One half has been computing since 1935. The other has been tracking what moves since 1999.
GlobeRanger builds software that knows where physical assets are and what condition they are in. Founded in 1999 in Richardson, Texas. A Fujitsu company since 2014.
What we stand for
Three statements, each with a date behind it.
We have never sold a closed system.
In 1976 Fujitsu built mainframes compatible with the market leader systems rather than a world of its own. In 2000 GlobeRanger dropped the plan to build its own readers. The same decision twice, twenty four years apart. It is why GlobeRanger talks to the hardware already standing on your site.
Built for places where the network fails.
The first large deployments were at Defense Distribution Center sites, the distribution arm of the Defense Logistics Agency, and on US Navy bases. A connection there is not something you rely on. What was built for that keeps working when the wireless drops in a high bay warehouse.
Long-term robust partnership.
An engineering team in Texas works on the platform. Behind it stands a company that has existed for ninety one years and invested 101.2 billion yen in research in the 2024 financial year. Both matter: the short path to the developers, and the certainty that the supplier will still be there in ten years.
Where we come from
Two lines that became one in 2014.
Fujitsu, from 1935
1935
Founded as a maker of communications equipment
Fujitsu is spun out of the communications division of Fuji Electric in Japan. It begins with transmission, not computing.
1954
Japan first practical computer
The FACOM 100 is the first relay computer in Japan to do real work. A country starts building machines of its own.
1976
Compatible rather than closed
Fujitsu delivers the FACOM M-190, the first mainframe of its IBM compatible M series. A deliberate decision against building a world of its own.
1979
A transistor that is still everywhere
Takashi Mimura files the patent for the High Electron Mobility Transistor at Fujitsu Laboratories. It sits in satellite receivers, mobile base stations, radio telescopes and automotive radar today. The IEEE has listed it as a milestone of electrical engineering since 2019.
GlobeRanger, from 1999
1999
Three founders in Richardson, Texas
A former Nortel manager, an entrepreneur from Dallas and an IBM researcher found GlobeRanger. The idea is to combine radio, the internet and positioning to know where goods currently are.
2000
The decision not to build hardware
One year in, the founders drop the plan to build their own readers. Instead they build software that talks to other manufacturers devices. That decision still carries the company.
2002
GlobeRanger iMotion
The platform ships in July. It is built from the start to process RFID.
2004
A mandate creates a market
In July 2004 the US Department of Defense requires its suppliers to use passive RFID. That creates a market for software that brings readers from different manufacturers together. In the same year GlobeRanger becomes a founding partner of the Microsoft RFID Council.
2004 to 2005
Others build their products on GlobeRanger iMotion
RedPrairie takes the platform into its logistics suite under an OEM agreement, Franwell builds rfid>Genesis on it and Unisys adds it to its RFID portfolio. A product becomes a foundation for others.
2014, the merger
Merger
2014
Fujitsu acquires GlobeRanger
Fujitsu UK and Ireland buys the company as part of the group Global Defence Initiative. The brand, the site in Texas and the engineering team all stay.
Since then
2016
GlobeRanger iMotion 7.0
Version 7.0 ships on 3 May. Azure IoT, AWS and other services can be connected without replacing anything at the edge.
2020
Four first places on one day
In June Fugaku takes first place in four international rankings at the same time. No system had done that before.
2022
Edge Connect
The platform leaves the fixed installation. Forklifts, automated guided vehicles and drones become capture points of their own.
2026
Eighteen industries
The experience from defence and aviation moves into eighteen industries. Germany is where that starts.
Where GlobeRanger runs
Publicly documented deployments. Every linked name leads to its source.
Defence and public sector
- US Navy Pearl Harbor and Kaneohe Bay 2008
- US Defense Distribution Center the distribution arm of the Defense Logistics Agency 2006
- Richardson Police Department Texas 2011
- A German defence manufacturer ammunition and explosives storage
Manufacturing and industry
- Baker Hill Industries precision components 2016
- BearCom 33 sites 2016
Retail and consumer goods
- Beam Suntory Jim Beam 2020
- FloraHolland via Atos Origin 2006
- Russell Activewear via Franwell 2004
One deployment is not named, at the customer's request.
If you want to know whether this fits your site, we will tell you in thirteen minutes.