“greater control of the MLS listing database and RETS feeds.”
Seems to be a lot of hubbub in this space. RED has a solution with reDataVault, I believe OnBoard Informatics has one (Listings 360 insight), so does Bridge Interactive Group (RETS IQ Contact™ Server) and I feel like I’m missing someone else. But I’m still not clear on the difference between each of their respective solutions and what main problems they are solving. Part of me hopes it could be some sort of “Data Socket” as Brian Boero suggested at CMLS 2011 and in a recent blog post.
We tried to do a panel with some of these player at the CMLS Listings Summit earlier this year but it was a bit confusing. I’d like to see the same thing again, somewhere.
That being said, I think Bridge Interactive does the best job explaining their value proposition, which is mainly due to focus. Their website is chock-full of good content and videos. And it seems that the only deals I see announced in this space is from Bridge. Here’s another:
________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rhode Island State-Wide Multiple Listing Selects Bridge Interactive Group’s RETS IQ Contact™ Server
Atlanta, GA, October 14, 2011- Bridge Interactive Group (Bridge) announced today that Rhode Island State-Wide MLS selected Bridge’s Contact RETS server for greater control of the MLS listing database and RETS feeds.
“We chose RETS IQ Contact over other RETS servers for its advanced reporting tools, ability to control access to our listing database, ease of use, and affordability” says Mike Letendre, Chief Information Officer at State-Wide MLS. “We have had a very positive experience working with the Bridge staff during the transition to their Contact server, and look forward to a long working relationship with their team.”
Pace Davis, Bridge’s President, says “State-Wide MLS was looking for a robust solution to provide complete control of their listing data and RETS management. We are thrilled that they have chosen Contact as their solution, and are pleased to add Rhode Island State-Wide MLS to our growing list of clients.”
Bridge’s RETS IQ Contact is an MLS-level RETS data management tool that provides detailed control and use reporting for MLS RETS access. RETS IQ Contact has the most comprehensive RETS usage reporting in the industry. Contact stores each and every RETS action then presents that data in several easy-to-read, analytical reports. Contact enables MLS staff to review real-time queries, the number of listings, amounts of data requested and much more. Executive-level summary reports are presented in clear, graphical detail allowing the MLS Administrator or Executive to quickly review and monitor activity on the RETS server. In addition, Contact makes troubleshooting RETS simple. Help Desk or Administrative staff can easily identify failed queries and identify the problem, such as a misspelled word or an improper character. Failed queries are displayed in red which makes them easy to identify and therefore, quicker to manage.
About Bridge Interactive Group
Bridge Interactive Group specializes in providing cutting edge technology and
services to the real estate industry. Bridge offers solutions for listing syndication
control, RETS data usage and monitoring, account management and billing, and
add/edit functionality via its RETS IQ product suite. Bridge technologies are used
by MLS System Vendors, MLSs, Brokers, and more than 280,000 agents. For
more information about Bridge Interactive Group, please visit www.retsiq.com, or contact Turan Tekin at: phone- 404.310.6475, email- turan at retsiq dot com
Here’s my take on the difference between the three products:
RETS IQ: RETS management software.
RE Data Vault: Syndication.
OnBoard: API for their lifestyle listing search.
@Michael I thought reData Vault did RETS management too?
It very well might, but I think the focus of their pitch for that product is syndication and that likely means they are doing more than RETS, because I’m pretty sure many of the syndication destinations do not yet accept RETS. But I suspect someone from RED would have a much more detailed and accurate answer than me. 🙂
@ Michael
Well – that be ME ! (OK How DO I put that little smiley face in here?)
reDataVault is indeed a syndication engine- and has been sending out “flat XML” files to Publishers like Trulia, Zillow, Frontdoor, Homefinder, Luxury Properties and Cyberhomes now for over six months.
But it is also much more. Think of that three-layer cake with Licensing on top- Data Delivery in the middle- and Compliance at the bottom. reDataVault is designed to automate and manage the entire workflow- all three layers, and now includes unlimited online documents that are tied to “licenses” and “products”.
For an MLS- it automates all of the time-consuming work involved in registering vendors and licensing the MLS data, up to and including automated delivery using our data servers. It also manages all of the opt-in and opt-out tracking by data license – exports OR syndication feeds.
For a Broker or Franchise / Network- it provides listing syndication, including individual office opt-in and opt-out, free listing activity reporting, selective watermarking (better branding) and data aggregation of more than one MLS. Thus, a Franchise can syndicate all of their listings in one easy step and manage who’s in and who’s out at the network level.
We also have a large RETS server at Real Estate Digital (RED), primarily used by our own internal products. Our recently announced partnership with Bridge Interactive augments reDataVault’s current capabilities with improved Data Delivery (specifically with RETS) and Compliance (specifically access statistics and listing tracking). RETS IQ Contact is a robust and proven market solution and will rapidly expand reDataVault’s capabilities. So in the near future, reDataVault will be able to automatically deliver and track data served any way you need it- via RETS or FTP and in a variety of formats- Flat Files, XML, or JSON.
Now- let’s be clear, all of this is new and it is BIG. The book is still being written in this area of automated listing data management. RED rolled Version One into production last April, and just released Version Two. And there are many planned upcoming enhancements.
Exciting times to be sure!