There are several important aspects of a DMS. Understanding and managing these key aspects can help determine how effective the DMS will be in achieving business goals. Demanding flexibility and open standards from the DMS will allow interaction with the myriad of applications and features that are available from a variety of sources, as well as utilizing the network infrastructure to its potential. Maintaining executive control and ownership of infrastructure and information will facilitate the ability to integrate with OEMs and third party suppliers. Following these guidelines will help preserve the dealer's customer relationship, ease the transition to new systems and suppliers and bolster competitiveness and innovation in the DMS market space. Look closely at the existing DMS and plan carefully when upgrading systems or changing suppliers.