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Hewlett-Packard plans to affix EPC Gen 2 tags to blade servers, data storage and other IT assets its customers order, enabling them to begin tracking the locations of the items as soon as they receive them.
The radio frequency identification (RFID) application for IT infrastructure tracking introduces the HP Factory Express RFID service. It provides customers with preconfigured and tagged products directly out of the box. The service launched Monday costs between $5 and $10 per asset tagged. It's offered in the United States and Canada, but there are plans to roll it out in Brazil, Singapore and the United Kingdom, too.
Automating the ability to track the company's IT assets lowers manual inventory costs and keeps valuable information secure. RFID readers mounded in server racks or handheld devices monitor the location of assets in real time.
For companies that want to integrate the data from RFID assets tracking systems into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, HP developed something called the "Microsoft SAP RFID connector," says Frank Lanza, worldwide RFID director for HP's Technology Solutions Group.
"As this product was being built, we made it clear to Microsoft that we would continue to work with SAP because many of our accounts use the software," he says. "We needed a mechanism to get the data from BizTalk into Auto-ID Enterprises or other SAP apps. Neither company had interest in doing this, so we convinced them to let HP build the connector."
Among the first to use the HP Factory Express RFID service as a standalone service--banks, insurance companies, and investment firms, Lanza says. Many have data centers around the world and need to track assets closely. Items being tagged include HP ProLiant and HP Integrity server systems, HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array products, HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Arrays, HP server enclosures and HP rack infrastructure.
The application will open opportunities to offer a host of services, according to John Fontanella, vice president of research at AMR Research. "I can see down the road a complete warranty service for repairs and built in mobile applications where the tech reads the tag and gets all the warranty information," he says. "We are not talking about tagging two or three servers in a business. These are server farms and data centers with dozens or hundreds of machines."
Two service levels are available, today. The HP RFID Factory Express Standard Service includes standard generation-two RFID tags affixed to specific HP products or packaging with a unique Electronic Product Code assignment and data tracking capabilities. The HP RFID Factory Express Custom Service allows for customized RFID tag placement and additional RFID services from HP that transmit RFID tracking information from the factory to the customer.
Lanza says HP has contracts to tag about 15 to 20 data centers that could take about two years to complete. HP has 40 RFID projects underway. About 20% are asset tracking; the remainder supply chain related.
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