The document discusses how technology in the mortgage industry is rapidly evolving, making it difficult for companies to keep up. It introduces cloud computing technology as a solution that allows flexible scaling and data access from anywhere. Experts say cloud computing is critical for IT strategies, as regulatory requirements are increasing workload. The document outlines how cloud services provide security and mobility benefits while reducing costs compared to traditional on-premise systems. Industry leaders have adopted cloud computing and other companies should no longer only consider on-premise solutions due to its security and benefits.

1. Every time you feel as if you’ve
got a handle on the latest tech-
nological advances, some upstart
shakes up the playing field and
makes you feel like a caveman.
Being behind the tech power
curve is scary enough when it’s
just your home appliances at
stake, but when your business is
on the line, that fear can become
a panic.
Yet for all the computer-driven
angst and the roller-coaster twists
in today’s mortgage market, plan-
ning tech solutions for your loan
business doesn’t have to be that
hard. At least not according to
some of the industry’s top technol-
ogy providers, who are constantly
working to adapt to new market-
sensitive trends and solutions,
from full document management
systems (DMS) to the apps for
that phone your nephew loves
so much.
Up in the Clouds
A
re you ready for a tech talk?
If so, you’re doing better than
a lot of your peers, laughs Ron
Redmer, CIO of NDeX. “It’s a pretty
technical topic out of the gate,” he
says. “Even the cloud is hard for
a lot of people to get their head
around.” But you had better try.
After all, you’ve got nothing to lose
but your fear of the future!
Did you catch that term
Redmer used? Cloud technology
—the hosting of data and software
so that users can add to it or ac-
cess it from virtually anywhere
—is perhaps the most critical
characteristic of a solid IT strategy
these days, according to our ex-
perts. Why’s it so important? It
may seem like we’re still in a
period of regulatory uncertainty,
but that’s not totally true: What’s
certain is there’s bound to be
more work to do down the road.
“Volume is going up,” Redmer
says. “Security requirements and
retention policies are increasing.”
Which is why Redmer and
NDeX just launched a new DMS.
“Over the course of the last 12 to
18 months, our clients”—law
firms for default servicers—“are
being required to provide a grow-
ing number of documents and
document images to satisfy OCC
requirements.” From affidavits to
service of process filings to mili-
tary search results, that’s a lot of
paperwork—and it’s not unusual
for a client to need to process
5,000 cases in 48 hours, convert
the info into a specific file type,
and name the files using exacting
conventions. “That’s a pretty tall
order,” Redmer says.
This is where the cloud comes
in—specifically, a data technology
referred to in the industry as “Soft-
ware as a Service” (SaaS). That
means the software you use to ac-
cess your data is also on the cloud,
making for a more agile, update-
able, and reliable user experience,
usually through a special browser
window or application. (It’s often
cheaper than the alternatives, too.)
“This is now happening with very
large companies who would have
never considered using SaaS be-
fore,” says Sanjeev Malaney, CEO
of the San Francisco doc-sharing
tech provider Capsilon. “These
companies seem to be growing
more comfortable with the cloud-
based model and working with
SaaS providers.”
Securing the Market
F
or a while, big financial services
providers seemed hesitant to
join the cloud, because of security
concerns. But putting your info
out there isn’t the same as putting
your info out there. “There is a
common myth that SaaS is unsafe,
but this is no longer the case, and
the growing adoption of the cloud
proves it,” Malaney says. Vendors
have raised their game to deliver
such a high level of service that
this has opened the eyes of larger
institutions to embrace and to
feel comfortable with the model.
Your info is as safe in the cloud as
it ever was on another in-house
server. “Even the late adopters in
the industry have now adopted,”
he adds. “Lenders should no
longer consider only on-premises
software solutions—the cloud is
here to stay.”
With privacy concerns out of
the way, you can focus on growth
—because cloud technology for
data storage isn’t just serving a
need today, but potential needs in
the future. When choosing a tech
upgrade, Redmer says, look for
security: a user-friendly web inter-
face, generally with drag-and-drop
capability for documentation;
mobility across computer plat-
forms, from desktops to tablets
and phones; deduplication of
boilerplate docs and phrasings,
so they aren’t taking up tons of
storage space; and straightfor-
ward scanning and indexing,
so you can recall any individual
doc (or 500,000 of them!) with
relative ease.
“We are on a pretty high-end
private cloud,” Redmer says of
his new DMS. “It’s given us the
ability to scale up our capacity.
Everything is more dynamic.” If
computer and mobile devices go
through a bunch of revolutions
in the next few years, NDeX will
be ready to scale up seamlessly
because of the way it stores in-
formation now. “With our private
cloud, I can go buy hardware, I
can run any system I want on that
hardware,” Redmer says. And most
important: “We can also ingest
more clients into our cloud.” n
AUGUST 2012
Mostly Cloudy:
Forecasting the Future
of Mortgage Technology
The mortgage market’s rapid evolution has technology companies fighting to stay ahead
of the trends, but today’s leading executives are floating on a cloud in spite of the pressure.
By Adam Weinstein
FEATURE
O
K, I know how it is: You finally just figured
out how to program your satellite TV remote,
and your 6-year-old nephew’s over there
creating movies on his smartphone, posting
them on the web, and selling enough downloads to
put himself through college.
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