Early in 2019, Upstream and CoreLogic announced the intent to work together to rethink the Upstream technology platform. By February, we had a solid development plan in place. This summer, we’re set to launch the first phase of Upstream.
If you aren’t already familiar with Upstream, it’s a company founded by brokers and franchises to create a data platform for entering, storing, securing and safely distributing broker data and media. Data management is common to all firms, but the systems they use are often incompatible or redundant. Upstream aims to fix that.
It’s tempting to think about broker data with a narrow focus on listings, but with Upstream, listings are only one part of the full complement of broker data in the system. A primary unfulfilled need for brokers is the ability to create, store and distribute the firm record. The firm record is pretty broad and includes the:
- Broker name
- Broker ID
- Office names
- Office IDs
- Agent names
- Agent IDs
- Team IDs
- Staff names
- Office images
- Company biography
- Office biography
- Agent biographies
- Team biographies
- Agent headshots
- Team headshots
- and so much more
If you think about all the information other than listings that’s needed for any technology deployed at a brokerage—like a broker website, an agent website, or to brand a CRM—you begin to understand the amount of data in the firm record that needs to be keyed into every application used by the broker.
The average broker in America is maintaining the firm record across 15 or more applications, and this has nothing to do with listings. Missing bios and contact information often result in missed opportunities because the data isn’t available, or hasn’t been entered. Upstream will resolve much of that by giving participating firms a universal place to maintain this information. In addition, the broker will have a dashboard to authorize anyone they choose to access it. When a firm adds or removes an agent in Upstream, the firm record is quickly updated across all systems used by the broker.
Of course, Upstream will also provide brokers the ability to manage their listings. In the first release, brokers will have the ability to enhance listings that are being pulled from the MLS. They can add high-resolution branded images or other multimedia to Upstream, along with additional information that’s important to the broker’s business. The broker, and only the broker, will be able to authorize technology providers to access their data.
To stay current on Upstream releases, subscribe to updates at www.upstreamre.com. Be sure to send this article to your technology vendors to make sure they’re in the process of connecting to Upstream so that your business can take advantage of this improved efficiency.
Amy Gorce is principal, Business Development at CoreLogic. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.
