Company takes advantage of cloud technology

Balluff has added cloud technology to their RFID system, allowing for greater flexibility in their operations at reduced costs.

May 31, 2011

One of the reported biggest advantages of using Radio Frequency Identification in industry and logistics today is the visibility it can provide into the process. With the use of cloud computing, that visibility can be achieved with greater flexibility and lower cost. 

RFID with cloud computing leverages shared IT infrastructure and standard software to collect and present tracking data without having to develop, maintain and most importantly, finance a redundant and load balanced infrastructure internally. Cloud applications also provide visibility and access anytime, anywhere, and on any web-enabled device.

By using cloud computing from Balluff and provider partners like IGear, the burden and cost of the IT infrastructure can be reportedly reduced or even eliminated. “Manufacturers are moving their applications to secure cloud environments. While quality and productivity applications are becoming more mandatory, the capital and labor to build and maintain these systems are becoming scarcer. The cloud has emerged as the optimal solution," said Mark Doyle, VP of Sales at IGear Online.

For example, building an on-premise application for a single machine or work cell would typically require an upfront investment of $30K for hardware, software, and integration services. The ongoing cost of support and maintenance requires an additional $10K investment. Additional challenges with on-premise applications include remote access and keeping up with the latest devices and web browser development.

In contrast, a comparable cloud application would involve an annual subscription of $1K with the potential need for one-time configuration services of $10K; a savings over $20K the first year and as much as $9K every year thereafter. With cloud applications, updates and enhancements are instantly rolled out to all users and the infrastructure is secure, redundant, and load balanced. Using Balluff RFID with cloud computing reportedly provides cutting edge visibility and visualization of your data while significantly lowering the cost of ownership.

" – Edited by Chris Vavra, Control Engineering, www.controleng.com"