Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is like having a small GPS tracker installed in most technological devices. RFID can be found anywhere from a BlackBerry to your American Express credit card or even your car. It is the easiest and quickest way to track wherever your location is, and in that sense may be a little scary. However, this kind of innovation has allowed many companies to increase efficiency and performance. This article discusses how vendors are trying to sell radio-frequency identifiers into their IT equipment so they can keep track of it and it prevents them from losing it. The easy pitch comes when employees would rather locate their inventory with technology rather than scanning each piece of equipment with a barcode and writing it down on a clipboard. Larry Lozon, general manager of Methode Data Solutions group said it best when he exclaimed, “think of it as a GPS for your assets.” But is all this hype really important at the moment?
Many companies are suffering from misplaced equipment. A benefit to the RFID is the riddance of “ghost servers,” systems that attract power but perform no work and are difficult to locate. An example of the dangers of ghost servers is how Ohio University was hacked and had about 137,000 social security numbers stolen, all from a server that was thought to be offline. [i] Many large companies may possess a need for such an invention. Methode Data Solutions group has a RFID system that tracks equipment rack locations by sending out a beacon to a reader. But with every new piece of innovative technology comes a price tag. Currently, the price of the Methode way is about $14 per tag. That presents a big problem because the prices for RFID’s in IT can accumulate pretty quickly.
Sure the radio-frequency identification system can help track all inventory at a much faster rate than manually. However, is it really necessary at the moment? Only large-scale companies and corporations possess the need because of their vast amount of IT equipment. They are also the only ones who can afford this luxury. Dimitri Mundarain, group manager, data center operations, Citrix Systems Inc., claims, like most of his competitors, they do not need an RFID to locate inventory; they would rather save money by scanning the barcode on everything. I think this is a good investment for a large company who may possess ghost servers and may be the target of hackers. It will provide increased efficiency and will ultimately be a trade of purchasing RFID’s and firing employees. However, in general I think using an RFID for tracking IT equipment is superfluous and downright expensive at the moment. We may see the need in the future for this but right now it remains an unnecessary luxury for companies who are getting lazy. At the moment radio-frequency identification technology should remain in our phones, cars, and wallets.
Article Source: http://www.itnews.com/configuration-maintenance/23452/finding-lost-it-rfid
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