REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 5, 1996 — The time necessary to arrange a mortgage and sign closing papers for a home purchase will eventually shrink from a month to a few days due to an innovative strategic alliance created by two of the leading technology companies in the real estate industry. Their complete, end-to-end solution will use Microsoft® technology to connect brokers, banks, appraisers and insurers in the first secure electronic data interchange (EDI) transaction network over both the Internet and online connections.
Microsoft Solution Providers Alltel Information Systems, Mortgage Division, and Data Track Systems Inc. announced that the combined network will be formed by integrating their current electronic services in the real estate industry. The network will be operational in the first quarter of 1997.
The end-to-end solution integrates more parts of the real estate transaction process than any other, according to Gilbert Barnes, president, Data Track Systems Inc.
“For the first time, the innumerable steps of a real estate transaction can occur concurrently, not sequentially, due to the innovative leadership of Alltel and Data Track Systems,”
said Brian Jeans, real estate industry manager at Microsoft Corp.
”
They’re changing the way we do business in the real estate industry. They’re benefiting both consumers and the companies involved, and Microsoft BackOffice
™is making it all happen.”
The new network will benefit real estate agents and other industry professionals by providing a secure environment in which they can cut the time and expense of performing each transaction and obtain real-time status information on any account or transaction.
The new network is based on the Microsoft BackOffice family and includes the Microsoft Windows NT® operating system, Internet Information Server and ActiveX
™
technologies. The companies are leveraging the scalability and fault tolerance of Microsoft BackOffice, its ability to communicate with mainframes via SNA Server, and its support of secure Internet transactions via digital signatures and secured electronic transaction (SET). The network also relies on Microsoft BackOffice components, including Microsoft SQL Server
™
and Microsoft Exchange Server.
The combined network will join the Alltel Interchange
™
network with Data Track’s network of title insurers. Alltel Interchange is a value-added EDI network that offers common access to brokers, lenders, credit agencies, appraisers and mortgage insurers.
By integrating the two networks, the new solution supports the opening, tracking and routing of documents and processes throughout the entire residential loan origination cycle. From a single desktop, lenders and real estate brokers can easily order and track loan origination requests, appraisals, credit records, flood data, title insurance and escrow services, all without needing to rekey data.
“We chose Microsoft BackOffice because it’s the only solution with the scalability and reliability to support hundreds of thousands of users, the ability to interact with lender mainframes, and the flexibility to work with a range of client applications and Web browsers,”
Barnes said.
“Microsoft’s standards-based approach made it easy to integrate ActiveX and EDI technologies to exchange meaningful data, not just text, over the Internet.”
“Microsoft technology is extremely attractive to us because we’re able to take full advantage of the Internet without ripping out and replacing our existing systems,”
said Robert Lee III, senior vice president of Alltel Information Services, Mortgage Division.
“We can build on what we already have while adding connections to additional brokers, banks and other participants.”
As more participants in the real estate transaction process are able to access common records in a secure environment, there will be little or no need for printing, faxing or express mailing hard-copy forms and documents, and less need to open local offices. This electronic efficiency will result in the significant savings of both time and money anticipated by Alltel and Data Track Systems and will help reduce the overall costs of loans to consumers.
Real estate industry participants will be able to access the combined network through the existing Alltel Interchange network. For information on how to subscribe to the new network, real estate agents, lenders and other industry professionals can contact Robert Lee at Alltel Information Systems, Mortgage Division, (904) 359-5000, or Gilbert Barnes at Data Track Systems, (619) 930-4583.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, BackOffice , Windows NT and ActiveX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Alltel Interchange is a trademark of Alltel Information Systems.
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