Tuesday at Tech Ed 2005, Microsoft Senior Vice President of Server Applications Paul Flessner publicly unveiled the company's RFID software strategy. The Microsoft RFID infrastructure combines the .NET Framework with SQL Server and Visual Studio.NET, allowing third party developers to build customized solutions. It can also be used by itself to capture and interpret data for business processes.

Microsoft says RFID is a complex proposition for most businesses due to what it sees as a lack of standards, complex device management, as well as the reality very few solutions exist to manage the integration of RFID into business applications.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems remotely receive and store data from tags and transponders. The technology is often referred to as the replacement for bar codes.

"This infrastructure will take full advantage of the .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET as well as advancements across the Windows Server System family of products. The intent is to reduce the complexity and cost of integrating and managing RFID data in a company," Flessner said.

Satya Nadella, corporate vice president for Microsoft Business Solutions added that Microsoft's RFID infrastructure would "democratize" RFID for small and medium sized businesses (SMB); whereas, in the past, costs associated with RFID systems were prohibitive.

However gung ho Microsoft may be about its prospects in the SMB market, senior Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox says that take up will be modest. "RFID is still an early-days technology. Many companies are just deploying infrastructure, even if that. So biggest potential benefits for small companies may yet be years away," he said.

Microsoft's .NET platform uses XML to link data and processes. Using .NET tools, Microsoft says that customers can develop vertical solutions with their partners and stakeholders that will lower the total cost of ownership and transform data processes using RFID data. Microsoft will use Visual Studio .NET as a common design platform.

The company is also touting its ability to connect and manage devices in a plug and play manner for both standards-based and non standards-based devices. This, says Microsoft, will reduce the chances of vendor lock-in. The platform also confers the ability to remotely configure and monitor devices.

In January, Microsoft competitor Sun Microsystems announced an entry-level RFID solution for retailers built on the Java platform. Sun has an initiative called "Industry Solution Architectures" for more complex RFID management.

"I'm not surprised Microsoft is offering a RFID solution based on .NET. Particularly for smaller companies, RFID offers many potential advantages for tracking and maintaining inventory," said Jupiter's Wilcox.

"For Microsoft, a .NET solution is means of wooing businesses and developers to use the company's technologies, like Windows Server and Exchange Server, to manage and store RFID data. Imagine just how much data even a small corner store might generate using RFID."