Deborah Shipley Subscribers expect their MLS to be the trusted source of real estate data in their market. Protecting that role and getting maximum value from your data starts with your MLS technology partner.
At the heart of every MLS is a fundamental responsibility to ensure accurate, timely data flows reliably to the real estate professionals who depend on it and into the tools used every day to inform the market and make it work.
That data isn’t just an operational asset. It’s the foundation of market transparency, cooperation, and trust.
Managing it well is one of the most important things an MLS does. With FBS, you have everything you need to do it with a single, trusted MLS technology partner.
You are the Data Stewards
This point bears emphasis, because the market is full of messaging that might make you think otherwise.
With FBS as your partner, your MLS controls its database. That control is already embedded in your agreement with FBS, and Flexmls, SparkAPI, and the Spark Datamart are built to reinforce it — not work around it. You determine how your database is licensed, who can access it, and how it flows through the ecosystem. That’s not a feature we’re selling. It’s the starting point.
What that means in practice: Your MLS has the ability to protect broker data and keep it flowing to brokers, agents, and authorized partners; maintain data integrity and compliance; support innovation through APIs and integrations; and protect the interests of your subscribers, all from within Spark API and the Spark Datamart.
Everything You Need, All In One Partner
We’ve designed Flexmls, Spark, and Spark Datamart to work together as a complete data management solution — one that keeps your MLS in the driver’s seat at every layer.
Flexmls is the operational core — where listings are entered, maintained, validated, and distributed. It’s the system of record for your market’s data.
The Spark API is how that data travels. Spark gives brokers, agents, and technology partners fast, reliable, standards-based access to listing data through a modern API layer. It’s built on RESO standards, supports IDX and VOW, and is designed to make data distribution simple without creating dependencies you don’t control.
Spark Datamart is the hub that connects Flexmls and the Spark API to the broader ecosystem of brokers, agents, and third-party developers — while keeping your MLS firmly in control of how that access is granted and governed. Datamart automates the setup of API keys, IDX, and VOW data feeds, so developers and agents can request and receive credentials without creating administrative burden for your team. It brings data licensing, pricing, and approvals into one secure space, supports hyper-local MLS fields that don’t always exist in standardized national data sets, and makes it straightforward for brokers to connect their preferred CRM, CMA, and other tools to your MLS data. Throughout all of it, your MLS sets the terms.
Together, these tools cover the full data lifecycle — from entry and validation, to distribution, to compliance — without requiring your MLS to introduce external vendors into that chain.
Before You Evaluate New Solutions
The MLS technology market is active, and new vendors regularly offer to help MLSs “activate,” “unlock,” or “take control of” their data. These messages are worth evaluating carefully — because your MLS may already offer more control than you realize.
Every MLS deserves to make vendor decisions from a position of clarity and confidence. For Flexmls customers, Spark API and the Spark Datamart are already part of your platform — giving you the tools to manage and distribute your data without the added cost, contract, or complexity of a separate vendor relationship. That’s not a feature you have to ask for. It’s built in.
When evaluating any new data-related solution, ask these questions:
- Do we have full management of our database outright — and does our current platform already give us the tools to manage it?
- How does this vendor’s model affect our control over data licensing, real-time distribution and access?
- What dependencies does this relationship create, and how are those governed contractually?
These are the kinds of questions MLS leadership and boards increasingly bring into vendor evaluations — and we think that’s the right instinct.
The Bottom Line
Your members built their businesses on the reliability and integrity of your MLS. Safeguarding the data that makes that possible is one of the most important commitments you make to them.
The MLS is the governing institution of its local real estate marketplace. Strong governance, reliable infrastructure, and clear accountability are what protect that role — not adding layers between your organization and the data you own.
FBS built Flexmls, the Spark API, and the Spark Datamart to support exactly that. If you’d like to explore what your current platform can do, or talk through how these tools apply to your specific needs, we’d welcome the conversation.
Have questions about Spark API, Datamart, or data governance capabilities in Flexmls? Contact your FBS account team.