Pub. 17 2018-2019 Issue 1

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 19 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G Most providers (including DMS vendors) offer bundles of services that seamlessly integrate and provide more efficiency in process and cost. Dealers must do their own due dili- gence or seek professional advice to make sure they have the optimal configurations for their particular operation. Better Access to the Cloud Since most DMS systems are now web- based, optimizing connectivity is a priority. Dealers now have access to technology called Software-Defined Wide Area Net- works (SD-WAN) and the benefits, espe- cially for dealers with several locations, are significant: • Cost Effective: SD-WAN eliminates expensive hardware costs by provision- ing connectivity through the cloud. MPLS networks can be as much as 90 percent more expensive than Internet, and since SD-WAN can use different data channels, dealers can rely on other options (Broadband, 4G LTE, etc.) to drive down costs. • Secure: SD-WAN provides end-to-end encryption throughout the network. • Reliable: Dealers can plug in backup data (redundancy purposes) into the dual port firewall and run them in active/ active configuration at the same time. If the main data line goes down, the backup automatically picks up and there is no lag in business. • Visibility & Control: The routers placed at each location offer analytics in the formof a real-time outage tracker through an online portal. This allows dealers to see which specific router and location is experiencing lags, and therefore, Quality of Service can be monitored at the granular level. • Scalability: SD-WAN controls the al- location of bandwidth, not the carrier. So, dealerships can increase bandwidth for peak hours for a busier location at a moment’s notice and ensure important applications get the bandwidth they require. • Flexibility: Locations don’t need to have the same carrier or data service Technology advances – robotics, blockchain and artificial intelligence – will actually make big data a differentiator among dealers. provider as the corporate, allowing locations more flexibility to choose the local/regional best. Imagine SD-WAN as an umbrella that can accommodate and control different types of data channels such as MPLS, 4G LTE, Cable, Broadband. This means that SD-WAN can operate on different classes of connections/channels across multiple locations. SD-WAN also allows you to combine all of the internet connections at one location to make one large data pipe. For example, if a location has 50Mb Fiber internet, with a 20Mb cable connection as a backup, SD-WAN aggregates this so that the location now has a 70Mb connection at all times. If the 50Mb connection goes down, the internet never drops because the 20Mb pipe stayed up the whole time. This drastically reduces the likelihood that your dealership will ever completely lose internet service. Additionally, because broadband connections are controlled through cloud software, dealers can scale up or “burst” connectivity during times of peak demand. Other networking choices will soon be outmoded so dealerships will want to embrace this newer and more effi- cient technology. The Future Is Now Wondering about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data? Dealers may have heard the buzz about them in other industries but how can they help make a dealership more profitable? Big data is a data set that is too large to be analyzed by conventional means so it’s not part of in-house databases for customers or prospects and won’t ever appear on a spreadsheet. For auto dealers, external data sets like household data, shopper behavior data, and demographic data are combined with a dealer’s in-house information to create an actionable range of customer needs – even down to the profile of a single consumer. Meeting those needs is the key to profitability. Technology advances – robotics, block- chain and artificial intelligence – will ac- tually make big data a differentiator among dealers. Artificial intelligence first found its way into auto retailing with front-end customer targeting/segmentation, lead scoring and customer engagement. The largest dealer groups were the first to see the potential synergy of big data and AI but dealers of all sizes can now engage with a few established gateways (e.g. Automotive Mastermind, Conversica and others) to use predictive analytics and AI to maximize returns. Meaningful, quantifiable results ensue when micro-targeting, automatic 24/7 responses and predictive scoring reach the right consumer, at the right time with the right message, minimizing effort and expense. The Darwinian principle that the most suc- cessful are those who are most responsive to change has never been more relevant to dealers. The future is here NOW – adapt or go extinct. Paul Gillrie is founder of the Gillrie Institute, a leading consultant and advocate for automobile dealers in their quest to reduce technology expenses in their dealership. Paul can be reached at 800.576.6959 or by email (paul@gillrie.com ).