July 30, 2008 – Hal Lavender, Chief Architect at Cognizant Technology Solutions, tells how RFID has taken root within this $3 billion system integrator.

I know that Cognizant seems to be involved with many different markets and many different technologies. How big a play is RFID at Cognizant?

LAVENDER: RFID is really a niche for Cognizant. It is definitely a growing technology at Cognizant as it is taking hold in the marketplace. It is moving to the PRC world, into the mainstream and across verticals; it is really taking off.

Were there any particular verticals or markets that first came to mind when Cognizant decided to get involved with RFID?

LAVENDER: We began in the retail space, as larger retailers began to push mandates. RFID has moved into the manufacturing logistics for tracking of inventory and particularly through the manufacturing line as a result.

Now, e-Pedigree and the agricultural markets are faced with FDA mandates to track drugs and food chains. So, it is really going across the board.

Because of our relationship with our partners in the asset management area, we are seeing it spread across all verticals as people start trying to track everything from laptops to servers.

Did Cognizant get involved directly with bidding the Wal-Mart or DOD early mandate driven sales or did it quickly move from there?

LAVENDER: We haven’t done anything in DOD work. It really doesn’t play for us, but it may in the future. In the retail space, we have been involved with some of the partners and suppliers of the big guys.

I believe Cognizant is actually very active in many aspects of retailers, is that correct?

LAVENDER: Yes. I don’t know for sure how much business we do, but it is probably about twenty-five percent of our business; and we are a three billion dollar company.

What was the first software with RFID or RFID enhancement that you first decided to bring out into the retailer vertical?

LAVENDER: It was a cold chain application for a major shipper.

Was it a response to one particular need of a client?

LAVENDER: Yes. It was actually built for one client that dragged us kicking and screaming into the area, and we just built our capabilities from there.

Is that something you were able to then replicate with other end users?

LAVENDER: Actually, we didn’t really get a requirement for that application anywhere else, but it allowed us to build our credibility and build our experience in RFID technology, which eventually took us into the manufacturing and logistics areas.

How do the retail clients that didn’t have mandates of any kind react? What are their views on RFID today?

LAVENDER: It depends on whether they really got into it or not. If they were just in it for the mandate, they have either scaled back dramatically on their RFID deployment or they just stayed status quo.

A couple of the customers have really looked at it and expanded it beyond the mandate to other areas of their shipping and tracking areas. They really started seeing value of it. It’s really a mixed bag.

We haven’t seen people just say, “You know, this is really something I want to get into.” They have all been pushed into it. Then if they have been able to see the value of it, they expanded on it.

Are you referring to clients in the retail arena or some other vertical you are dealing with?

LAVENDER: It is mainly in the retail markets.

Which markets are you seeing as most eager or excited about the value they are getting or the value that they hope to get from RFID?

LAVENDER: I think asset tracking is the application that people have started to see a value in and are most excited about.

The least excited are the food producers and the farmers market. They are pushing back hard against the mandates instead of implementing the programs.

We certainly are seeing asset tracking pick up across the board. The debate there is over active versus passive. Where do you stand on that?

LAVENDER: We do both active and passive. We have a solution for both. We are working with a couple of partners. That is one advantage of being a system integrator, we can put together passive, active or a combination of technologies.

We have even built some applications for tracking people going in and out of buildings, and assets, as well.