Ellie Mae has spent the past two years working on providing mobile access to its loan origination system. But because the stakes are so high for a medium that’s still very much in its infancy, the Pleasanton, Calif.-based mortgage technology developer is taking a slow-and-steady strategy that it hopes will ensure its mobile technology meets the needs of its diverse user base.
For starters, rather than develop a so-called “native” tablet application for either Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating systems, Ellie Mae is developing its mobile technology as a browser-based software designed with HTML5, the latest incarnation of the markup language used to build websites.
It’s a decision the company said will ensure that its mobile technology won’t become outdated if a certain device falls out of favor with technology users. While the iOS platform stands out because of the popularity of Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices, it’s estimated that the operating system holds about a 30% share of the mobile market share, compared to a nearly 60% market share on Android, which is spread out across myriad device developers. And it wasn’t but four years ago that Research In Motion, developer of Blackberry devices, enjoyed a dominate market share of its mobile operating system, which has but been diminished and replaced by other technologies.
By developing the Encompass Mobile technology to be used with a Web browser, Ellie Mae is creating a product that can be accessed from tablet, smartphone and desktop computer devices, while still providing a secure environment and functional experience, explained Jonas Moe, Ellie Mae vice president of product strategy, in an interview with Mortgage Technology.
“It’s less about the device and more about the mobility of the user,” he said.
During a demonstration of Encompass Mobile at its user conference last week, lenders got a sneak peak of the platform, which is scheduled to begin beta testing in the first quarter of 2013. After a loan officer logs on, a pipeline view that shows pending loans and key status information is displayed. Tapping a specific loan takes the user to a loan summary menu that provides expanded information, including borrower contact info, pending alerts and key milestones like estimated closing date and when the loan’s rate lock expires.
The technology also takes advantage of mobile-specific tools, like links built into phone numbers to allow a user to simply tap the number to initiate a phone call. Another feature takes advantage of the accelerometers available on most devices to adjust the presentation when the user turns the device.
“The design is reactive so if you switch from portrait to landscape, the columns readjust,” said Mike Veigel, an Ellie Mae developer working on mobile, told the audience.
In addition to monitoring pending files, loan officers can collect borrower information to begin new mortgages. The technology can pull borrower credit and offers an integration with Ellie Mae’s product and pricing engine. In the case of a refinance application, when a loan officer enters a borrower’s current loan information, the technology displays a menu that compares the current loan terms with the terms of multiple new mortgage products.
Ellie Mae’s strategy is to launch its mobile technology with a core set a features and then add on new functionality incrementally. Attendees at the preview seemed generally impressed what with Ellie Mae had developed so far, but it was clear from their comments that there was interest for many features not currently planned for the first release, including allowing borrowers to e-sign loan applications on the device using a stylus or their fingers, take pictures of verification documents and mapping functions to access property information—features that are already available in mobile technologies like the
