out some amazing stats to make the case for RFID – “It is estimated that 3 million athletes, journalists and spectators will gather in Beijing for the Games. Millions more around the world will watch on television. As China savors the attention, AIM Global president Dan Mullen believes the interest in RFID reinforces the idea that the technology has matured enough to support major large-scale events.”

This is great news for the RFID industry. And shows the momentum this industry is gaining in the mainstream, despite rumors of privacy invasion and other false reports.

Laurie states, “The XXIX Olympiad incorporates the ‘latest domestic and international scientific and technological achievements’ and serves as a window to showcase the city’s own ‘achievements and innovative strength’ as millions descend on China, according to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.”

From this we can deduce that RFID is a “technological achievement” and, much like the Olympian athletes that will be competing this week, RFID is ready for the world.

There always seems to be a buzz surrounding RFID. What can the technology do? What can’t it do? What are the privacy issues (or lack thereof) surrounding RFID?

Amy Schurr of PC World recently covered the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) white paper, “RFID Myths and Urban Legends” in the PC World Business Tech@Work section.

She says: “As you know, RFID is an automated data-capture technology. The technology consists of RFID tags, RFID readers, and a data collection and management system. Because RFID can be used for personal identification, there are privacy and security concerns regarding the technology. The ITAA white paper is a useful resource to counter some of these concerns in your company by correcting misinformation…”

Amy hits the nail on the head. While there are some privacy concerns surrounding RFID, the industry is addressing these challenges head on. And as those issues are resolved, we will see a shift in RFID into mainstream applications.

As our client Intelleflex can attest to, RFID is moving into these mainstream applications at an increasingly fast rate. In an article from Paul Schrimpf from last week, he quotes Intelleflex CEO Rich Bravman, “He told me that RFID is “Crossing The Chasm,” to quote the famous technology evolution book by Geoffrey Moore, and will be affecting product distribution and tracking in a wide range of new industries, including agriculture.”

And in closing, Paul mentions, “I’ve approached RFID with some hesitation because of the lack of adoption in ag, but with a clear example of success and what would seem to be a better approach to markets from the RFID industry, it would appear that now might be the time to give it another look.”

And you should too. RFID is not as scary as it sounds, and has the potential to change the way businesses operate.