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.

Written by Tory Klaubo Patrick