STAR is involved in every aspect of dealer to OEM (and 3rd party) integration:

• data fields included + format
• connectivity, including infrastructure
• transport, failure protocols, acknowledgements, etc.

STAR - Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail for more. Adoption varies widely by OEM and even after the OEM adopts, dealer signup + installation takes time to work thru the channel too.

Most OEM's have some manner of High Speed Internet Connection in place.

The dial up modems are mostly in place for the convenience of the DMS companies having a secure back up method to connect for support.

There is nothing wrong with terminal connections (they actually enable some useful functions like using a PC & data extracts). They just don't fix the fundamental underlying architectural & design limitations of the DMS (multiple databases, weak internal controls outlined in the prior post, insufficient management reporting for multi-franchise dealer groups, etc.)

ADP's websuite is like R&R's (forget the name). They are terminal connections with some nice dashboard reports pre-built. Believe both will allow allow for a hosted model (ASP), but still the same 25+ year DMS w same limitations running underneath it.