The superannuation industry needs to limit the number of organisations that will build the technological infrastructure for SuperStream, according to IQ Business Group.
Allowing a large number of companies to build technology to cope with the new data standard - Standard Business Reporting - would lead to a variety of interpretations, IQ Business Group chief executive Graham Sammells, who is also a member of the Treasury SuperStream Working Group, said.
"If all parties tried to build the same standard, despite their best intentions, we would most likely end up with different flavours of the standard," Sammells said.
"We would end up with a bunch of technocrats arguing whose standard is technically correct."
The data standard will apply to both contributions and rollovers, and this means the technological infrastructure needs to be implemented by both senders and receivers.
"Does this mean that all stakeholders (funds, employers and their intermediaries) have to build the same messaging infrastructure? Essentially yes," Sammells said.
"But it would be unnecessary for everyone to do the building.
"A much better outcome will be that only a few organisations build this new standard messaging infrastructure and that stakeholders start to pool their skills, talent and investment."
Yet, the work around SuperStream was likely to spark the establishment of new businesses, he said.
"Expect to see some new players enter the market to provide the messaging infrastructure and services," he said.
The implementation of data and payment standards for rollovers will come into effect in July 2013.
"Everyone sending rollovers to each other, including self-managed super funds, will do so electronically using the same standardised message transfer protocols," Sammells said.
"So July 2013 is a very major milestone for the SuperStream reforms, and it's not far away.
"To actually deliver on it in the time frame will be truly heroic."
