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Special Reports
Loan Origination Systems
Vendors Say LOS Future Is the Web
By Anthony Garritano
MINNEAPOLIS -- The newness and wow associated with the Internet has all but faded
away as it has become quite commonplace in everyday life. Nonetheless, its accessibility and ease of use is prompting
many technology vendors to Web-enable their loan origination offerings to help streamline the process.
For one, Dexma here released Loan Fulfillment Center at the MBA annual in San
Francisco as its alternative to the client server LOS. The product is completely Web-based and allows the user
to automate workflow and offers connectivity to third party systems all under one Web-based umbrella.
"The Web is the direction that everything is moving in," said John Barnes,
vice president of product management at Dexma. "We've always seen Internet connectivity as a main part of
making the loan process easier. Today getting true connectivity within your workflow is simple via the Internet.
"However, there are always going to be cases where people want system-to-system
integration," he continued. "The problem is that if you use a system that isn't Web-based you run into
problems when deploying it and people in multiple locations can't get access to that upgrade unless it's deployed
on each system one at a time."
Another plus is that a Web-based system cuts down a lot of the horrors associated
with implementation. First off, there's no disk required to upgrade each system as everything rest securely on
the Web. In fact, companies like GHR Systems with the recent acquisition of LoanSoft also offer a Web-based LOS.
MortgageHub has its own version as well.
Some in the industry still fear there are security loopholes by having the program
reside on the Web. "We provide access to information in a secure fashion," Mr. Barnes said. "From
our solution information can be moved back and forth securely because there are rules built into it that give people
access based on their title and their role."
Layered encryption either over the Web or on the users client server program are
the norm and make various LOS systems more secure than less-filtered programs like e-mail for example. Going forward,
most technology experts expect the Internet to play a bigger and bigger part of the LOS landscape.
"You're going to continue to see more Web services used," said out Michael
Hammond, director of sales and marketing for Livonia, Mich.-based Dynatek. "I do not think it is an all-or-nothing
proposition however.
"We tend to follow a smart client track in making our decisions," he
noted. "In other words, use the Internet where it makes sense. For the back end, where all the number crunching
goes on, the Web might not be effective. It's more about discovering where the Internet can improve the system
and using it there. Always look for the best possible solution."
Regardless of the extent of the Web functionality offered, all agree that having
a Web component within the LOS is the wave of the future "Anything that I can get on the Web that doesn't
have to be installed is simply the fastest route," said Cy Brinn, CEO of GHR Systems. "So, we'll see
more and more of this because the cost of buying and deploying software is so prohibitive that it will go away
at some time as Web usage continues to grow."
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