By now you are probably aware that the large services consultancies -- such as Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, EDS, and IBM -- are vying for a leading position in the radio frequency identification (RFID) services sector.

But who is positioned to be the best provider?

A recent report by IDC analyzes and compares the RFID strategies of Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, EDS, and IBM. It also examines RFID trends and vertical market adoption patterns, and offers guidance for retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and service vendors.

The IDC report assesses a number of factors for success, including the players' breadth and depth of RFID offering, strength in supply chain management (SCM) consultancy, and vertical market presence. IDC says this:

"When comparing actual activity with the amount of attention given to RFID in the media, it has certainly been over-hyped lately," said Erik Bruin, research manager, IDC European Services. "The number of consultants working full time in RFID practices is small and vendors' revenues from RFID are currently very limited. But expectations are high and RFID is strategic for the large services vendors. The current situation is probably best described as a phase of positioning and building offerings and early references, in expectation of the market really taking off in the near future."

Translation: none of these firms has much business in RFID services today, but they all want to get it. It's still a wide open market today. It will be interesting to see who emerges as the strongest player(s).