Longer-term, limited access can reduce competition and innovation. And, changes to access avenues may require dealerships and third parties to reinstitute manual data movement processes and multiple data entry steps.
In some cases, DMS-certified programs provide an alternative to programs initiated by the dealer or third party. OSA’s principles support the development and use of these programs. Three important characteristics will drive their future growth: They must be 1) Able to meet data transfer needs (as examples, every hour, or bi-directional), 2) Available to third parties requesting participation, and 3) Affordable, in terms of upfront costs, attached conditions, recurring charges and resources required to complete the certification. It is worth understanding these programs and their associated costs and limitations, because program attributes are likely to impact directly data access by third parties.
OEM’s can play a critical role in the development and utilization of industry-wide standards. As an example, OSA’s Certification Programs use our Automotive Retail Data Security Guidelines. The guidelines are built from discussions and input from a wide variety of industry players, and utilize best practices from other markets (such as financial services and retail).
What can you do?
- Build alternative and back-up data access plans.
- Understand the impact of current and proposed changes on data movement and your requirements.
- Voice your concerns to dealerships, their systems providers and other stakeholders.
- Join OSA.
