BEA Systems will acquire ConnecTerra, a privately-held pioneer in RFID middleware technology based in Cambridge, Mass. The acquisition is designed to immediately extend the range of the BEA infrastructure portfolio to easily integrate Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and other device data as “liquid assets” available across a company’s business units, applications and processes. The acquisition can help customers address the growing amount of RFID data captured across supply chains.


Alfred Chuang

Founded in 2001, ConnecTerra is described by BEA as "a pioneering provider of RFID infrastructure software." More than 25 consumer packaged goods, retail and transportation companies and system integrators rely on innovative ConnecTerra technology for generating new levels of business intelligence. ConnecTerra also plays a leadership role in the groups that are shaping RFID standards, including EPCglobal where ConnecTerra has been a member since 2002, holding leadership roles on the architecture and security committees and contributing to an upcoming “application level events” standard.

“ConnecTerra is an exciting acquisition for BEA and our customers,” said Alfred Chuang, chairman and chief executive officer, BEA Systems, Inc. “Most of the early RFID adopters are already using BEA and ConnecTerra technologies, and this gives us the industry’s first end-to-end standards-based infrastructure for RFID – from the capture of raw RFID events to the translation of those events into relevant business data.”

According to an AMR Research study, “69 percent of companies surveyed are planning to evaluate, pilot, or implement RFID in 2005.” Companies across retail, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, defense, and transportation are rapidly adopting RFID to reduce out-of-stock inventory, counterfeiting and spoilage, increase security of cross-border shipments and track high value assets, among other applications. According to a study, the FDA estimates as much as $40 billion in inventory is lost or stolen annually from the supply chain.