CDK is opening up?

[Alex Snyder]

https://fortellis.io

Just putting this here as a placeholder for when I have more details. It sounds like the intent is to make CDK DMS data more accessible to non-CDK developers. It may even come at a reduced price.

 

[Alexander Lau]

That's interesting. I could see a lot of applications.

 

[Nancy Hernandez]

I just attended NADA 2018 in Las Vegas and spoke with Fortellis team members. Basically, Fortellis is a developers toolbox to create APIs for their software to integrate dealership sites. It creates a standardization for connecting to third-party vendor software.

 

[Alexander Lau]

I just attended NADA 2018 in Las Vegas and spoke with Fortellis team members. Basically, Fortellis is a developers toolbox to create APIs for their software to integrate dealership sites. It creates a standardization for connecting to third-party vendor software.

That's what APIs do.

 

[Nancy Hernandez]

That's what APIs do.

Yes, you're right. Their take is that its a standardization platform to do it quickly and you can create your own workflow thru their APIs that are much faster. Here's an example: https://developer.fortellis.io/api-reference/vehicle-sales/deal-creation-quotes-api . Note: I haven't used it yet, but I am interested in do so soon.

 

[craigh]

This could be the biggest thing to come out of NADA this year.
If this works, it might put Reynolds up against the wall finally.

If they can reduce their pricing to just an arm OR a leg, this will be very exciting for me.

Waiting to see...

 

[Alex Snyder]

If they can reduce their pricing to just an arm OR a leg, this will be very exciting for me.]

and have been thinking about how this doesn't get lost in the overall pursuit of revenue because the likelihood of canibalizing CDK products is high.

Some thoughts I've had on the move

1. It is a big to companies like Cox who are suing CDK and pretty much own service scheduling, inventory solutions, and OEM digital marketing relationships
2. Get the technology new comers to begin pushing CDK DMS by showing cool features that cannot be done in Dominion, DealerBuilt, AutoSoft, Dealertrack, Reynolds, etc.
3. Maybe they've decided it no longer makes sense to buy and shelf threatening products
4. They're truly trying to create an Amazon Web Services environment where more than just CDK data streams are used
5. The next phase is an app store, like Apple's, where technology solutions that use CDK data pay a monthly fee (hopefully much reduced from the current vig)

 

[craigh]

Some thoughts I've had on the move

1. It is a big to companies like Cox who are suing CDK and pretty much own service scheduling, inventory solutions, and OEM digital marketing relationships
2. Get the technology new comers to begin pushing CDK DMS by showing cool features that cannot be done in Dominion, DealerBuilt, AutoSoft, Dealertrack, Reynolds, etc.
3. Maybe they've decided it no longer makes sense to buy and shelf threatening products
4. They're truly trying to create an Amazon Web Services environment where more than just CDK data streams are used
5. The next phase is an app store, like Apple's, where technology solutions that use CDK data pay a monthly fee (hopefully much reduced from the current vig)

This is exactly where my head is at as well.
This could be a very smart move for them and really gives them a valid argument to use in defense of these lawsuits.
If they argue they've been working on this open data platform, it will be hard to argue that they make data inaccessible to vendors.

 

[Alexander Lau]

I was going to pull data from CDK Data Services for a project of mine, about two years ago, but it was costly (had to become a CDK approved vendor). I'm not sure of their angle. Could be where they have hooks within their marketplace. I don't know. I had signed a two-way NDA, etc., until I realized the cost. This looks different.

 

[craigh]

I was going to pull data from CDK Data Services for a project of mine, about two years ago, but it was costly (had to become a CDK approved vendor). I'm not sure of their angle. Could be where they have hooks within their marketplace. I don't know. I had signed a two-way NDA, etc., until I realized the cost. This looks different.

This is very different. This is a real SDK / API system for their data.