APAC RFID Market Growing Steadily: Frost & Sullivan

The radio-frequency identification (RFID) market in the Asia Pacific region is witnessing steady growth, but the levels of competition are touching new highs.

The region is emerging as a potential hot bed for RFID deployment, and price sensitivity has increased due to the large number of participants in this relatively nascent and small-sized market. With advancements in technology, a slew of innovative solutions have been unleashed, and vendors are devising unique pricing strategies to stay ahead of competition.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific RFID Middleware Markets, finds that market earned revenues of over $60 million in 2008 and estimates this to reach an excess of $180 million in 2015. The study covers all the aspects of the Asia Pacific RFID middleware market, including software-based middleware solutions, edgeware-based middleware solutions, hardware-based middleware solutions, and all the other RFID software or enterprise applications, which are embedded with the middleware functionality.

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“Earlier, RFID technology was negatively impacted by issues concerning overall performance; however, the current technology is robust enough to survive in the harshest environments,” says Frost & Sullivan research analyst Richard Sebastian. “Various innovations, process improvements, better-designed products, coupled with clearer understanding of RF physics has rendered this technology more ready.”

Government involvement in spearheading RFID initiatives is perceived as a major driver towards greater traction and acceptance in the industry. With strong, government-backed initiatives, promotions and funding, RFID projects are being deployed in a wide range of verticals, which directly benefits the middleware market.

The technology has advanced to such an extent that it is suitable for deployment in mission-critical applications – within the aviation, mining, oil & gas sectors – where there is no room for error. RFID is also employed for internal usage in document tracking, asset management based products, and industry-run initiatives such as animal tagging or library tracking. RFID is beginning to penetrate the healthcare industry through government-funded initiatives that span patient identification, asset management, and baby identification. It is also utilised for streamlining internal healthcare supply chain activities.

Although the market is progressing at a comfortable pace, the overall RFID tags industry is not devoid of challenges. Observations have revealed that strong return on investment (RoI) analysis and business cases are needed to ensure that end-users are convinced of the benefits of implementing this technology.

“Feedback from industry participants indicates that available information from RFID projects that have already been deployed is too general in nature, glosses over intricate details, and does not effectively project the greater savings that can be achieved with RFID utilisation,” says Sebastian. “System integrators, in particular, should see that sufficient details pertaining to the business case are covered, apart from ensuring that the RoI analysis done is thorough and demonstrates all savings achievable.”

The general ratification of various standards in the RFID market will ensure higher uptake. Having standards in place means communication between all the hardware – both readers and tags – happens in a structured manner, thus enabling interoperability. Additionally, introduction of the Electronic Product Code Information System (EPCIS) standards creates a platform to support the middleware for end users to move to open-loop deployments. End users are able to share information securely among other stakeholders without worrying about privacy being compromised.