RFID

David Stevens
MCS 760
April 30, 2007

RFID position paper

The idea of RFID tags have a George Orwell feeling to them. The idea of being implanted, wearing, or carrying an RFID tag makes some people feel that they are exposed to government tracking and other “big brother” concepts. The paranoia surrounding RFID does not make the ideas business applications any less attractive it just means that business must be careful from utilizing RFID to monitor or impose upon their customers’ privacy. Using RFID tags to manage inventory is going to replace the current barcode method. RFID tags will allow business to process their inventory with greater ease. A palette of goods could be pushed through an arch that reads the passive RFID tags on the boxes to count the units and then send the number to be added to the inventory total.

Another way to use RFID tags is to create a keycard with an RFID tag to open a lock. I have had personal use of such a key to get into work. The key made it a lot easier for management to monitor their employees by serving multiple functions. The keycard did not hold any private information that could intrude on the employee’s privacy rather it only held the employee ID number. This small amount of information was able to grant or restrict employee access into the building and function as a employee time clock. This freed up management resources from having to monitor when an employee showed up for work, and the frequency of fixing payroll problems when an employee had forgotten to punch in on the old time clock was decreased. Some problems could still arise from requiring each employee to wave their keycard within a couple of inches from the reader to start their shift. A flaw in the system required that employees enter the building one at a time to allow the system to monitor access to the building and make sure that employee records would indicate when the employee arrived for work and to make sure that someone was not in the building when they were not authorized to be there. This problem would seem like the largest burden placed upon the end-users, but actually it was the need to swipe the keycard on the way out of the building when one was done working that caused the most problems. The door was not locked from the inside, so employees were able to exit without clocking out once their shift was finished. This would force management to go into the time log and manually clock out the employee. It was not a major inconvenience for the management, but requiring them to manually correct a system that was intended to be automated just lowered the managers’ efficiency.

The passive RFID tags placed on keycards, in the US passport, and on boxes for inventory tracking are low cost and relatively safe. There is the possibility that someone will try to clone the tag; however, for it to be cloned the tag needs to be in close proximity of the criminal’s scanner. Criminals are able to gain the information on the tag if they are able to get close enough to scan it. However, the information on the tag itself is not always of value to the criminal. The database should be setup in a way that only a few individuals have access to the building at anytime, so if the criminal obtains the ID number of a typical employee then their access to the building will be restricted from times when they would be hoping to commit criminal activities. In some instances it might almost be safer to provide the top management with ordinary keys for their access into the building during atypical hours. The active RFID tags are the type that evokes the feeling of a police state. An active tag is capable of sending out its signal without relying on the scanner. The passive tag does not have power to send out its signal, the scanner that reads the tag provides the power source. The active tags would be capable of sending out signals in a clandestine manner, but the fear of being spied on through the use of an active tag is not that intimidating when the ability to track people through GPS is widely available.

The major issue that I have with RFID tags is the information that is stored on the tag. The data on the tag should be small and should not contain information that can be used without a corresponding database. It is reckless when the information on the tag is useful to criminals on its own. The new US passports contain a RFID tag that contains personal information about the passport holder. It not only contains the information that identifies the passport holder, but it also contains a digital photo of the individual. This is an example of RFID tag usage that is frightening. To have all of your information capable of being stolen without even losing the passport is not an appealing prospect for people. When personal information is stored on the RFID tag it makes the belief that one needs a Faraday cage / shield to stop unauthorized reading of the tag seem more prudent than paranoid.

follow up paper

David Stevens
MCS 760
April 30, 2007

Mesh Networking Follow-up Paper

The use of networks from linking systems to sharing an Internet access point makes the stability of these networks paramount. The stability of a mesh networked system makes the network design layout appealing. The network is not reliant upon one source to gain access to the Internet, and the network is also not reliant on a server hub for accessing or sending information among the end-users. A mesh networking setup is cost affective because it is easy to maintain and is not always crippled by the failure of an access point since there are multiple.

The presentation covered the history of mesh networking and showed examples of the present use of mesh networking; however, the importance of mesh networking for future networking endeavors should not be lost. As mobile computing devices become smaller and more versatile the concept of a global network providing information access is an attractive prospective. The ability to provide cheap wireless access in residential areas by spreading the cost of Internet access over multiple end-users for each node with a backhaul to the Internet was discussed during the presentation. In this manner, communities will be able to fight the cost of high-speed internet access while utilizing their bandwidth in the most efficient manner. This is an appropriate option with the present technologies of MIMO (multiple in multiple out) routers and draft-N signal strength for residential communities. However, the users will get good performance from their network, but the setup will not be ideal for prolonged downloading (the usage of BitTorrent could cripple the network). The current community mesh network lacks the power to appease bandwidth gluttony; however, the stability of a mesh network allows the node administrators to spend more of their time limiting single users from draining the community bandwidth cache.

The idea of a regional to global mesh network makes the prospect of mobile computing devices inviting, and it also allows people to look at other options for staying connected. A regional mesh network would make the prospect of owning a mobile VOIP phone a cheap alternative to the cost of owning a cell phone. The topic of Fonero was discussed during the presentation. This idea of making a global mesh network is having a hard time overcoming the resistance people have to sharing their Internet access. The amount of spy-ware and computer viruses on the Internet does not make people feel comfortable about providing and utilizing a mesh network. It is hard to be trusting with all of the bad things that have been put onto the Internet in the past. However, if the regional mesh network movement is to gain a foothold people are going to have to trust the security programs and the other users that they allow into their mesh network. In an ideal world, people could trust one and another without having to worry about someone taking malicious actions against them. This is not the case presently so people need to set up a mesh network that repeats a wireless signal while being protective of the content on their own computer.

RFID the good and the bad

My Fourth Position Paper

By Nancy

There are many times that we run into the applications of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in our daily activities without realizing what they are, for example, shopping in supermarket store such as Wal-mart and Walgreen, or paying electronic toll like i-Pass when driving to the toll way. Typically, a basic RFID system are composed of an antenna, a transceiver (with a decoder), and a transponder (RFID tag) electronically programmed. The antenna (packaged in the transceiver and decoder) emits radio waves in ranges from one inch to 100 feet or more, depending upon its power output and the radio frequency used. When the RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader's activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit (silicon chip) which is then passed to the host computer for data processing, i.e., count the number of products sold in the store or reduce the amount of money paid from the transportation payment account.

RFID tags are categorized as either passive or active. Passive tags require no internal power supply whereas active tags do. Consequently, passive tags are much lighter and less expensive than active ones. However, they can be used within shorter distance and require a higher-powered reader. RFID tags come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes depending on their applications. RFID systems are also distinguished by their frequency ranges: low-frequency system (30-500 KHz) used in security access, assets tracking, and animal identification applications, and high-frequency system (850-950 MHz or 2.4-2.5 GHz) used in automated toll application. The higher performance of high-frequency RFID systems results in higher initial and operating cost.

Advantages over Barcode Technology:
Even though the barcode label (a visual-format surface that contains information which will be read by an optical scanner making computer entry process much faster) is very cost-effective, however, the significant advantage of all types of RFID systems is the non-contact, non-beam-of-light nature of the technology. Tags can be read through a variety of substances such as snow, fog, ice, painted/crusted surface, or other visually and environmentally challenging conditions, where barcodes or other optically read technologies would be useless.

RFID tags can also be read in challenging circumstances at remarkable speeds (electronic toll collection) and in most cases responding in less than 100 milliseconds. The read/write capability of an active RFID system is also the significant advantage in interactive applications such as work-in-process or maintenance tracking. Though it is a more expensive technology (compared with barcode), RFID has become indispensable for a wide range of automated data collection and identification applications that would not be possible for the barcode technology.

Business Applications:
There are many RFID applications that are beneficial to business industries. For example, they are used in supply chain management, product tracking, and inventory systems.

One of the most important features of RFID technology is that it can collect a wealth of real-time data. It is going to generate gigantic amount of data about the location of individual products in the supply chain, information about when and where merchandise is manufactured, picked, packed and shipped, and numbers of products that will have to be stored, transmitted in real-time, and shared with warehouse management, inventory management, financial and other enterprise systems.

RFID technology is also one of the most important key elements for being a real-time enterprise. Applications of RFID technology are also going to need to rely on a novel computing architecture, in which vast amounts of data processing will take place.

Standard Issues:
Until now, there is no global regulation that governs the frequencies used for RFID. Many documents that are set out to review today’s RFID standards or standards relevant to RFID express no warrantee that they will become out of date after they are published. A number of standard organizations regarding to RFID technology include FCC, ANSI, ASTM, and ISO.

In general, low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) RFID tags can be used without any license. Ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) cannot be used globally since there is no single global standard. For example, the US UHF standard is not accepted in France as it interferes with France’s military bands. Most of Asian countries have no regulation for the use of UHF. Application for UHF in some countries needs a license, which can be applied at the local authorities and later can be revoked if necessary.

Privacy Issues:
The expanding uses of RFID — embraced by large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, ePassport by US government with RFID Tag, or Verichip implanting, have raised some concerns on privacy issues. Because scanners can read RFID chips from a short distance for security, convenient, and commercial purposes, privacy advocates worry that the technology could eventually be used to track people’s movements that would later lead to wrongful uses.

Members of the groups including IT vendors, RFID users, and consumer advocates recommend all companies using RFID tags on products to always tell their customers that RFID tags are active in their stores and also make sure they know whether they can deactivate the tags or how that data will be used.
For ePassport, US government is now working on the process on how to prevent the privacy and identity theft on the ePassport’s RFID tag. Form what I heard, current RFID trackers cannot be accessed to obtain information if our passports stay tightly closed in our briefcase or pocket.

The implementations of Verichip, the human body implanting chip, which could be used to track and access the individual medical record, employment, and personal information or allow gain in different level of data access for an employee, are still in dispute. The developers argue that the level of authorized access to personal information will depend upon the receiver equipment. General tracker tool would be able to get only the tag ID. However, in my opinion, I would not feel comfortable anyway. Technology moves around so fast, perhaps shortly there after, some hackers may come up with the new method or tools to steal our information. And the idea of implanting a chip into human’s body may also make one terrified.

Security Issues:
There are two main concerns in terms of security issues on RFID technology. The first one is tag cloning that may cause data stealing or unauthorized reading. Several cryptographic protocols are developed to solve this problem. One major challenge is to shortage the computational resources within the tag. Standard cryptographic techniques require high performance circuits than ones available in most low cost RFID devices. Various policy measures have also been proposed, such as marking RFID tagged objects with an industry standard label.

The second concern is RFID database protection. There was a report in 2006 on viruses that could infect airport terminal RFID databases for baggage, and Passport databases that obtain confidential information on the passport holder. One core issue is whether RFID data should be centralized, decentralized or both. The product information should be associated with the tag on the network, or off. And if product information resides on the tag, how can a company protect consumer privacy? There are still on-going debates among these issues.

Summary:
Developments in RFID technology continue to yield higher capacities such as larger memory, wider reading ranges, and faster processing and its applications grow tremendously into different areas of interest including medical, business transportation, and automobile industries. It is believed that the technology will ultimately replace the barcode since RFID has so many benefits to offer such as real-time data processing and read/write capabilities even in harsh environment. If some standard issues are resolved, whereby RFID equipment from different manufacturers can be used interchangeably, the market will likely grow exponentially.

Privacy and security issues are also one of the most important concerns in RFID implementation. How well one’s individual information including medical, financial, personal records are maintained and properly used is still in a lot of arguments. For business applications, better management in terms of data analysis plans for such high amount of data in real-time manners and integration strategies to better suit the company’s organizational structure are needed for future RFID business demands.

RFID What?!?

Tanner Dabel

4^th Opinion paper

RFID

RFID What?!?

Radio Frequency Identification (aka RFID) actually isn’t a new concept. It’s been around its been around as RFID for at least the last two – three decades and even more if you look at its predecessor technology from as far back as the 1920’s and 30’s. What you might have noticed however, is that RFID technology is currently in the state of rapid devolvement and has become the latest technology trend. What is RFID? Well it’s the fairly simple idea of having a RFID tag in or on something and will respond to radio waves sent by a near by transponder or antenna. In the most general sense, RFID is used to tag and track something. RFID can be coupled with other type of sensors so that it can gather readings of humidity, shock, temperature, light and vibration (among other things). This allows for RFID tagging to be very flexible in its use.

Current uses of RFID technology include; passports, transportation payment, product tracking, animal tracking, authentication, record keeping among many other tasks. RFID has proven to be a cheap and cost efficient way to record information about a certain item or thing. So, now that we’ve had a brief review of what RFID is, let’s get into the nitty gritty of how a business might use leverage RFID to gain a competitive advantage and a few potential pitfalls to RFID technology.

First up, let’s look at the RFID in a companies supply chain. Externally and internally speaking, using RFID is a good cost effective move to keeping a company competitive in today’s world market. As a large company, if you enforce that the suppliers of your products use RFID, shipments could be tracked easier and inventory records become more accurate. This would allow for more automation of some processes within the external aspects of the supply chain dealing with your suppliers. This automation can eliminate the cost human error while increasing productivity. Productivity is increased by the fact that this automation of processes can run near to if not around the clock 24/7. This automation ultimately over time will create a reduction of cost for those suppliers of your products. When this occurs, the suppliers will be able to charge less on their items and yet make the same profit, allowing your company to save when buying from the supplier.

Another benefit mentioned above is that of tracking. With RFID tagging, it is very easy to track shipments weather it be on a ship, truck or on a hand truck just about to be delivered. Your company can see the log of where the items are and when they are expected to reach specific destinations on the path to your stores warehouse. This is helpful because most of the time, the last leg of a trip for an item is via trucking service. There are many people on the road and accidents can happen. For this example, lets say there’s a five car pile up ten miles North on the interstate your truck full of RFID items is on (don’t worry, no one was hurt, just a lot of insurance claims). As the truck approaches the crash site, travel time is lost (and if the truck has to stop, a lot of travel time is lost!) At this point, little can be done about the shipment arriving on time. But, as soon as the truck hits its next check point, those RFID tags will get logged and your company will see there was a delay in reaching the check point. Because of this, the tracking system has already updated its manifest to show when the shipment will hit its next check points and when the shipment will ultimately arrive at the company warehouse. All this information can be communicated without a single person having to do anything outside of what they already were doing. The truck driver keeps their rig moving. The company checks its logs to see when the truck is expected, and the supplier continues to supply goods by filling trucks and sending shipments out. This is called added value to the company. The RFID has allowed for an awful lot of information to be communicated through an automated process. With this new information, a company can plan for the delay and work around it. As the saying goes, “Information is Power” and with this, more information can be recorded through less means of actual human interaction with a higher percentage of accuracy. In the end, this means saved dollars on the bottom line.

Lastly a company can help to better understand its own inventory through the means of RFID tagging. As an inventory control, RFID tags can help keep a better account of the physical inventory than a human could. It is also easier to scan and more can be scanned quicker through the means of RFID tagging. Because of this, internal inventory processes within a company can be streamlined, be more accurate and allow for better efficiency. Again, over the long term, this means more saved dollars and a better looking bottom line for such a company.

Moving on to the some of the more controversial aspects of RFID, let’s discuss such issues as security and privacy. The use of RFID in such things like security badges and building access cards are good examples. On the surface, having RFID used for security might seem like a great idea, but problems have occurred. Not everything is completely peachy with RFID when it comes to security. When using RFID there are some trade offs people sometimes forget, such as a.) RFID can be cracked and hacked and b.) full disclosure isn’t always provided.

RFID currently is susceptible to phenomena called illicit tracking. Meaning, a third party attempts (and sometimes is successful) in gathering information being sent or received by the RFID tag. Most encryption has held up, but where RFID has failed hasn’t been in the encryptions, but rather in bugs that were found and exploited. Once the bugs are known viruses can be used to compromise the information contained on a RFID tag. If the information on the RFID tag is limited, then I’d agree that it is a good idea to use them for security purposes within a company. To ensure that the employee’s right to privacy isn’t being compromised, the security aspect of the RFID technology needs to a.) be strongly encrypted with either a challenge-response authentication (which can be costly), or to a lesser degree, the rolling code scheme and b.) contain only the most necessary information on the tag required. Any extra information beyond that of what is essentially needed runs the risk of being compromised.

The other area where RFID sometimes gets in trouble is what information is being kept on the RFID tag and does the user know of what is all being kept on the RFID tag. This issue isn’t as concerned with security as it is with privacy. Full disclosure of what information is being kept and tracked on the RFID tag is the primary concern. To ensure information isn’t abused, business polices need to be implemented to explain why such information is being collected and how it will be collected. To give a new employee a security badge or building access card without explicitly stating what information is being kept on that badge/card and how that information is being used would be a violation of that employee’s privacy. Once a employee understands what rights to privacy they are giving up in exchange for the card/badge, then I’m entirely ok with this process, but an employee should have the right to know they are being watched and by how.

So as you can see, RFID has many uses and with that some uses are more suitable than others. When it comes to uses that strictly involve the tracking and monitoring of items through the supply chain (e.g. truck loads, or pallets) I feel there are more benefits to warrant such a use and things appear to be very black and white. My recommendation is that it be used for this purpose. However, when it comes other uses that directly involve an individual (such as access cards), things become greyer. When an individual’s rights and privacy are thrown into the equation I begin to question at what degree RFID should be used. With the policy of full disclosure and strong encryption I can reluctantly agree to its usage, but users need to be aware of the technologies pitfalls; weather it be weakness within the technology design or outside influences such as third party eavesdroppers and skimmers. Information is power and knowledge is power, without either, one would be a fool to use any such technology.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID)

Third Position Paper

By Kamakshi Samala

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method of coupling of electromagnetic or electrostatic in the RF (radio frequency) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum which is used to transmit signals. RFID system consists of an antenna and a transceiver that reads the radio frequency and transfers the information to a processing device, and a transponder, or tag, (an integrated circuit containing the RF circuitry and information to be transmitted).

Even though the RFID technology is similar in theory of bar code identification, the key difference is RFID eliminates the need for line-of-sight reading that bar coding depends on. Also, RFID scanning can be done from a greater distances than bar code scanning. High frequency RFID systems (850 MHz to 950 MHz and 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz) offer transmission ranges of more than 90 feet, although wavelengths in the 2.4 GHz range are absorbed by water (the human body) and therefore has limitations.

RFID cards are also known as "proximity", "proxy" or "contactless cards" and come in three varieties: passive, semi-passive (also known as semi-active), or active.

Passive RFID tags – These tags have no internal power supply. A minute electrical current is induced in the antenna by the incoming radio frequency signal. This provides enough power for the CMOS integrated circuit in the tag to power up. This helps to transmit a response. Most passive tags have antenna designed to both collect power from the incoming signal and also to transmit the outbound backscatter signal. The response of a passive RFID tag is not just an ID number; the tag chip can contain non-volatile EEPROM for storing data. Since this lacks an onboard power supply, which means that the device can be quite small.

Active RFID tags - Unlike passive RFID tags, these tags have their own internal power source which is used to power any integrated circuits that generate the outgoing signal. As these tags have ability to conduct session with a reader, they are much more reliable than the passive tags. They also transmit higher power levels than passive tags as they have onboard power supply. This feature makes them more effective in "RF challenged" environments like water (including humans/cattle, which are mostly water), metal (shipping containers, vehicles), or at longer distances. Many active tags have practical ranges of hundreds of meters, and a battery life of up to 10 years. The smallest active tags are about the size of a cold capsule and cost a few dollars.

Uses of RFID

There are many uses of RFID. Some are as follows;

1. Used in passports as e-passports which not only records the travel information but a thin metal lining incorporated in the passport makes it difficult for unauthorized readers to "skim" information when the passport is closed.

2. Used in Transport payments. E.g. T-money cards (Seoul), SUICa (Japan), Octopus Card (Hong Kong), etc. are used for paying in public transportation; Public toll roads are equipped with an RFID payment system, for example, AutoPass (Norway), E-ZPass , SunPass, EZ Tag, K-Tag etc are used in U.S.

3. Used in product tracking. For e.g., Farmers use it to identify a bovine's herd of origin; used in library book or bookstore tracking, pallet tracking, building access control, airline baggage tracking, apparel and pharmaceutical item tracking; used to track supply chain from warehouse to consumer; also used to track shipping container, and truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards.

4. RFID is also used for animal identification; human implants, for example Night Clubs in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, use an implantable chip to identify their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for drinks.

5. Used in Automotives. Microwave RFID tags are used in long range access control for vehicles. It’s used as a Smart Key/Smart Start option in vehicles. The key uses an active RFID circuit allowing the car to detect the key approximately 3 feet from the sensor. The driver can open the doors and start the car with the key in his pocket. Ford, Honda, and several other manufacturers use RFID-equipped ignition keys as anti-theft measures.

Pros of RFID

RFID provides valuable service by which companies can track products in a more efficient manner. Military, retailers, suppliers, consulting firms, producers of the technology, and consumers, are benefited by it in many ways. It provides companies a better alternative to bar-code using as it contains information on the product that is easily readable and accessible for the reader. This in turn would also help to revolutionize the entire supply chain of the companies by improving its efficiencies and overall business intelligence and thereby reducing costs and human errors.

The U.S. military is also benefited by the use of active and passive RFID systems. The Department of Defense has created the RFID Military Compliance Solution to help suppliers and manufacturers meet the military’s new standards for RFID. This has helped to improve their communication and transportation system during wars and has also helped to save large amount of money. This way the military was successful in creating better visibility on their supply chain which thereby increased their productivity and stability.

Companies and retailers that have high demand for supply chain can gain advantage by using this system in their supply chain management. This would help to improve their productivity, save on human labor costs, and would give companies real-time visibility with their products. Wal-Mart was the first retailer to use RFID in their distribution centers and warehouses. Once Wal-Mart was successful, many companies started using this system.

Retailers and other companies that have a demanding supply chain can gain advantage by using RFID in the supply chain. By demanding that all levels of their supply chain be RFID, it’s capable to be a sizable investment. The productivity increase that follows the initial investment and implementation for companies will pay for their investment.

RFID makes the business world seem like a smaller place when the companies that combined their supply chain technologies with the RFID, started seeing great results. This will help to achieve the goal of companies supply chain by reducing the time needed to be productive, and by automating as much of the supply chain as possible. It also reduces human error, and machines are capable of running twenty-four hours a day and cost less than human labor. The application of RFID on a large company like Wal-Mart or Target, as well as smaller retail stores can ensure a better shopping experience with more in-stock items and a more knowledgeable store.

The market of RFID is booming. Many technological companies have gotten in this game of producing RFID parts and systems thereby allowing many companies to become consulting firms for the RFID technology. The RFID market was roughly one billion dollars in 2006 and is estimated to grow anywhere from $1.3 billion by IDC, to $4.2 Billion by the Yankee Group in 2008. Roughly 20-25% of the market is made up of consulting work for the technology and the last 5% is made up of software for RFID. The biggest challenge for producers and consultants of RFID is the reliability and durability of RFID systems and products. It is hard to predict the wear and tear a product will experience over a period time. But researchers say that it not only help the companies to control human errors but will also help the companies to prove their ROI (Return on Investment), can help save one time operating costs and will help to provide better customer service by having real time information on the products. It would also help to reduce theft in the store and warehouses.

Ultimately the consumers should be the winner with RFID being implemented throughout a company’s supply chain. Stores will save money in the long run by bringing down the costs of the products. This way the consumers can expect more informative customer service with the companies using RFID, by the way of the company sharing their real time data with the customers. Having RFID tags on certain products can also make people’s lives much easier. For example, a microwave reads and recognizes the tag of the food we put in and will automatically cook it according to the directions on the tag. It also helps environmentally because companies will use resources more efficiently, benefiting everyone. Once RFID tags are able to be used on food products it will make a recall on a certain item much easier and it could potentially save lives. Also consumers use RFID everyday and many do not realize the benefits they are receiving from the technology. For example, the “Speedpass” allows contactless form of payment thereby allowing customers to wave the card in front of a reader to pay for gas or anything in the convenient store. Visa and MasterCard allows people to have money on a card (either debit or credit) which decreases waiting time at check-out places and increases loyalty for the companies that offer this feature. Another use of smart cards is keyless entries, and many more. Therefore, RFID is a beneficial technology for consumers which help to save time and offer those conveniences that traditional bar coding, credit cards and keys cannot offer.

Cons of RFID

RFID has been around for more than fifty years but there has been a rapid development in technology since last five to six years. Even though it has many potential advantages but there are many disadvantages as well.

U.S. military was the early adopter of this technology. The biggest problem they faced was the security issues. The tags consisted complete product information which made easy for the enemy to collect information from the tags thereby creating more risks of attacks from the enemies.

Large companies using RFID tags also face some potential problems. RFID has no proven infrastructure which makes difficult for suppliers to keep up with the company’s demands to become RFID-ready. Therefore, suppliers cannot implement RFID into the business and retailers cannot get information about their supply chain. This way the retailers trying to solve their supply chain management problems by using RFID, cannot benefit from it.

Privacy issue is the main disadvantage of RFID. The retailers cannot have any specific information of the consumer if the tags are affixed to pallets and cartons of the product. But by having RFID tags on individual products, retailers can trace consumer’s buying habits; keep articles from theft and keep their inventory at an acceptable level. But this process leads to disclosure of other consumer information which the consumer would prefer to keep private.

RFID could also be bad for our health. Supporters of RFID predict a world where RFID reader devices are everywhere - in stores, in floors, in doorways, on airplanes, even in the refrigerators and medicine cabinets of our own homes. In such a world, our lives would be continually exposed to electromagnetic energy. Research is taking place in this area but researchers still do not know the long-term health effects of chronic exposure to the energy emitted by these reader devices.

The main disadvantages of RFID are the privacy concerns, technological imperfections, cost of the technology and no proven methods to set up an RFID system for a company. The government and corporations are the two main groups that are most concerned for privacy issues. Hidden tags and readers threaten to take away human mystery thereby offering a world where people see, feel and hear only what the government and large corporation want people to do.

Hence, in my opinion, RFID is at the very outset of its evolution and diffusion. The technology will surely witness many exciting and interesting developments over the next few years. But the future of RFID is still uncertain. The privacy issues will still persist even though the cost of RFID system decreases. If privacy issues are not watched closely, people will become tagged and there will always be someone watching and analyzing every person’s decisions. Therefore, in order to be successful in their business, the companies must work with privacy advocate groups in order to develop a fair way of using RFID system without making their customers hostile.

RFID: A New Identification Device

Chinnapong Somsueb
ID# 1671071
4th Position paper
MCS 760

RFID: A New Identification Device

RFID (Radio-frequency identification) is an automatic identification method relying on storing and remotely retrieving data. It is often used with devices called RFID tags or transponders. Currently, its usages are expanding and will become a part of our daily lives. Even though we do not recognize any RFID devices, the usage of them would be increase considerably. The common use of RFID would be a personal and unique identification, transport payment, and product identification.

RFID could be used for the personal identification like a biometric passport system which has already been implemented in several countries. It could prevent some kinds of skimming or cloning which could be done from the old system. Moreover, the RFID chip inside a biometric passport could store some information like smartcard does. Therefore, important information in a digital format such as signatures and images could be stored inside this chip besides the actual passport picture. Furthermore, we could also put a tiny RFID chip in our pets in order to track their position which could prevent losing them.

One of the common usages of RFID is in transportation. It could be used as the identification for toll payment. According to the fact that it would be detected in a very short period and within a few feet, several cities around the world have implemented their RFID system for years in order to avoid using actual money and papers. This system can also decrease a travel time in rush hour by avoiding paying a toll.

From a business perspective, RFID can be used instead of barcode. Merchants could track their inventory and link that data to an inventory system. Moreover, RFID can also be used as detection tool as well as theft prevention. Retailers can implement this for both item identification for matching with their inventory and prevent shop lifting.

On the other hand, RFID technology is more expensive than barcode. Its cost would affect both consumers and retailers. In addition, being a new technology, RFID will take time for people to be familiar with it. Several mistakes can happen by using RFID system, such as misuse of the RFID toll lane without the device, forgetting to deactivate before leaving the store, or vulnerability through stored information.

In conclusion, this technology could lead to a new emerging firm, such as an automobile identification, auto payment, and retail theft prevention business. In my point of view, I think that this technology has a strong potential for growth due to a variety of applications which are expanding dramatically. Not only retail, transportation, and packaging business, but also health care, pharmaceutical, and chemical businesses could implement this technology in order to improve their productivity. According to cio.com’s information, the 1.3 billion RFID tags produced in 2005, and predicted that more than 33 billion RFID tags will be produced globally by 2010. As a result, if there are a number of usages, the price of RFID would be reduced. We can use this technology with any additional features with any unpredictable applications, which can lead to convenience and accuracy.

Mesh Networking

Rokeshia Robinson
3rd Position paper
Mesh Networking



Wikipedia states that Mesh networking is a way to route data, voice and instructions between nodes. It allows for continuous connections and reconfiguration around broken or blocked paths by “hopping” from node to node until the destination is reached. A mesh network whose nodes are all connected to each other is a fully connected networks. Mesh networks differ from other networks in that the component parts can all connect to each other via multiple hops, and they generally are not mobile.

Like every other topic that we have discussed in class, there are several advantages and disadvantages with mesh networking. Advantages of mesh networking can allow organizations to revolutionize the way they communicate, helping them to cut costs, boost employee productivity, improve community service, and increase public safety. Mesh networks allow organizations to extend the reach of their wired infrastructure to deliver affordable managed wireless broadband services. A managed service offering helps enable employees and customers to:

• Shift expense from capital outlay to operational expenses, making it easier to win budget approval
• Eliminate the need for new hires and incremental staff to deploy and operate equipment
• Minimize backhaul transport costs
• Pay as they grow, allowing organizations to scale services as needed
• Get service rapidly deployed
• Provide wireless roaming and access in facilities such as plazas, office buildings, libraries, community centers, etc.

On the most basic level, a mesh network is appealing to businesses and other organizations because it saves money on cabling. With a mesh network, a business only has to run a power cable, not a data cable, to most access points. The data is transmitted over the air from one access point to another until one finally ties into the hard-wired network. Using such a system, a network manager might only have to connect one of every five or 10 access points to the hard-wired network.

Instead of moving data from a device to a wireless access point to a wired network, a mesh network moves data from access point to access point, depending on availability and proximity, and then eventually onto a wired network. Mesh network traffic flows in much the same way that data travels across multiple points on the Internet before reaching a final destination. In its most complex form, a mesh network could work like a peer-to-peer network, where devices both send their own data and forward data on for other devices. In an environment like that, the more devices on a network, the better the network functions.

Mesh networking technology lets providers augment their wired backhaul infrastructure to provide wireless broadband services with very high security, reliability, and scalability. It relies on the mature 802.11 standard for wireless networking and thus is a highly stable technology, unlike other emerging transport methods that are unproven and do not utilize the ubiquitous installed base of 802.11 clients. Mesh networks also feature self-healing and dynamic route optimization capabilities, making them simple and cost-effective to deploy and manage.
In addition to advantages, there are several disadvantages to mesh networks. Mesh networks are a great concept. But the challenge lies in managing the dynamics of mesh networks so users receive an acceptable level of performance in terms of both latency and throughput. One disadvantage to mesh networking is that it requires a lot of access points, so deploying in a mesh architecture can be expensive, initial cost. The other issue is scalability. In a very large network there would be so much routing information moving from access point to access point, it would be unclear how much these networks can scale and maintain their bandwidth for users. Last, but no where near least, a mesh network is not pure 802.11, so it does not integrate well with WLAN.

In conclusion, there are several advantages and disadvantage that can be argued when supporting and implementing mesh networks in organizations. I believe that mesh networking works well in public organizations such as universities, parks, etc, but can be a real headache for some smaller public and private organizations. All in all, I can’t wait to hear what issues and concerns that are going to be addressed in class tonight.

Do the advantages outweight the disadvantages?

Rokeshia Robinson
1st Follow-up paper
Mobile Computing Devices


Accroding to wikipedia, as well as our presentation, mobile computing is a generic term describing the ability to use technology that is not physically connected, or in remote or mobile (non static) environments. The term is evolved in modern usage such that it requires that the mobile computing activitiy be connected wirelessly to and throught the internet or to and through a private network. This connection ties the mobile device to centrally locate information and application software throught the use of battery powered, portable, and wireless computing and communication devices. Mobility characterizes the degree to which each element is mobile within the context of the business process. Some elements, such as desktop computers and personnel, are always stationary, while others, such as laptop computers and traveling salespersons, could be mobile.

Professor Sergent pointed out that the fact that a person is naturally mobile does not imply that she/he is mobile within the context of the business process. Furthermore, mobility has to be beyond a certain distance to be relevant. In addition, not every mobile computing device is wireless. A mobile device needs to have a wireless networking car or modern in order to remotely access the internet. (which can be purchased by an ISP)
With that said, I want turn focus to the Disadvantages of mobile computing devices. Disadvantages to mobile computing devices include a higher cost per dollar, a more limited upgrade path, and sometimes a compromise on keyboard, pointing device, battery life, and screen resolution. One of the major disadvantages about mobile computing that I argued was an increased security risk (both data and equipment). Although the class pointed out that security is a major issue for most businesses no matter where their employees are located. As well as, agreeing that an employee could easily take information while at work and sell it to their company’s competitors. However, the reality is that mobile computing put companies at a greater risk of breaches and data theft.

People rely on mobile computing devices for work and personal uses. Laptop computers, Personal Digital Assistants USB memory, smart phones (mobile phones with advanced communication, storage and processing capabilities), iPods, and a variety of wireless accessories have become pervasive in organizations. We prize mobile computing devices for the flexibility and convenience they provide, but mobility presents significant challenges for IT administrators charged with keeping their companies' data and networks secure; particularly as mobile devices and networks have grown more sophisticated and ubiquitous. In addition, the regulatory climate in which companies must operate is placing a greater demand on the control of corporate data.

The data is more at risk because of the portability. Mobile devices are at a greater risk of being stolen because you carry them in more places and they are lightweight. You lose the mobile device, you lose the data. Mobile computing devices contain "lots" of memory (disks and/or RAM), are highly portable and are frequently unprotected: They are relatively easy to steal or lose, and unless precautionary measures are taken, an unauthorized person can gain access to all the information stored inside them. Even if not stolen or lost, intruders can sometimes gain all the access they need if the device is left alone and unprotected, or if data is "sniffed out of the air" during wireless communications. Under some circumstances, wireless mobile devices can be attacked from hundreds of yards to thousands of miles away. The result can be crippled device, one infected with a virus, and/or a device whose data has been invisibly downloaded by an intruder. In the worse case, an intruder can install a spyware program that surreptitiously captures the owner's keystrokes (e.g., credit card numbers, passwords) and other sensitive information.

While these challenges make managing security on mobile devices a trickier proposition, there are ways administrators can help plug the holes that mobile devices have a way of opening in your company's security infrastructure. However, there's no one-size-fits-all solution, and administrators will have to take a long, hard look at each and every user and device accessing corporate data to ensure that all the gaps are filled.

David Stevens

April 16, 2007

MCS 760

Mobile Computing Devices

The popularization of mobile computing devices has changed the way people live their lives and the manner that business is conducted. The earliest mobile computing devices that had a great impact upon the corporate culture and resemble a basic form of the devices offered today were laptops and portable digital assistants (PDA). These devices allowed a professional to untie themselves from the office in hopes of becoming more productive.

Mobile devices are reliant on the technology that they use to connect and transmit information. The use and ability of mobile computing devices improved by leaps and bounds with the introduction of cellular networks and wi-fi. The ability to access the Internet from almost anywhere has increased the consumer’s demand for powerful devices which contain these capabilities.

The use of mobile computing devices is only going to increase as the quality of the units improves. One of the major limitations that mobile computing devices need to overcome is the difficult manner of inputting information. The standard form of input (keyboard and mouse) is not always available with mobile devices. The most popular ultra mobile portable computers (UMPC) typically use a hidden QWERTY keypad. The method of input is limiting, and it is not convenient for the users. Voice input would be a much better form of input, but the technology is not quite available to make this a viable option.

Pros:

• Mobile, not limited to a certain area
• Utilization of wireless LAN and WAN technologies
• Creates a more productive workforce
• Great for small applications like word processing and email

Cons:

• The smaller the device the weaker the performance
• Battery life typically lasts for only a couple of hours
• Input devices are not user friendly
• Devices may be mobile but are also fragile
• Security (easy to lose small device with sensitive information)
• The wearable computer is not a realistic option currently
  

follow up paper

David Stevens

April 15, 2007

MCS 760

1^st Follow up Paper

Distance Education / Technology

As our society becomes an increasingly knowledge based workforce it is important for people to continue increasing and updating their knowledge base. The Internet is providing a viable alternative to the typical learning environment. Distance education via the Internet is providing the modern workforce with a means of staying up to date and even allows them to extend their knowledge by acquiring advanced degrees. The ability of distance education and technology to deliver an experience that is deemed suitable by the end-user is closer to occurring. The experience of the students present for the presentation demonstrated that the almost all of the students had experienced an online class setting. However, the majority of the students present held the opinion that an online class was inferior to that of a traditional class. This was inline with the general national consensus of opinions from faculty and students involved with distance education. The major hindrance to increasing the productivity of online classes is their inability to replicate the classroom setting. The classroom provides an easy means for students to interact with the professor and fellow students. The idea of utilizing virtual classrooms (attempting to almost make a classroom setting that would be found in a video game) was discussed during the presentation. This is one means of providing students a means of replacing the void left by abandoning the traditional classroom.

In addition to providing the modern workforce with a means of furthering their studies, distance education technology also provides companies with a means of conducting online business meetings. With the increase in the cost of transportation and globalization, the ability to conduct meetings without the hassle of long-distance travel is more important than ever. The ability to conduct productive meetings without face to face contact is a technologically viable option; however, the practice has yet to become widely used and accepted as an alternative. The increase in distance education in the higher education realm will create a body of future workers whom base their opinions on distance training and meetings upon their past experiences with distance education technology. The more positive the students’ experience with distance training technology the more accepting they will be of its use in the corporate environment.

As discussed during the presentation the viability of distance learning and the likelihood of its adoption into the corporate world rely on the ability of the technology to mimic face to face interaction. The likelihood that the technology will ever produce an identical experience to that of face to face interaction is unlikely; however, the technology has and will continue to make the experience more productive and pleasant for the end-users. Distance education allows a greater audience of students to experience the learning process that was restricted to a small population when the process is contained upon a physical campus.

The concept of Open Source Classes was put forth during the discussion following the presentation of distance education as institutions attempting to expand the people that benefit from the knowledge of the institutions programs. This is a manner that allows individuals to learn and experience what students are learning about in the school setting. The pseudo students are learning for enjoyment because their experience is without the assignments and tests necessary for earning a degree.

The need for distance education and training is evident by the success of online school programs like those offered by the University of Phoenix, DeVry University, and ITT Tech; however, these schools are not as accepted as traditional universities and the quality of education is still questioned. The production of online meeting software is currently ahead of the demand, but the quality and quantity of meeting software produced will increase when the demand intensifies.

Mobile Computing devices

Second Position Paper
By Kamakshi Samala

According to Wikipedia, Mobile Computing is a generic term that describes ones ability to use the 'untethered' technology, that is not physically connected, or the one that is in a remote or mobile (non static) environment. A mobile computing device allows storing, organizing, and accessing information through internet wireless connection or through a private network. It can run on a number of operating environments, like a compact version of Microsoft Windows and Linux, as well as also on the operating environments that are not available on desktop computers, such as the Palm OS and Research in Motion's RIM OS. A mobile device can feature a scaled-down keyboard, a pen-like stylus, or both. They are powered by batteries which have to be charged for usage. Their size usually ranges from business cards to a paperback book. They are portable and smaller and have more capacity. Example of mobile devices are Laptop computer with wireless WAN or LAN technology, Subnotebook, Personal digital assistant (PDA), Portable data terminal (PDT) with Bluetooth or IRDA interfaces, Mobile data terminal (MDT), Tablet personal computer, Smartphone, etc.

The emergence of powerful portable computers, along with the advances in wireless communication technologies, has made mobile computing a reality and a new era in data communication and processing. The days of being restricted to ones desk by cables and cords are gone. No use of a cable can mean loosing of control, and according to any IT manager’s perspective, every new device and protocol that enters a company, may create new management challenges.

Pros

• Mobile computing has both positive and negative impacts on both individual and business.
• The most common and the most significant benefit of mobile computing is that it keeps people in touch.
• Personal choice: If people are willing to pay the price for freedom, mobile computing devices can really help people do things in a different ways and in a much flexible manner. Of course, for example, laptops require a lot of peripherals to duplicate the abilities of a complete desktop system, but if an individual doesn’t mind spending the extra money for the ability to work, surf and play on the fly then a laptop may be their best solution.
• Benefit to Business:
  1. Mobile computing has had a positive impact on businesses by inspiring innovation or the improved exchange of ideas.
  2.Businesses benefits from using cell phones to reach employees in the field or by having workers use wireless laptops to run applications on-site. Surveys have indicated that this helped to increase communications and data sharing among employees. This way with better communication, the employees become more productive.
  3.IT managers who support home users, branch offices or employees who frequently travel may like to equip them with new portable mobile computing devices that are easy to set up and use, and may also increase the chances that users will actually back up their systems.
  4.Mobile Management Strategies: Today's workforce needs to be more mobile in order to compete. Mobile workers need access to company data and communications while on road and this needs to done in a secure and reliable way. This makes things handy for them to visit several company locations and have access to spreadsheets, email and the company WAN (wide area network) at each location. Also, IT departments must keep up with the challenges of securing and managing mobile access.
  5.Wireless and handhelds are witnessing better integration. PDAs for example, play a crucial role in tackling enterprise issues such as database access, supply chain management and sales force automation. Therefore, when devising a mobile computing strategy, enterprises should look internally first. This way IT enterprises can focus on developing good relationships with solution providers and integrate end-to-end, single point solutions with a targeted ROI (return on investment) in mind.
  
• Easy Backup: Most mobile computing devices come with software that provides one-button backup or automatic file synchronization between two or more computers. Sometimes the software can even store operating system and application configuration settings, allowing users to restore not only their data but also their preferred settings, applications and email on any available computer.
• Benefit to Individuals:
  
  1. Mobile computing devices have almost all the functionalities as regular desktop.
  2. Ensures speedy implementation.
  3. Ensures easy integration help.
  4. Ensures cross-platform capability: Numerous laptop models are made for both PCs and Macs, ensuring a smooth transition from existing technology.
  5. Student can benefit by having regular, reliable access to technology which makes the learning process easy
  
  
  Cons
• Size: Portable and handheld’s screen makes it difficult to read large bodies of text.
• Limited features: If one wants to create complex PowerPoint presentations or other extensive documents, the mobile computing device isn't the best option.
• Limited communication bandwidth.
• Frequent disconnection caused.
• Prototyping.
• Transactional properties.
• Optimization of location dependent query processing.
• Data visualization.
• Security:
  1. As the number and diversity of mobile computing devices and its users, and access locations are increasing, the ability to manage and control data security is the biggest concern. There has been increase in the security threat to mobile devices, and this has become a serious problem for organizations. An organization may have a layered network security approach for its headquarters or large offices, but the branch offices are often overlooked. Lapses in security in smaller locations can make the overall organization vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, to address the need for remote office security management, both security and networking vendors are offering a new form of security products that protect branch offices and provide central management as well.
  
  2. Mobile computing devices contain a lot of memory (disks and/or RAM), and are highly portable and frequently unprotected. They are relatively easy to be stolen or lost, and unless precautionary measures are taken, an unauthorized person can gain access to all the information stored inside them. The result can be a useless device infected with a virus, or a device whose data has been invisibly downloaded by an intruder. The worst situation can be when an intruder installs a spyware program that easily captures the owner's personal and valuable information’s (e.g., credit card numbers, passwords, etc.).
  
  The best practices to follow to minimize the security concerns can be:
  1.Keep the patches up to date if the device is a laptop computer.
  2.Use a password to lock the system.
  3.Use locking devices on portable computers.
  4.Use a personal firewall on computers.
  5.When using wireless connectivity features (e.g., 802.11, Bluetooth) make sure the device's security settings are set as strong as possible.
  6.Encryption is the most reliable way to prevent people from viewing confidential data.
  
  
  Therefore, in my opinion Mobile computing devices is an emerging technology and has made computing a reality. Among the applications that are finding their way to the mobile computing devices, it’s seen that market for these devices is growing rapidly and is predicted that it may grow to over $550 billion by 2008. But the growth of the mobile-device market is limited by problems related to cost, speed, security, privacy, usability, and trust. Lack of consumer trust is considered to be the most significant long-term barrier for mobile commerce. Therefore, ultimately it depends on the end user (for example, organization or an individual) to carefully compare their computing needs with the advantages and disadvantages and the chances are that whichever device they choose, it will prove to be an effective tool in day to day life and business.
  
  
  
  

Mobile Computing

3^rd Presentation Paper

Joe Farrar

Wikipedia defines Mobile Computing as “a generic term describing your ability to use technology 'un-tethered', that is not physically connected, or in remote or mobile (non static) environments.” And as I sit here in downtown Madison doing my laundry and writing this paper, connected to the laundry mat’s free wireless internet, I realize that the age of mobile computing is truly upon us.

Only a few years ago during the internet boom, I can remember seeing far flung advertisements trumpeting an information age in which humanity was set free to roam the earth continually plugged into the “information superhighway.” I also remember thinking that my super fast Pentium II PC and its 56k modem required the sum total of all the bandwidth my phone line provided just to load simple web pages and pop up ads while being anything but mobile. I wondered just how anyone would be able to surf the net without being plugged into a phone line. More importantly, why would anyone lug that heavy laptop with them everywhere? I really wasn’t that thrilled to sit at home and wait for a web page to slowly appear, much less wait in public for that webpage to load slowly. But that was then and this is now. All of those obstacles have been over come. Broadband has allowed for a faster internet and more enjoyable surfing. Wifi has negated the need for a hard line. Laptops and other computing devices have become smaller and very portable.

From a consumer perspective, the realization that you can now be mobile and connected at the same time is an empowering one. I am no longer required to sit in front of a desktop all day to perform tasks that I can now perform from anywhere with a wireless connection. I can check my email, interact with colleagues, participate in distance education, write a blog and even work while away from home. This shift from stationary computing to mobile is a trend that many consumers have picked up very quickly. As I look around, I can see two other people currently working on their laptops. Additionally, while logging into the laundry mat’s wifi network, my laptop detected no less than seven other wireless networks both secure and unsecured in range of my laptop. This serves to prove the point that consumers understand and are using this technology.

However, the speed at which this technology is being adopted by consumers is demanding that both traditional brick and mortar business and online businesses develop new strategies to leverage this technology. I hate to come back to it, but the iphone does a good job of this in that it allows for the global knowledge available on the internet to be delivered on a local scale.

As mobile computing technology evolves, I would expect to see smart devices aware of their location changing the way marketing is preformed and content is delivered. In addition to revolutionizing the way promotions and marketing functions are performed, there are also opportunities for this new technology to enhance existing business processes. For example, I can see this technology supercharging an outside sales force by connecting it to its back office processes, thereby improving customer satisfaction and the overall efficiency of the sales process.

I also think that mobile computing could be a huge competitive advantage for companies looking to cut costs and willing to look at telecommuting as an option for employees. I know this first hand because, for a time earlier this year, my wife was able to telecommute while working in her chosen profession as an attorney only needing an internet connection and our laptop. Being able to work from anywhere with a wifi hotspot helped her to work with attorneys across the country and to access voluminous documents being housed in various locations through an internet-based database. To break up the monotony of being at home day in and day out, she would sometimes work from a coffee shop overlooking Lake Mendota.

Aside from the positives of mobile computing, there is also a growing need for individuals and businesses to be more secure with their computing devices. It seems that almost every week there is news of how a stolen laptop has compromised the personal information of consumers and business. As these devices become smaller and more portable, it also makes those devices easier for some nefarious character to walk off with. The networks that these devices rely upon are also at risk from a number of threats. These threats range from something as simple as having someone “piggy back” or steal wireless internet to having an organizations entire network compromised by hackers.

There are solutions to these problems for both consumers and companies. First off, attention to personal devices needs to become second nature to consumers. Something as simple as making sure your laptop is within eyesight can save a lot of headaches in the long run. Also, organizations need to proactively formulate strategies to prevent the loss of data and instill contingencies in order to react if and when their network becomes compromised. Keeping abreast of emerging threats and knowing how to handle them as the technology changes is important to consider.

In conclusion, it is my feeling that mobile computing holds the promise of changing the way people and companies work. However, the bright future comes with a price to be paid in commonsense and vigilance on the part of those who use these technologies.

E-learning/training....two fingers up!

Rokeshia Robinson
MCS 760
2nd position paper
4/8/07



E-learning/training technology has allowed businesses to reach outside of their stateliness, while avoiding travel and time costs. The technology has also changed the way we access knowledge, how we learn, and how ongoing training is delivered. Not long ago, the only option for ongoing training occurred infrequently in a classroom for days or weeks at a time. Today, knowledge must continually be created, published, and distributed “just in time.” The huge amount of content available on the internet has found its way towards Web sites that cater to IT training and learning. While classroom learning will not disappear, increasing numbers will choose the internet to complement traditional learning.

E-learning has enabled organizations to keep up with all of these changes. Organizations are now seeing that people learn more effectively in small chunks rather than lengthy courses. The corporate culture need to support a continuous learning environment and deliver personalized learning based on user skills, experience, and backgrounds. While most people have used the Internet to gather new information, learn a new skill, maintain certification, or do their jobs, these are just the beginning of a fully formed strategy to support e-learning/training.

Frequently, the costs for an e-learning/training program are lower than traditional instructor-led training, since travel costs are eliminated and larger numbers of students can be supported. (Often, the disadvantage is the start-up costs for investment in the technology and development time.) The wide variety of online tutorials and courses ensures that the prices will remain low or even free to anyone who wants information about a certain knowledge area or skill. (i.e.; taking a free tutorial or low-cost introductory course might give a person enough of an understanding to be able to make some decisions before embarking on an expensive classroom training program. )


An ROI case study from IBM showcases $395 million saved in 2001 through the use of e-learning, as well as 43 percent of learning hours that were delivered through e-learning. (An e-learning ROI case study @www.astd.org) Another factor in the ROI equation is time and ability to train more users. For example, Krispy Kreme only trained 60 store managers in 1999, then they launched a new Management 101 blended training program including on-line courses, training videos, and classroom with 149 participants in 2001. The management turnover dropped and Krispy Kreme was able to open eight more stores than planned in 2001 (Kim Kiser, “On the Rise,” Online learning Magazine) According to Brandon Hall’s report “Return on Investment and Multimedia Training” (www.brandonhall.com)the actual time required for training by computer averages about half of that required for instructor led training, lowering costs further. A generic ROI template for an e-learning business case is available at www.tiainc.com.

All in all, I believe that e-learning brings business value to organizations. E-learning provides opportunities to address the need for a highly skilled workforce to stay competitive, the need to distribute information globally to employees, customers, and partners, the need to acknowledge new products, changes in technology, and just in time learning. In addition to these benefits, the advantages of implementing e-learning strategy include substantial savings in travel cost and time. The organization that I am currently employ at also use e-learning /training as a means to get employees to the level that they need to be as well as build new skills sets for future roles. I often overhear employees praise this form of learning due too how flexible it may be.

Let's make the world just a little smaller....

Tanner Dabel

3^nd Opinion paper

Distance Training/Education/Conferencing

Years ago, if one wanted to watch TV, make a phone call, read a book or listen to music, they would have needed a TV, telephone, some books and a stereo system. Now all you need is a laptop and some internet access. The internet seems to be the place to be. Whether it is VoIP, Bit Torrent or Web-based TV, everything seems to be shifting to the internet. The computer is a one stop shopping for daily activities (very much like a Super Wal-mart). As one wonders what else can get digitized, three more business oriented activities are quickly adapting to meet the trend. Distance training, education and conferencing are all going digital. A company employee can now do all three from, well, anywhere!

Let’s first look at distance training and how it might benefit a business. Its Sally’s first day, working at the box factory in Denver, CO. Oh, and its also Dean’s first day on the job at the same company owned box factory in Phoenix, AZ. Now, let’s imagine 50 other new employees starting at the same company owned box factory all over the United States (it’s a BIG box company). Now, boxes can be confusing work if you don’t know what your doing; so box company policy dictates that everyone go through a four hours a day interactive training course for the first four days of working at the box company. Sally, Dean and the rest of the 50 new employees check in and are quickly whisked away to the super cool training suite. You see, the box company a few years back made a cost effective decision of creating an interactive training suite in each of its box factories. Before this time, they use to have to shuffle people all around the US to the Madison, WI branch because that was the companies training facility. This wasn’t cheap since the box company hires 50 new people on average every other week. The box company would have to pay all travel costs to shuffle all these new employees from point A to point B. Let’s also not forget, the cost in time it took, moving these people around. Box employees get about $25 an hour, so losing a person due to traveling one day there and one day back easily could cost the company hundreds of dollars per person per lost day!

But let’s get back to the story about Sally, Dean and the other 50 eager to start box employees. So they get to the on-site training suite, housed with training computers. These computers have special interfaces that are all tied to each others factory suite computers. This allows all 50 employees to see a training instructor (she’s in Seattle, WA). These computers also have special software to help simulate box machines, assembly flowcharts and everything you can think of that a person would need for training. So everyone sits down, the instructor goes live using say Sonic Foundries Mediasite and welcomes everyone to day one of training. Then there’s the four hours of interactive training. When the four hours are up, everyone goes to lunch, and then it’s off to a factory wide meeting that start right after lunch.

So, let’s look at this situation and see if we can spot any direct benefits. The first thing that should be apparent is the savings in travel cost, both time and money. The person is on-site and learning opposed to having to travel someone else, learn there and then come back. Less time is wasted because the person does not need to travel. Less money is wasted because arrangements were not needed for traveling. But wait, there’s more, how about indirect benefits, can we spot any? Of course we can, how about the fact that a new employee is able to learn the skills needed to do their job AT the place they will be working at for the next few year. Sometimes it can be stressful on a new employee who gets bounced around at the beginning, traveling, learning away from their base factory and then going back to the base factory, still out of the loop and having to play catch up. With distance training, the new employee has a less stressful transition from training to actual working. Notice the other indirect benefit I slip in there two sentences ago. I’ll repeat it again “still out of the loop and having to play catch up.” New employees might also have added stress put on them because of that wasted time traveling and training elsewhere before they are assimilated into the normal working staff. With the training suite situation provided above, everyone had training in the mid morning for two hours, then it was lunch and after lunch every new employee was able to attend the onsite factory wide meeting. This would allow the new employee to start getting assimilated on day one, rather then a week later. In addition, this adds less stress on the employee when it comes to their family. Say Sally has a husband and three kids. If she had to travel out to the Madison factory for training, that’s a weeks worth of time away from her family. This adds stress to Sally, her husband and her three kids. On the flip side, say Sally stays at her branch factory, does the training there and is able to go home to her family later that night. This arrangement causes less stress on her, less stress on her family and a better outcome for everyone.

Now is the time to discuss distance conferencing and its benefits for a business. Remember when Sally and Dean signed onto the training suite computers and the instructor from Seattle was on already waiting for them. Throughout that training, Sally, Dean and the instructor participated in a distance conference. This was in the form of training. Its two years later, Dean and Sally are still with the company. Both have moved up the ranks in the box company and they both now have global roles in brokering deals with manufacturing companies overseas that need boxes to ship their products out. Sally (who’s still lives in Denver, CO), Dean (who’s still lives in Phoenix, AZ) and Stuff Incorporated (our manufacturer who needs boxes) are set to meet in a global conference at 10 PM GMT today. With the power of distance conferencing, Dean who’s at home (his daughter was sick today) logs onto his computer at 3 PM MST, Sally who actually is on vacation in San Francisco signs onto her laptop at 2 PM WST and Jerry (our Stuff Incorporated Rep.) signs onto his computer at 11 PM WEZ (because he’s in Berlin, Germany). The three meet for an hour, come to an agreement and then all log off. Jerry heads home for bed (because it’s past midnight in Berlin), Sally goes back down to the resort pool (since its only 3 PM and she is on vacation) and Dean goes to fix supper for family (because it’s getting to be dinner time in Denver soon). Again, a lot of the benefits for distance training can be applied to distance conferencing. One additional bonus that was illustrated above, people can come together, anywhere and anytime. Dean was at home with his child, Sally was at a resort on vacation and Jerry, well he’s overseas in a different company!

Let’s say another year has gone by, Dean’s moved on to another company, but Sally, she’s interested in getting into the management level of the box company in Denver. She also saw a story the other day on TV about something called OpenCourseWare (OCW). It seems if one would like to study up on a subject, Open courseware is a free way to obtain university course level material online for free. And as you might have guessed, this brings us to the third and last topic; distance learning. OCW is one of many ways in which distance learning is being offered. Personally, I think this may be the way to offer distance (learning). Sally goes to the OpenCourseWare Consortium, where she sees MIT as a choice for materials. She’s heard of MIT and remembers it being a highly respected university in the US. She follows the link to MIT’s OCW and sees there is in fact a management department which offers many of the MIT management courses. She decides that evening that she’ll start reviewing all the course materials and slowly work her way through each course until she has a firm understanding of basic management. Then she can start to apply for internal management positions and she’ll have some basic knowledge of management.

Looking at OCW, this may not have as much direct benefit, but more of an indirect benefit through its employees. With the instance above, Sally was interested in moving up in the company, and OCW empowered her to have a good chance at moving up in the company, by giving her an affordable opportunity to learn the basic level management. It allowed understand some of the more basic aspects to management so that the company could then perhaps more formally train her in the specifics without having to cover those basics. This saves the company both time and money, while allow the employee to educate themselves in the comforts of their own home at a pace they work best at.

As you can see with all three causes, each one allowed the company to save time, save travel costs and lessened the time and stress costs of the employee. Though distance training, conferencing and learning may not fit every situation, I think it’s a good fit for most. Through the means computers, software and an internet connection, distance activities will aid in bringing people together no matter how far way they are. This will give people the ability to meet anytime, anyplace. How could a business not benefit from that? The power of this flexibility is endless and very little of it has been tapped thus far. Its time for business to make the investment and implement distance activates to aid in making the world just a little bit smaller while saving the company large sums of money.