MortgageFlex wins award for best use of the Cloud

I guess we should blame the lack of graphic arts skills among technologists for everyone calling any slice of the Internet -- either public or private -- the Cloud. That's the way we always visualized it on our workflow schematics and I guess it just stuck. Regardless of how you draw it, we all know what it means. Increasingly, it means making use of cheap resources that are controlled by someone else.

Much of the software we use today (well, practically all of it) has at least some functionality coming from a cloud somewhere. That's not to say that all software designers are making the best use of the Cloud. Recently, a company in our space was recognized for its use of the Cloud.

MortgageFlex Systems, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., providers of one of the industry's most successful loan origination systems as well as servicing technology, announced this week that the company has won a BizTech Innovation Award for Best Use of Cloud Computing from Jacksonville Business Journal. MortgageFlex has provided hosting services to mortgage lenders for over a decade.

The company managed their own hardware, data centers, and co-los for many years, but recently decided to consolidate, move resources to the cloud, and provide global access to the LoanQuest application from multiple public cloud data centers.

“Moving to the cloud wasn't a lightly made decision. We evaluated all of our options and we feel that we made the best choice for our customers and ourselves,” said Tom Soyars, vice president of support services. “Our focus is not just cost effectiveness but security. Our customers require the highest levels of data security and we undergo yearly audits to guarantee their confidence. Being honored with the BizTech Innovation Award from over 100 competitors validates our decision and we are proud to be part of this elite group.”

Multiple site cloud computing provides numerous business and strategic advantages - a high level of security without the high audit costs, the most modern technology available, flexible load balancing capabilities, faster implementation times, lower infrastructure expenses, and more robust disaster recovery options.

According to Asher Lohman, director of information technology, “The cloud gives us the ability to expand quickly without purchasing and configuring new hardware - we simply spin up a new server and away we go within minutes - all while maintaining the SSAE 16 SOC 1 Type 2 audit standards”.

Beyond expansion ease, the cost savings are appreciable. MortgageFlex consolidated their data centers and have downsized from four data centers in which they owned and maintained equipment, to one small physical and two cloud data centers. To further guarantee disaster recovery and high availability capabilities, the company strategically positioned the use of the cloud locations to multiple data centers with geographic disparity.

Data centers have sprung up all over the world and offer all kinds of advantages to businesses operating here. For a weekly update of all things IT, including Cloud Computing, check out our Walking the Virtual Dog podcast.