Industry associations on the current development of RFID

RFID technology continues in business through - 50 percent of RFID users want to expand use - High profitability of RFID applications - companies demand planning security through decisions of the European Commission on regulatory issues open

RFID technology has arrived in companies and is becoming increasingly important there. RFID has entered a stable, continuous growth phase. Most of the applications in companies are profitable after a short time. This was the conclusion reached by representatives of the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) and the Information Forum RFID at a joint CeBIT press conference in Hanover today. RFID helps to optimize operational processes and thus to increase profitability and reduce costs - for corporations as well as for small and medium-sized companies. In view of the economic development, increasing efficiency is of particular importance. However, due to open regulatory requirements at European level, companies still lack the necessary planning security for their investments.

Prof. Dr. Michael ten Hompel, Chairman of the Board of Information Forum RFID: "RFID has outgrown its infancy and has entered a continuous phase of market penetration. According to our market research, around 2008 percent of RFID users planned to expand their applications at the end of 50, and around 15 percent of non-users "The implementation of RFID applications is specifically planned for the next two years. Especially in the areas of process and cost optimization, the pressure on the introduction could increase further due to the current economic situation. The reduction of CO2 emissions through more efficient logistics processes is today an important criterion for choosing RFID."

Ten Hompel pointed out that investing in RFID applications has proven to be economically viable for companies in practice: "According to our market survey and current international studies, around half of the RFID users already achieve the return on investment after two years."

BITKOM Vice President Heinz Paul Bonn emphasized the importance that RFID has for small and medium-sized companies in particular:

"Today, medium-sized companies have great chances in the competition if they deal with the new technology at an early stage and seriously consider the introduction of RFID."

However, many companies are still waiting before deciding to introduce this technology. Important political decisions are still pending. This applies in particular to the recommendation on data protection and security with RFID, which the EU Commission began drafting in 2007. "The Commission has been discussing this recommendation on RFID for almost two years and has thus unsettled the market greatly.

Especially in difficult economic times, market participants need legal certainty for investments instead of additional bureaucratic obstacles. BITKOM and the RFID information forum are therefore calling on the Commission to finally create clarity," said Bonn. The uncertainty acts as a major brake on many investment decisions.

At the same time, Bonn made it clear that the associations doubted the need for such a recommendation for action by the EU. Consumers' privacy and personal data must of course be protected. However, this is already comprehensively guaranteed by the Federal Data Protection Act and voluntary commitments by the economy.

The information forum and BITKOM welcomed the EU Commission's initiative for rapid broadband expansion and the availability of wireless Internet in rural areas as well. This increases the availability and market penetration of modern communication offers in general and of RFID technologies in particular.

Source: Berlin/Hannover [ Information Forum RFID eV ]