STAR will be hosting it’s upcoming Winter/Spring General Session in nice and warm Orlando Florida. As I write this entry we just were slammed with a nice winter storm which pretty much shut the east coast down. So those heading to the NADA convention will enjoy a much needed reprieve from winter’s grasp. As they are doing so, and since spring is right around the corner here is some food for thought.
Where should STAR as an organization go for the next several years? Some may think we have done all that we can and there is nothing left to do. However, the only thing that is constant in the universe is change. Some will argue that the speed of light is constant, but that is a nit pick. While many of the data standards are fairly mature, there are still areas in the Dealership’s business process we do not address, or have not addressed well.
One area that is growing and needs some help in standardization is the growing need for add-on provider integration with the main dealership system. In some ways there has been resistance to providing a common approach to allowing these add on providers to connect. Valid concerns about network bandwidth, and security have been used as reasons to limit availability. Network bandwidth increases over the years, and with recent changes to the STAR Web Services 4.0 specification the security aspect should be addressed.
The OEM and Dealership Management System providers can leaverage the same STAR Web Service specification that they use for communication with each other to allow third party providers to connect to their system. By leveraging this they are making it easier for more providers that they certify for connection, to be used by the dealership. A third party provider may have more than one dealership management system to connect with, and by leveraging a common industry standard transport, it can make it easier for all involved.
Prior versions of the STAR Web Service specification left too much open for interpretation. The new version due in May for general use, address this by specifying a minimum level of interoperability that all implementations must support. It also updates to the latest Web Service specifications supported by implementation frameworks. The security aspect leverages industry standards like WS-Security and Digital Certificate Authentication, giving the service provider that needed level of authentication to know who is accessing the system and when.
Service providers can and should be allowed to provide certification into their system, but the starting point for the transport and gate way should be a common industry standard like STAR’s Web Service specification. In the long run, it is about keeping the dealers happy, and giving them secure access to their data to work with the applications they choose to run their business. After all if the Dealer is happy, everybody is happy.
If you are going to the STAR General Session and have other ideas for discussion, please feel free to bring those up during the General Topics discussion section in the afternoon on February 11. Oh and make sure you stop by the STAR booth to say High and show your support for the organization.