MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- STAR (Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail), the IT standards body for the North American retail automotive industry, has published an improved version of the "Dealership Infrastructure Guidelines" (DIG version DIG2007v1.0), which will help to facilitate the standardization of an open, common IT infrastructure for all automotive dealerships.
The DIG is a technology reference manual intended to assist dealers and their technology partners in developing a simplified, more cost-effective IT network. It includes information on Internet access, security, local area network design, PC hardware, and other IT components.
"The DIG is an ever evolving guide that helps build a strong foundation for your infrastructure. It has an abundance of information that stays current with the needs of the industry for those implementing and updating new technologies," says Nichole Pierron, STAR Infrastructure Project Manager.
The goal of the document is to help dealers prepare their IT infrastructure for the next generation dealer-to-OEM communication systems.
The 2007v1.0 version of the Dealership Infrastructure Guidelines has several updates. First, the addition of a new chapter, Business Continuation and Disaster recovery, to aid dealers in developing a strategy to deal with disasters and assist them in determining how to proceed.
Next, STAR reviewed and modified the DMS Migration section, the Wireless Network section, and the Checklists to accommodate newer technologies and changes in business.
Finally, some minor modifications have been made to various chapters. These changes include grammatical corrections, and minor style updates.
The DIG can be downloaded for free at: www.starstandard.org
About STAR (www.starstandard.org)
The Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) organization is the Information Technology (IT) standards organization for the retail automotive industry. STAR is leading the effort to implement voluntary IT standards throughout the automotive industry. These standards are designed to support business information needs and provide secure and reliable means for dealers, manufacturers, and retail system providers to communicate.
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, STAR is a not-for-profit volunteer organization and its members include Dealers, Manufacturers and Retail System Providers (RSPs). As members, they are interested in developing, promoting, and administering voluntary IT standards in the retail automotive industry and improving the effectiveness, timeliness and competitiveness of the IT solutions needed within the retail automotive industry.
STAR membership roster:
Dealer Groups: CCAQ, NADA
Retail System Providers: ADP, Advent Resources, Inc., AIAG, AFSA, Arkona, AutoDESA, Auto/Mate Inc., CIECA, DealerTrack, gedas, Karmak, National Marine Manufacturers Association, Motorcycle Industry Council, NeoSynergy, LLC, OAGI, Oxlo Systems Inc., PBS Financial Systems Inc., Procede Software, Quorum Information Systems, Reynolds & Reynolds, RouteOne, Sun Microsystems, Unipart Automotive Logistics, UCS, Wipro Technologies, and 5Square Systems Corporation.
Manufacturers: American Honda Motor Co., Inc., American Suzuki Motor Corp., BMW of North America, Inc., DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corp., Jaguar Cars, Mazda North American Operations, Porsche Cars North America, Inc., Renault, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, and Volkswagen of America.