Microsoft Extends RFID to Mobile Devices

Published: April 23, 2008

by Alex Woodie

Companies that use Microsoft's BizTalk Server 2006 software to manage the flow of data and documents among supply chain management (SCM) software will soon have the capability to plug mobile RFID readers into their infrastructure. The new software, called BizTalk RFID Mobile, turns Windows CE and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices into portable RFID chip readers.

RFID--or radio frequency identification--hasn't taken off the way the technology backers hoped it would when it jumped on the scene with Wal-Mart's supplier mandate way back in 2003. Just the same, the technology has an enormous potential to revolutionize the tracking of anything that you can attach an RFID chip to. As soon as the price of RFID chips comes down and the data standardization issues are hashed out, you can expect to see a lot more RFID in the enterprise.

And when that occurs, Microsoft will be ready. Last week, it announced the first beta of BizTalk RFID Mobile, a set of development tools and software components designed to allow developers to write RFID-aware applications that run on Windows CE and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices equipped with RFID sensors. These smart devices upload the RFID data to BizTalk Server 2006 R2, which serves as the core business process hub and doles out the RFID data to ERP and SCM applications as necessary.

BizTalk Server 2006 R2, which shipped in September, already offered support for fixed RFID readers--the type that are currently being installed in warehouse loading bays around the country. However, the software lacked support for mobile RFID readers, which is what BizTalk RFID Mobile will deliver.

"It's only natural that Microsoft extends BizTalk RFID out to mobile devices, and it complements its mobile hardware partners very well," says John Fontanella, vice president of research at AMR Research. "The ability to operate at the edge in real time opens up opportunities that can only further enhance RFID's value."

Microsoft has started a private beta test of BizTalk RFID Mobile. The company says the product should be generally available in late 2008.

Microsoft also announced the BizTalk RFID Standards Pack, which brings tools to help customers integrate their RFID applications with several Electronic Product Code (EPC)-related standards, including Tag Data Translator (TDT) and Low Level Reader Protocol (LLRP) standards.

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