Issue #171 | Nov. 21, 2008 | by Andy Kowl

We find ourselves at this moment because the crisis in our financial markets has jolted us awake. We are seriously focused now on the nature and dangers of highly complex global systems. And this isn’t our first such jolt. Indeed, the first decade of the twenty-first century has been a series of wake-up calls with a single theme: the reality of global integration.

I wish I wrote that. Not only because it shows some profound insight; but because whoever did got paid a heckuva lot more than me for writing this column. You see, it is part of an advertising campaign IBM has just launched.

No, we are not all of a sudden shilling for IBM. They are not even sponsors of ours. Other than that omission, you'll probably agree they have proven themselves to be a forward thinking company since their founding.

This past Monday, IBM ran large double-trucks – two-page ads to you civilians – in the centerfolds of The New York Times, Washington Post and possibly other major dailies. The theme was "Conversations for a Smarter Planet: 1 in a Series." The title of this first ad is, "A mandate for change is a mandate for smart."

They advocate problems from climate change and energy, global supply chains for food and medicine, new security concerns ranging from identity theft to terrorism are all issues of a hyperconnected world.

Why do we care about these ads?

Although IBM only mentions RFID once on these two pages, RFID is in almost every paragraph. That is, intelligence is being infused into the way the world literally works – into the systems, processes and infrastructure that enable physical goods to be developed, manufactured, bought and sold. . . That facilitates the movement of everything from money and oil to water and elections. And that help (sic) billions of people work and live. (ad copy, throughout this article, in italics)

A billion transistors per person
Yeah, yeah, I know it is not all RFID. Of course there are other technologies involved. The ad says our world is getting close to a billion transistors for every human being. But RFID is part of almost all of it. In fact, that is the same point the industry as a whole, and we here on RFID Street, have been advocating. It is not about RFID, it is about what RFID can do.

Sensors are embedded everywhere: in cars, appliances, cameras, roads, pipelines . . . even in medicine and livestock. . . all of those instrumented and interconnected things are becoming intelligent. They are being linked to powerful new back-end systems that can process all that data, and to advanced analytics capable of turning it into real insight, in real time.

Sound familiar?

With so much technology and networking available at such low cost, what wouldn't you enhance? Why wouldn't you connect? What information wouldn't you provide a customer, a citizen, a student or a patient?

The answer is, you will do all these things – because you can. But there is another reason. We all will because we must.

I love it! When I write stuff like that some people roll their eyes and point out I am lacking in objectivity. Nobody can say IBM does not have a vested interest, either. But the closer you look, the more you realize this is all true.

When Thomas Watson named his company International Business Machines in 1924, it was because they made those newfangled things we now call computers. At lunch yesterday with a former IBM executive, I confirmed that it is not just PC's IBM no longer manufactures. They are first and foremost a technology services company now. Of interest to us here, as we prepare to unveil our new "VAR Biz Exchange," is that, in effect, they may be the world's largest VAR (Value Added Reseller).

Add to the mix of this new Smarter Planet campaign the first "technology president," as some are calling incoming President Obama, and the planets may be aligning well for RFID.

Smarter electricity, water, healthcare and productivity
The ad copy goes on and makes some interesting assertions . . . countries around the world losing as much as 40% to 70% of their electrical energy because grid systems are not "smart." . . . Insufficient supply chains cost $40 billion annually in lost productivity – more than 3% of total sales. . . smart healthcare systems can lower the cost of (treatment) by as much as 90%.

Smart systems are transforming energy grids, supply chains and water management, as well as helping confirm the authenticity of pharmaceuticals and the security of currency exchanges.

Why didn't we write about all of that? Oh right, we did. Nonetheless, as IBM promises more to come, let's build on this momentum ourselves. Let's make these world-saving solutions clear. You don't need to be a stakeholder as large as IBM to spread this message; and if your company is involved in any of the things listed as candidates for "smarter" like water, electricity, healthcare, food, etc., you'd better be paying attention.

Bravo, IBM. In return for your good humor about my liberal use of your prose, here's our contribution to the cause: IBM: Think.