Mortgage Banking Magazine Feature on MortgageFlex

Article Review – Capitalizing on Microsoft Technology

Mortgage Banking Magazine

MortgageFlex Systems strategy over their 20 years in business is to provide mortgage originators a totally integrated system that is easy to use, highly scalable and reduces costs.

In his article recently published in Mortgage Banking magazine, Craig Bechtle argues forcefully that component-based scalable logical architecture, and .NET in particular, as a key method of “integrating … technology into business functions to create a more streamlined and efficient product”. MortgageFlex tracked the evolution of .NET over the past few years, but only recently completely replatformed to take advantage of the benefits afforded by a completely integrated environment.

Enter .NET

The trigger was the arrival of .NET 2.0, it being regarded as stable enough for prime-time development and MortgageFlex are now completing their final implementation in .NET 3.5. Combining Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation, Service Oriented Architecture/Web Services and InRule’s Business Rule Engine, gives the highest degree of automation – in the mortgage business, this means automating decisioning, providing “real-time pricing and products to loan officers, and have credit underwriting technology embedded”.

All this resulted in MortgageFlex’s new product, LoanQuest.NET. Florida-based Everbank Financial Corporation are already gaining benefits from MortgageFlex products, and Bechtle quotes Jan Wurster at Everbank, pointing to the ability for customers to “extend the products through their own efforts using industry-standard development tools”.

Thinking In Rules

While InRule was the choice for the rule engine, providing their users to start “thinking in rules”, the workflow capabilities were also key, MortgageFlex electing “to design a fully integrated system with workflow as a bias – not an afterthought”. MortgageFlex have also actively integrated Microsoft Office functionality within LoanQuest products, meaning custom letters, spreadsheet import and export, Outlook calendar management amongst other things, are all available without leaving LoanQuest.

MortgageFlex avoid the ‘data silo’ problem of customer data by incorporating Customer Information File architecture (CIF) within their product. .NET allowed them to populate a central CIF, alleviating accessibility problems and avoiding problems of lack of access to shared current information and notification.

Other benefits for lenders include an n-tier architecture, flexible user interface and logic layers, a user-maintained rule management system, use of web services and finally no loss of functionality in “either the solution or tools”.

Agility

The ability to “turn on a dime” is a major benefit to this architectural model. Moving to a “software as a service (SaaS)” model is an ideal example, especially where transactional based. This provides lenders with a system with the “most state-of the art technology that will provide them with a competitive advantage”.

In conclusion, Bechtle focuses on their links to Microsoft especially in relation to their core competencies. Overall, architecture, good choice of technology and outstanding Microsoft competence is allowing MortgageFlex to “stay ahead of the curve in meeting the market’s technology needs”.