PILOT
The team continued Discovery and Assessment meetings in the seven selected Phase II Pilot markets:
DEVELOPMENT The team worked on Sprint 14 and focused on these key features:
Sprint 14 work was for completion on March 29 and released on April 5. STAFFING No headcount changes or additions. We continue to run lean! AGREEMENTS The Agreements Work Group continues refining the final agreements (non-beta). GOVERNANCE To better align with our MLS partners, the Upstream Board of Managers (BOM) voted on two items at our March 23rd meeting. First, was the creation new MLS member type allowing participating MLSs to have representation on the Board of Managers. The second regarded a strategic shift allowing two-way sync with an MLS . After a “lively debate,” the BOM ultimately voted against changing the Operating Agreement to add a new member type. Currently, to become a member, which allows you to select board representative, you must be a brokerage. The majority felt that Upstream must remain a broker-centric initiative and both internal conversations, and voting rights, should remain within the practitioner community. However, the BOM universally believed that MLS participation is imperative and requires MLS community input. The BOM recommended that we formalize leadership positions in our MLS Advisory group (http://bit.ly/2jjccda) and give those leaders an active forum with the Executive Committee (EC). Our EC meets monthly where the BOM meets quarterly, and we felt the frequency was important. I recently met with the Advisory Group, and they are actively determining their representatives. The discussion regarding two-ways sync was nothing short of amazing, and the BOM demonstrated an aggressive desire to strengthen our partnership with the MLS community. The current architecture and messaging states that Upstream participants must input their listings into Upstream and entitle recipients, including an MLS, must “pull” the data via our API. Under the rubric of “what problem(s) are we trying to solve?” the BOM unanimously agreed that moving toward a sync relationship was in the best interest of Upstream, our MLS partners, and our brokerage participants. The decision gives brokerages a “Single Choice of Entry” while maintaining our charter:
Giving the brokerages a choice forces both Upstream and MLS to compete for the “best interface.” Brokerages will only benefit. Of course, the “devil is in the details” as we resolve how this might work. We (Upstream and the MLS community) must resolve issues such as:
NOTE FROM THE CEO I’m very excited to bring you such a “meaty” update. Synchronization has been a “hot topic” within the MLS community for some time. We are very thrilled to strengthen our relationship and work together through the details of this initiative. Momentum is picking up every day, and the team is focused on demonstrating deep integration with the Portland MLS (RMLS) during the 2017 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings next month.
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August 2020
Our GoalsWe seek to create efficiencies by reducing redundant entry, help brokers distribute deliberately by giving them control over who can access their data and inspire innovation by removing artificial barriers when the broker allows. |