Feb 14, 2005Unisys, an integration and consulting company based in Blue Bell, Pa., says it will incorporate RFID middleware from GlobeRanger into Unisys' technology offering. Peter Regen, vice president of Global Visible Commerce Solutions at Unisys, says his unit chose GlobeRanger's iMotion Edgeware platform to link RFID readers to enterprise applications because the platform provides flexibility, scalability and the ability to manage data from a wide variety of devices, including RFID readers, bar code scanners and sensors.
Unisys has kept a fairly low profile in the RFID market, but recently it has taken steps to increase its visibility. In October the company created a dedicated division to focus on RFID and other supply chain technologies (see Unisys Starts Up RFID Unit).
Regan says that Unisys has been involved in RFID since 1994, when it won a contract to manage the U.S. Department of Defense's In Transit Visibility network, which uses active RFID tags and readers from Savi Technology to track shipments globally. It's one of the largest RFID networks in the world. Unisys also has been involved with a number of major pilots with companies such as Sara Lee.
Unisys is creating an IT architecture that's based on the Electronic Product Code and uses the company's approach to deploying technology. That approach, Regan says, starts with the creation of a digital model of business processes. Unisys works with companies to develop a strategy and a model for its operations. Then, it maps out processes and develops software applications to support those processes. The applications are based on an infrastructure layer that feeds data to the applications.
"We're creating a best-of-breed EPC-compliant architecture that's flexible, supports different devices, is scalable and solves multiple business problems," says Regan, who adds that the architecture will evolve continuously as its enhanced to tackle problems in particularly industries.
He adds that Unisys' goal is not simply to create a platform for tracking shipments from manufacturers to retailers, but to be able to gather real-time data from RFID tags, temperature and humidity sensors, employee badges and other sources to get a much more granular view of a company's operations. That will enable a Unisys client to improve business processes and react to changes in the business landscape more quickly.
GlobeRanger's iMotion Edgeware is designed to let end users quickly and easily customize business processes, and it's designed to incorporate data from a variety of devices and sources. Regan says Unisys has already used the GlobeRanger middleware in a number of prototype applications the company built for the pharmaceutical industry, such as creating an electronic pedigree. He says his unit is targeting a number of markets, including government, defense, life sciences, transportation and retail.
