by G. Sax, Head of Communications, RESO
Our subject this week is Brian Alford, CIO at MiRealSource. We talked about making the move to real estate technology from doing electrical work, the complex MLS landscape of Michigan and also the beautiful landscapes of Michigan. Enjoy!
Q1: Any technology vendor who dares to enter the MLS space in Michigan is in for a treat. Not only is the geography unique – complete with townships upon townships – but the MLS landscape itself requires a roadmap between MiRealSource, Realcomp, MichRIC and others in a web of overlapping service areas and data shares. Does it take 20 years of experience to navigate, or can you explain it to us in a way that we can all understand?
Brian: I’ve answered this a number of times, and it usually ends in glazed eyes or a polite nod.
We are a broker-owned regional MLS, and we serve nine associations under a wholesale model. We currently datashare with Realcomp, MichRIC, Northern Great Lakes REALTORS® and the Greater Lansing Association of REALTORS®, plus eight of the nine associations in our regional.
We extend all the way up into the Upper Peninsula for wholesaling and data sharing. Also, it’s important to note that we pull all data back into our MLS so users are able to perform one search on one platform. However, what really makes things a bit complicated from the outside is we also extend datashares to IDX – not all, but most of them, and it’s enough to drive vendors crazy!
It’s been a development over the years, and we had to get creative just to get some MLSs on board the Great Lakes Repository (GLR), which is a datashare in southeastern Michigan. By creative, I mean we had to implement a number of unique rules and some governance into the GLR that they found necessary.
There were initially eight shareholders under the GLR that grew into 19. We were using a central repository under MIRS (now Bright MLS) in a product called CURE (Cornerstone Universal Real Estate Environment). With so many databases, it only made sense to go to a hub and spoke with ten databases. Plus, it made onboarding much easier, since CURE was normalizing the data.
Over the years, consolidation occurred with many of the smaller MLSs coming on to our platform, making a peer-to-peer model more practical. As a result, we stopped using CURE in 2020 in favor of direct data sharing among three regionals composed of 19 organizations in the GLR.
We also have data shares outside of the GLR that are composed of two regional MLSs, one association MLS and three of our wholesale customers. We have one wholesale customer that does not datashare with anyone in the state, and they are the only MLS in the state that does not have any sharing relationship.
It’s amazing to say that we are four MLSs away from statewide data sharing, and one of them is already a customer on our platform. This hard work continues to pay off in positive talks with the remaining MLSs. I believe they see that we’re not threatening their market and that it’s a benefit for their members. I hope I don’t jinx myself in saying that we’ve never had an MLS withdraw from any of our datashares since 2006!
All of this success comes down to cooperation, communication and, yes, RESO standards. The communication lines are always open, and we try to have occasional meetings with these partners, especially with all of the industry changes. RESO definitely helps when we’re all on the same roadmap.
All and all, when we can sit down as competitors and cooperate with communication and standards, it makes data sharing much more accurate between databases and valuable for the end user.
I’m proud to say that we can technically solve anything. Politically? Ehhhh.
Q2: You shifted your career trajectory from electrical technician to network administration around 30 years ago. How does an electrical guy become the CIO of a data organization?
Brian: That was just a transformation – a personal push. I didn’t want to do what I was doing anymore, which was dirty work. I took a hobby from my youth and turned it into a career. I had always liked computers back to the ‘80s, but I never thought of it as a career. Most of my education in IT is self-taught with a few courses in college. However, a lot of my education started with getting IT certifications. These can be challenging, with some requiring an eight-hour hands-on exam.
I started at the MLS in customer support, which I believe everyone should do in a company. Yes, it can be exhausting and annoying, but I think it can give you an insight to what our customers are dealing with. I still occasionally take support calls and trouble tickets.
After some mentorship, I became responsible for our LAN and WAN infrastructure. Back then, we were also an Internet Service Provider and provided dialup networking for the Internet and access to the MLS.
We had fractional data lines throughout southeastern Michigan to modem banks in brokers offices. Occasionally, some of these modems would go offline, and I would have to walk someone through flipping a master switch off and on. It wasn’t an elegant solution, but I didn’t want to drive 50 or 60 miles when I could reboot from my office chair. Thankfully, the modem banks were replaced by better technology through the local telecom.
Not only did the MLS provide Internet service back then, but we also provided email, hosted agent websites, and sold and supported PCs. This was in addition to MLS operations, which were all in house.
I managed to move up the ladder, and I was responsible for rebuilding our entire data center and maintaining the network infrastructure. Of course, I didn’t do it alone. But it was my baby, and I was the project lead. It was a great learning experience in my younger years, especially since we were an eclectic arrangement of operating systems and networking devices.
Eventually, I got another promotion to Director of Technical Operations and was in a position to provide some direction for our services. Our aging primary MLS application was in serious need for some updates and, potentially, a new build.
After doing a cost analysis and researching product offerings nationally, that provided the answer I was looking for. It was no longer sustainable to develop our primary application in house and provide the UI/UX that our subscribers needed. We needed to compete with our neighbors.
Also, I wanted to say that I really have nothing but respect for software development. It’s a living breathing product that needs constant attention.
Today, I have nothing but appreciation for MiRealSource and everything that I’ve gained and given and continue to learn. Obviously, my job responsibilities have changed over the years, but so has the MLS, especially with the business of consolidation and wholesaling to nine associations.
I think with all of these changes and after going through the trenches and up to a leadership position, it gave me a greater understanding of what is involved in running an MLS from the ground up.
Q3: As a mitten of a state surrounded by three Great Lakes, Michiganders are a proud lot accustomed to winning in sport, culture and natural beauty. For anyone visiting Michigan for the first time, where would you send them and why?
Brian: This state has so much to offer. It really does. It’s pretty common for us to vacation within our own state. Traverse City is among the top places I would send folks. It’s the Napa Valley of the Midwest and has wineries everywhere.
If you like scenic hiking and dune buggy tours, I would suggest the Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan.
Detroit has a number of museums. I’m a member of the Detroit Institute of Arts – one of the best museums in the world, and I say that as someone who has been to museums across the country and in Europe. It’s the first museum to purchase a Van Gogh and one of the largest museums in the world. There are works from all continents that date back 8,000 years, and it can take multiple days to see them all.
Grand Rapids has a circuit of breweries, which is why they call it “Beer City.” It’s located on the west side of the state and close to some of the greatest beaches in the country. It’s a great summertime city with festivals and outdoor concerts.
Mackinac Island is absolutely beautiful. You can generally only get there by boat, and the public is only allowed to use mostly bikes and horse-drawn carriages on the island. They are actually going to legislate that you can’t even have an e-bike, which is a little strange. It’s not burning fossil fuels or making any noise.
The Upper Peninsula – what we call the UP – has some of the most beautiful landscapes, waterfalls and the clearest waters in the world. As a family, we typically go camping throughout the UP. It’s one way to escape the city life.
We used to own a place in northern Michigan near the Au Sable River. I grew up canoeing around there as a child. As I got older, we would partake in a number of things down the river. It’s a rite of passage.
Yes, there’s a lot to do around here, and I suppose we are proud of that.
Three Questions is a lighthearted interview series that features real estate industry professionals, their businesses and how they interact with real estate standards.
