• The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
Menu
  • The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Magic Throws iBOLT into RFID Fray

    March 16, 2004 Alex Woodie

    Magic Software made its first move into the burgeoning market for radio frequency identification (RFID) technology last week. Magic officials provided a high-level view of how its integration software, called iBOLT, will be used to glue events captured by RFID readers with ERP and “legacy” OS/400 applications. Meanwhile, IBM upped the RFID ante with its acquisition of Trigo Technologies, for an undisclosed sum.

    Wal-Mart created this buzz about RFID last year, when it told suppliers they would need to start putting electronic chips, called RFID or EPC tags, onto shipments starting January 1, 2005. Several Wal-Mart competitors, including Target and Albertsons, have followed in the retail giant’s footsteps with RFID mandates of their own, and the Pentagon has made similar requirements of defense contractors. The supply chains of these four organizations alone tops more than half a trillion dollars, and touches an untold number of OS/400 shops.

    With billions of dollars poised to be spent on RFID in the ensuing years, technology providers have, not surprisingly, dashed into the fray. While the Uniform Code Council‘s EPCglobal subsidiary has yet to finalize the electronic product code (EPC) standard, it hasn’t stopped some software vendors from declaring themselves, rather prematurely, as leading RFID providers.

    Things are, thankfully, a bit more sane in the OS/400 world. AS/400 and iSeries shops are, first and foremost, cautious adopters of new applications and new technology. RFID isn’t exactly new technology (ranchers have used it for years to track cattle), but the supply chain applications that Wal-Mart and others have in mind most certainly are. With less than nine months before the industry’s first RFID deadline, the standards are not yet ready, which has led some to suspect the deadlines will be softened, while others fear the standards process will be shortcut to put RFID into production.

    With all this uncertainty, Magic Software’s approach to RFID makes sense. The company is not trying to become a one-stop shop for all of your RFID needs. (At least, it hasn’t announced that intention yet.) What the Israeli-owned company has said is that it sees iBOLT–the enterprise application integration (EAI) toolset with OS/400-specific hooks, which the company launched early last year–as playing an important role in integrating RFID processes into the whole.

    In a Webinar last Wednesday, Lee Sutton, Magic systems engineer, explained how iBOLT’s business process modeling editor could help companies, especially OS/400 shops, map out how RFID will fit into their existing business processes. Once those events and processes are defined, iBOLT’s execution environment, which features a message bus and an array of connectors for programming languages and ERP applications, can put the integration into production.

    The key is understanding what RFID events will take place and what is going to occur when those events launch, Sutton says. “Depending on the RFID event, the integration activity needs to support a large number of triggers,” he says. “The nice thing about iBOLT is that we can put a large number of triggers in the trigger area that are based on events, such as the capture of an RFID piece of information . . . but then we can execute the same business rules. You don’t have to define new business rules for the [RFID] readers, which leads to faster implementation times and a better ROI [return on investment].”

    There are a variety of processes that RFID events can kick off in iBOLT, Sutton says. For example, iBOLT’s triggering mechanism could be set up to automatically generate an EDI message to place an order for specific parts when an RFID reader sees a specific part go by. Alternatively, iBOLT can simulate a user going into a 5250 emulator and updating legacy information directly, he says. “There’s a lot of flexibility on triggers,” he says.

    Magic Software has no definite plans to develop RFID-specific enhancements in iBOLT, according to company spokesman David Leichner, who says the company is working with several large logistics operators that already use the company’s eDeveloper technology, to evaluate how iBOLT can move along their RFID initiatives. “We believe that, due to recent announcements from leading retailers, the RFID issue will become to retail what EDI was to banking, albeit with a lower entry cost,” Leichner says.

    In other RFID news, IBM announced its intention to acquire Trigo, a Brisbane, California, developer of “product information management middleware.” Trigo’s main product, called Product Center, is a Java- and Linux-based application used by companies in retail and high-tech supply chains for product data synchronization initiatives, including RFID and UCCnet. IBM plans to incorporate Trigo’s technology into its WebSphere and DB2 product lines. As a business partner of IBM, Trigo’s software has already served product information into WebSphere Commerce and WebSphere Portal, and can deliver multi-media content managed by DB2 Content Manager.

    Trigo, which employs 150 people in its offices in California, Amsterdam, and Bangalore, India, has a wide range of customers, including Staples, Sony, and Unilever. Trigo is privately held and recently closed a $12 million round of venture funding. Financial terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close during the second quarter, were not announced.

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Tags:

    Sponsored by
    WorksRight Software

    Do you need area code information?
    Do you need ZIP Code information?
    Do you need ZIP+4 information?
    Do you need city name information?
    Do you need county information?
    Do you need a nearest dealer locator system?

    We can HELP! We have affordable AS/400 software and data to do all of the above. Whether you need a simple city name retrieval system or a sophisticated CASS postal coding system, we have it for you!

    The ZIP/CITY system is based on 5-digit ZIP Codes. You can retrieve city names, state names, county names, area codes, time zones, latitude, longitude, and more just by knowing the ZIP Code. We supply information on all the latest area code changes. A nearest dealer locator function is also included. ZIP/CITY includes software, data, monthly updates, and unlimited support. The cost is $495 per year.

    PER/ZIP4 is a sophisticated CASS certified postal coding system for assigning ZIP Codes, ZIP+4, carrier route, and delivery point codes. PER/ZIP4 also provides county names and FIPS codes. PER/ZIP4 can be used interactively, in batch, and with callable programs. PER/ZIP4 includes software, data, monthly updates, and unlimited support. The cost is $3,900 for the first year, and $1,950 for renewal.

    Just call us and we’ll arrange for 30 days FREE use of either ZIP/CITY or PER/ZIP4.

    WorksRight Software, Inc.
    Phone: 601-856-8337
    Fax: 601-856-9432
    Email: software@worksright.com
    Website: www.worksright.com

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    As I See It: The Path of Service V5R3 CL Programming Enhancements, Part 1

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Volume 4, Number 11 -- March 16, 2004
THIS ISSUE
SPONSORED BY:

California Software
iTera
Trailblazer Systems
Bytware
Twin Data

Table of Contents

  • Discount Tire Zooms Through POS Rollout with ON iCommand
  • MKS Addresses SarBox Transparency with Implementer 5.5
  • Magic Throws iBOLT into RFID Fray
  • DRV Technologies Expands Output Options with SpoolFlex 3.0

Content archive

  • The Four Hundred
  • Four Hundred Stuff
  • Four Hundred Guru

Recent Posts

  • IBM Tweaks Some Power Systems Prices Down, Others Up
  • Disaster Recovery: From OS/400 V5R3 To IBM i 7.4 In 36 Hours
  • The Disconnect In Modernization Planning And Execution
  • Superior Support: One Of The Reasons You Pay The Power Systems Premium
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 13
  • IBM i Has a Future ‘If Kept Up To Date,’ IDC Says
  • When You Need Us, We Are Ready To Do Grunt Work
  • Generative AI: Coming to an ERP Near You
  • Four Hundred Monitor, March 22
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 12

Subscribe

To get news from IT Jungle sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Four Hundred Monitor
  • IBM i PTF Guide
  • Media Kit
  • Subscribe

Search

Copyright © 2023 IT Jungle