‘It was the boat brokers who spurred the initiative,’ said Christian DeFeo, development manager for MTM. ‘They want to be able to maintain their stock on one tool and to easily broadcast it to the portals of their choice.’

Until now, brokers have had to pay and/or enter into complicated arrangements for this data exchange; the Initiative will make the broadcast of advertisements across a range of portals a cost-free and easy process.

The four founder companies want to attract other portals and software providers to join them, provided they can adhere to the Initiative’s principles of free data transfers and open standards.

Future developments will be made on a collaborative basis with member companies and will include the open publication of a new XML standard for boat advertisements, ‘Open Marine’ certification for software solutions and the provision of a simple, free stock management tool.

More information about the initiative can be found at www.openmarine.org