Most lenders are familiar with the basic uses of the Internet: sending and receiving email and browsing the web. But I would like to introduce you to a web application that will not only change the way you run your brokerage, but will transform the entire landscape of computing today.

But first, let’s answer a little question. Why should you be interested in learning about new technologies? The fact that you’ve decided to read this issue of MortgagePro News reveals that you understand the value in implementing new technology. But it is interesting – have you ever wondered what is the reason behind this?



A good explanation can be found in the groundbreaking book Unlimited Wealth, by the brilliant economist Paul Zane Pilzer, which presents logical economic explanations and debunks established economic theory. (After I read this book, I realized why Economics 101 did not make any sense to me in college…most of it is flat wrong!) One of my favorite chapters is the one that talks about Pilzer’s definition of profit margin in terms of what he calls the technology gap.



Your ability to profit, says Pilzer, is directly related to how effectively you use more efficient technologies. The “gap” that is created between your use of technology and your competitors’ use (or your own previous use of a less effective technology) Pilzer calls the technology gap.



For example, imagine yourself in competition with lenders in your neighborhood but without your telephone. Would you be at a disadvantage? This disadvantage is the technology gap. How much more profit would your competitors earn compared to you with your no-telephone handicap? If you could put a dollar figure on this amount, it would equal the "profit margin" of the technology we call the telephone. Therefore, not only does it make sense to seek out new and emerging technologies, but you would be committing financial suicide not to do so.



With that motivational thought in mind, let’s take a close look at a burgeoning source of new technology: The Internet. The Internet is more than just a communication medium. If you consider that our use of a new and better way of doing something determines our ability to produce wealth, then the Internet – with its vast array of new technologies – must be the largest source of wealth on the planet.



There are lots of “functions” of the Internet. Judging from our culture’s prolific use of email and browsing, I will assume that we are all familiar with the primary use of the Internet: a way to send files. Many of us use the Internet for business tasks, too. Like when you originate a *.prs file in Calyx POINT®, attach it to an email and send it to your processor (or vice versa). Being able to send files has impacted our lives immensely.

However, when the Internet was young, we used it for more than just sending files. In fact, one of its primary purposes was to allow terminals to access large government and scientific mainframes. A terminal is a machine that transmits only keyboard, mouse and screen drawing data between the host and the remote. There were some neat things associated with host/remote computing that you should be aware of (you’ll find out why a little later on):



First, no software actually resided in the terminals. This meant that the terminals did not need to be upgraded to keep up with new software packages. When a new software version was released, the mainframe was upgraded and that was that. And, because terminals did not need to be upgraded, one could use terminal hardware units until they broke down. Compare that to our current computing environment where we throw out perfectly functioning machines because they are too slow and incur enormous costs when we must send technicians to each branch office to upgrade and maintain hardware and software on Windows workstations.



Another interesting feature of the host/remote model was its high security. Because hardly any data was transmitted across the wires (only screen shots and key strokes), the data was kept safe and secure in a central location. Compare this to our current personal computer environment, where sensitive confidential databases are flippantly copied to countless laptops. Plus, if you wanted to end an employee’s access to data, just change their password. Remember the data is stored centrally. No login, no access! Try that with a Windows computer chock full of sensitive company data. This is why most banks and airlines still use terminals and mainframes today.



The mainframe environment also meant that servers could be stored in a building where sufficient electrical (battery or generator) and environmental protection (tape backup, fire protection, theft protection) could be provided. And because terminal access was via the Internet, the data was accessible from many locations at once. So if you were in the San Francisco office and your colleague was in the Boston office, you could both work on the same database simultaneously. If you have ever tried to share a POINT® database across three branch offices and several work-at-home processors, you know that it can’t be done because POINT® doesn’t support synchronization (the ability to have separate computer data networks automatically update their data with each other).



Luckily there are companies like Rosenvick that focus entirely on solving challenges like this one. (Is that the sound of my own horn tooting?) We help our clients create vast Internet-based processing and client database systems -- a luxury that few brokerages, once they’ve tasted it, could live without. But frankly, the barrier of entry into such a system is fairly high. In lieu of such systems, many loan agents have settled with the archaic method of attaching their LOS data files to emails. But beware! Confuse an older attachment with a new one and suddenly you’ve overwritten the latest changes to your borrower’s file!



However, what I want to talk about today is not our synchronization systems but rather a new technology looming on the horizon: The return to host/remote computing.



The Return?

Yes! In many ways, the terminal/mainframe computing model was superior to our current personal computer model of computing and even superior to synchronization. When Bill Gates put a PC on every desktop, applications and data moved away from the mainframe hosts and into our Pentium-based full-featured computers running Windows.

Although this changed a large part of the computing landscape, some of the benefits of terminal/mainframe computing like remote control were still desirable. With remote control software, it is almost as if you were sitting in front of the host computer in person, but instead you are actually remotely controlling the keyboard and mouse while images of the host screen are constantly updated on your remote terminal’s monitor. It’s great when you want the to access a PC located somewhere else and work on it as if you were sitting in the office right in front of it. Software packages like Symantec’s PCAnywhere® became a popular way to turn one Windows-based PC into a mainframe host (of sorts) and the other into the terminal.



This model is simply amazing except for one major problem: it can only connect one remote to each host -- not a good solution for running an office with lots of external users. Matching one host computer with each remote user would empty wallets faster than computer rooms would fill up!



For a long time, host/remote computing did not support multi-user because there was no support available for it inside the Windows operating system. Then a miracle happened.



With advances in computer processing power and breakthroughs by Microsoft in their Windows NT® operating system, software applications like Citrix® began to appear. This new technology permitted many remote users to log into a single host computer. It was similar to a mainframe, but it ran Windows! (Hint: I am switching to the present tense.)



Citrix allows 5-50 users to run Windows-based applications – each in their own Windows environment – on a single Windows server! The remote end of the software is very much like a terminal as it can be run on nearly any Windows machine with a web browser. And, as if to toss a match into the gasoline, the entire system can be run across the Internet.



So now we are blessed with host/remote technology which can emulate an office network to share nearly any Windows application -- like GoldMine®, AspireGold® and Calyx POINT®, whatever -- to users located around the globe as if they were in the next cubicle! It even works with the new wireless Internet modems!



Now granted, setting up such systems is not easy. It requires planning, consulting and expensive software. However, lots of companies called hosting providers have sprung up that will run the entire system for you: rent you software and servers, a super-fast redundant connection to the Internet and space in their secure environment and even provide ‘round the clock technical support.



It couldn’t be more perfect… until you discover that there are firms that combine the services of a hosting provider with the benefits of specialized industry software. Such companies are called Application Service Providers or ASPs.



It is just a matter of time before your competitors in the mortgage community will see the advantage of this computing model. So, you may want to take Paul Zane Pilzer’s advice today and put a little “technology gap” between you and the next guy.




Article submitted by Scottie Sharpe. Scottie is the CEO of Rosenvick Inc, makers of AspireGold. He can be reached at scottie@rosenvick.com

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