Email this pageMortgage Technology Awards
Nomination Period for the 2009 Awards Now Closed
Nominations for the 2009 Mortgage Technology Magazine Awards are no longer being accepted. We thank everyone who took the time to nominate a person or company for one of the awards. The winners will be announced on October 11 at the MBA's annual convention in San Diego. Nominations for the 2010 Awards will begin to be accepted immediately thereafter.
Some Frequently Asked Questions About the Awards
Q: What's new with the Mortgage Technology Awards this year?
A: First, we'll be adding four new categories geared directly at lenders and servicers. Traditionally we give out seven awards and invite all industry participants, lenders, brokers, vendors, service providers, etc., to enter. We feel it is important to expand the competition this year to include new categories directly targeted at lenders and servicers in the trenches everyday doing the work of lending and servicing actual loans. The four new award categories are:
The Innovative Lender Award for the lender that doesn't just use technology to follow the market, but to both innovate and lead the market of the future.
The Customer-Focused Lender Award for the lender that uses technology to provide a better, more transparent process for borrowers.
Servicer of the Year Award for the servicer that uses technology to ensure effective communications with borrowers, attorneys and lenders, and has enabled the optimal servicing of mortgage loans as a result.
The Green Originator Award for the lender that has used technology to create a paperless origination process in an effort to further both business goals and help the environment.
Second, we have decided to grandfather the Help Desk Award. Everyone has a help desk so it's no longer a competitive advantage, but rather a must have.
Third, we name three finalists in each category. Starting in 2008 we asked all those finalists to provide a non-compressed QuickTime video supporting why they should win the award. Videos last year were 60 seconds long, but this year we're asking finalists to provider shorter videos of 30 seconds in length. To see what the videos from the finalists looked like last year please go here. In the end, we combined the videos from the three finalists in each category into one video clip that was showed at the awards ceremony. Finalists will be notified the first week in July and the 30-second videos will be due by August 15th.
Q: What are the Mortgage Technology award categories?
A: Including the four new categories, we'll have 10 award categories:
10X AWARD: goes to a company, product or technology application having an exponential impact on mortgage lending.
FIX-IT AWARD: goes to a technology tool providing an effective solution for a particular industry problem, need or channel.
LASTING IMPACT AWARD: goes to an individual, group or company responsible for a technology initiative or development that has proven to have had a lasting impact on mortgage lending.
RELEASE OF THE YEAR AWARD: goes to the launch of a new technology product, platform, alliance or initiative that seems likely to have the broadest impact on mortgage lending going forward.
STEVE FRASER AWARD: goes to an outstanding mortgage technology innovator, visionary or evangelizer.
SYNERGY AWARD: goes to technology initiatives and alliances that show exemplary interoperability in a production setting to advance the cause of automation and e-commerce.
THE INNOVATIVE LENDER AWARD: goes to the lender that doesn't just use technology to follow the market, but to both innovate and lead the market of the future.
THE CUSTOMER-FOCUSED LENDER AWARD: goes to the lender that uses technology to provide a better, more transparent process for borrowers.
SERVICER OF THE YEAR AWARD: goes to the servicer that uses technology to ensure effective communications with borrowers, attorneys and lenders, and has enabled the optimal servicing of mortgage loans as a result.
THE GREEN ORIGINATOR AWARD: goes to the lender that has used technology to create a paperless origination process in an effort to further both business goals and help the environment.
Q: What criteria are used to determine the winners?
A: We acknowledge that this is a subjective competition, as are most competitions, and that other judges viewing the same information may make different choices, which is why we don't give out a first, second and third prize, there's one winner and the other two finalists get an equal commendation.
In an effort to fully explain the process, and provide some tips to companies or individuals thinking about entering, here's how it works:
1.) The judges read over and evaluate each entry in deciding who should be in the top three in each category. It's important that the initial entry be as detailed as possible. If we don't get enough information in the entry it won't stand out. Also, be sure you know the category and tailor the entry to the category. For example, as described above the Release of the Year Award goes to the launch of a new technology product, platform, alliance or initiative that seems likely to have the broadest impact on mortgage lending going forward. An old product that has not been updated would not qualify for this award. Similarly, the Steve Fraser Visionary Award goes to an outstanding mortgage technology innovator, visionary or evangelizer. We look to honor an individual here, so don't enter a company. Clear documentation supporting the case coupled with an understanding of the category to which you are applying will make your entry stand out.
2.) We inform the three finalists who they are and who their competitors are. At that point we give the individuals or companies another three weeks to provide additional information. Remember, this competition is tough. In order to win the company or individual has to be prepared to constantly supply additional supporting information in order to help us make an informed decision.
3.) In addition to relying on supporting information from entrants, the judges informally call trusted industry sources. We realize that we can't possible know everything about every company in the space so we call on the experts to provide their opinions. In most cases we call on past Steve Fraser Visionary Award winners to get their insights into the three finalists in each category. These sources are not given an actual vote, but their opinions do hold weight with the judges.
4.) Finally, the three judges, Anthony Garritano, Scott Kersnar and Mark Fogarty, vote in each category using their personal knowledge of the space, the award entry in question, the added supporting information supplied and testimonials from industry sources in making the final decision.
Q: Are there any changes in the awards for 2008?
A: No. In 2006 we retired the Mortgage Website Of The Year Award and launched the Release Of The Year Award honoring the launch of a technology product, platform, alliance or initiative that seems likely to have the broadest impact on mortgage lending going forward. Eligible announcements are those made between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008 for this contest. Lenders can compete as well as vendors for this award, since the releases honored can include alliances, in-house systems and private-labeled technology products and services. We retired our website award because transactional mortgage websites have become pretty generic, with the key differentiation being whatever back-office systems have been brought out to the point-of-sale. Also, there is no more reason today to honor a website than there is, for example, to honor a best-of-breed call center or servicing system. In 2005 we retired the Market Bridge Award and inaugurated our Lasting Impact Award to honor individuals whose contributions to mortgage technology brought broad value to the industry as a whole.
Q: Who may enter?
A: Participation in our awards contest is open to all mortgage industry professionals and companies, including lenders, servicers, brokers, vendors and service providers.
Q: How does a company or individual enter the contest?
A: All entries must be submitted electronically via the Mortgage-Technology.com website by June 30 of each year.
Q: Is there a fee to enter?
A: Yes. We are charging a non-refundable $300.00 entry fee per entry (maximum of two entries permitted per year) to defray the rising cost of administering the contest and holding the awards ceremony. While that entry fee will not cover all of the costs, it enables us to stay within a reasonable budget to administer the contest.
Q: How do I verify that my entries have been received?
A: Inform the magazine editor Anthony Garritano (anthony.garritano@sourcemedia.com) that you have made your award submissions, ask for verification that your submissions have been received and entered into the contest, and be sure to get feedback before the June 30 deadline that your award entries contain all necessary information.
Q: If we want to make changes to our entry, do we have to pay any additional fee?
A: No, you only pay once. To make changes you just e-mail your amended information to the judges (anthony.garritano@sourcemedia.com and skersnar@hotmail.com), in the same way you e-mail us additional documentation to support your entry.
Q: When are the awards announced and presented?
A: Our annual awards are announced each year in the November issue of Mortgage Technology Magazine after the judging process is completed between July and September. Award trophies are presented at our annual ceremony.
Q: Can anyone nominate a company or individual for an award?
A: Yes. However, more than 90% of entries are made by the companies or individuals themselves. The nominees must document their own entries and provide the name and contact information for a single employee to act as the sole contact person with us during the contest period.
Q: How many award categories can an individual or company enter in any given year?
A: As stated above, entrants are limited to two categories per year. We found that the contest becomes unmanageable if we allow entrants to shotgun the process.
Q: In announcing the winners, you also commend two other contestants in each category. Are those commended companies your second- and third-place winners?
A: No. Our commendations stand alone in recognition of excellence. We make those commendations to acknowledge that we seldom have the opportunity to make apples-to-apples comparisons between direct business competitors. We know that picking our winners is a judgment call; given the same opportunity, other judges might have picked other winners.
Q: What companies have won in the past?
PAST WINNERS
10X AWARD
- 2000 IndyMac Bank
- 2001 Mortgagebot
- 2002 Mindbox
- 2003 Dexma
- 2004 Guardian Mortgage Documents
- 2005 Wellfound Decade
- 2006 Interthinx
- 2007 Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
- 2008 The Turning Point
FIX-IT AWARD
- 2000 VirPack
- 2001 Decade Systems
- 2002 Cogent Economics
- 2003 ARC Systems
- 2004 GHR Systems (BrokerOneSource)
- 2005 Advectis
- 2006 Palisades Technology Partners/IBM
- 2007 Rapid Reporting
- 2008 Zaio
HELP DESK AWARD
- 2001 Alltel
- 2002 Interlinq (Harland)
- 2003 GMAC Commercial Mortgage
- 2004 First Interstate Financial
- 2005 Dynatek, Inc.
- 2006 Data-Vision
- 2007 Avista Solutions
- 2008 Mortgage Builder Software
LASTING IMPACT AWARD
- 2005 Scott Happ, Mortgagebot
- 2006 William Kelvie, Overture
- 2007 Gabe Minton, Mortgage Cadence
- 2008 Roger Gudobba, Compliance Systems
MARKET BRIDGE AWARD
- 2000 Countrywide
- 2001 Dorado
- 2002 Lending Tree
- 2003 Countrywide
- 2004 Dorado
OUTSTANDING MORTGAGE WEBSITE AWARD
- 2000 New Century Mortgage
- 2001 GE Mortgage Insurance
- 2002 OHIO Mortgage Lending
- 2003 London Bridge Group
- 2004 DocuTech (Lender Advocate)
- 2005 No Red Tape Mortgage
RELEASE OF THE YEAR
- 2006 GMAC Mortgage, Saxon Mortgage, Midland Mortgage and Fiserv Lending Solutions
- 2007 Deal Maker Score
- 2008 Flagstar Bank's DocVelocity
STEVE FRASER VISIONARY AWARD
- 2000 Anthony Wright, nCommand
- 2001 Steve Mase, Dexma
- 2002 MISMO
- 2003 Tim Anderson, DocuTech
- 2004 Roger Gudobba, VMP
- 2005 Ruth Thompson, Desert Docs
- 2006 William Adamowski, MortgageHub
- 2007 Scott Cooley, Cooley Consulting
- 2008 Kim Weaver, Fiserv Inc.
SYNERGY AWARD
- 2000 Calyx, Del Mar Database, Sollen
- 2001 RealEC
- 2002 Fiserv and Mortgagebot
- 2003 Dynatek
- 2004 ValuAmerica
- 2005 Prime Alliance
- 2006 Ellie Mae ePass
- 2007 Advectis, Xerox Mortgage Services
- 2008 Optimal Blue and Secondary Interactive
Q: Can you offer any tips on winning?
A: Be sure your contact person stays in touch with us early and often if you expect to win. It is safe to assume that all the entrants believe they deserve an award. We have discovered that our winners all tend to make a continuing effort to stay in touch with us before, during and after their initial entry to make sure they DOCUMENT their case as closely as possible in line with the criteria for each award. Obviously, subscribing to Mortgage Technology magazine gives contestants an edge in understanding how the contest works. Our readers know which companies have won in the past and what we have said about the contest in earlier articles and editor's notes.
Q: If we use an outside public relations firm to handle our contest entry, does that help us or hurt us?
A: That depends on how you and your public relations firm work together. Since your first task is to "put your best foot forward" as you make your initial entry into the contest, using professionals to market your case can be a very good first step. A good account executive also will make sure to keep in touch with us throughout the process to find out what kind of competition you face and how your entry stacks up. As the contest intensifies in the later stages, however, you may need to document your case with a level of detail beyond the information you initially supplied to your public relations person. At that point, you may need to call in the right personnel from your own company to show us how your entry matches the criteria for a particular award better than the documentation other entrants supplied to support their entries.
Q: When and why did Mortgage Technology begin giving out these awards?
A: Our awards were inaugurated in 2000 after we set out to expand our annual "Dream Team" of worthy mortgage professionals. Looking for broader, more objective award criteria, we asked a number of mortgage professionals some basic questions: How does technology really help mortgage lenders do things better, faster and cheaper? What constitutes a useful technology tool? Which technology tools really do break logjams in the process of creating and handling a mortgage? What we wanted, we told the people we queried, were awards more in line with baseball's Golden Glove Award for excellence in fielding. Though not every baseball player or fan may agree with each year's choice of winners, they all understand the criteria for selection; they know which fielding positions require the most skill; they can name some likely winners. Managing this contest helps sharpen our perception of practical excellence in mortgage technology. The payoff for us in offering the Mortgage Technology Awards is the opportunity to write better stories.
Q: Whom do we contact to find out more about the contest and your award criteria for each award category, or to get reprints of your articles about the awards?
A: For information, contact Mortgage Technology editor Anthony Garritano: 212-803-8242; anthony.garritano@sourcemedia.com
And The 2008 Mortgage Technology Magazine Award Winners Are ...
Mortgage Technology magazine gave out awards in seven categories honoring achievement in mortgage lending technology at the MBA's 95th Annual Convention & Expo 2008, held in San Francisco. Given market conditions, the importance of identifying excellence in automation is magnified as lenders scramble to cut costs and be more efficient.
"Nobody can deny that this has been a very challenging year for all in the mortgage industry," said Tim Murphy, mortgage group publisher and vice president at SourceMedia. "Despite bad times, now is the time to differentiate by embracing new technologies in order to prepare for better times ahead."
"It is my belief that our award winners and finalists will help show that there is light at the other end and will play an important role in reviving the mortgage industry," added Mortgage Technology magazine editor Anthony Garritano. "Certainly hard times are never welcome. By giving out these awards we at Mortgage Technology magazine demonstrate that there are both companies and individuals that have, are and will continue to move the mortgage industry forward in a positive direction."
In each of the seven categories two commendations are given out and one winner is announced. The 2008 companies and individuals recognized are:
The 10X AWARD is given to a company, product or technology application having an exponential impact on mortgage lending. Envoy Mortgage is recognized for being among the few mortgage bankers of its size to close and deliver a Category One SMART Doc. We also recognize Mavent for assisting mortgage lenders in mitigating risk and cost associated with ensuring compliance. The winner is The Turning Point for providing technology to identify targeted opportunities, and then shape these opportunities into repeat business.
For helping lenders get more business in a down market, Stephen Margrett, CEO at The Turning Point, accepted this award.
The FIX-IT AWARD is given to a technology tool providing an effective solution for a particular industry problem, need or channel. ILOG is recognized for extending the capabilities of business rules management by allowing users to directly create and manage scorecards, and Reverse Mortgage Solutions is recognized for introducing technology that makes it possible for lenders to tap the expanding reverse mortgage space. The winner is Zaio for combining the knowledge of local appraisers with enhanced data, images and technology, to create a fully independent market valuation of residential properties in order to eliminate fraud and coercion.
James Kirchmeyer, president at Zaio, was honored with this award for introducing technology to mitigate appraisal fraud.
The HELP DESK AWARD is given for outstanding customer service and technical support. Document Systems Inc. is recognized for its domain expertise and over 20 years in the space. Hyland Software is recognized for expanding its service offerings around disaster recovery. The winner is Mortgage Builder for its highly trained staff and its ability to resolve customer needs and challenges in a timely manner.
Keven Smith, president of Mortgage Builder, was recognized for his company's excellent customer service.
The LASTING IMPACT AWARD is given to an individual, group or company that launched a technology initiative or development that has proven to have had a lasting impact. AllRegs is recognized for automating investor guidelines and introducing education courses designed to create a smarter lender. Calyx Software is recognized for making technology accessible, affordable and reliable for all mortgage professionals. The winner is Roger Gudobba for having the foresight to realize 20 years ago that the mortgage industry has to embrace a data-driven process. However, as evidenced by his resume, he not only talked about this, but acted on it by promoting data standardization, electronic forms, etc.
Roger Gudobba, chief strategy officer at Compliance Systems Inc., was on hand to accept his award.
The RELEASE OF THE YEAR AWARD is given to the announcement of a technology product, platform, alliance or initiative that seems likely to have the broadest impact on mortgage lending going forward. Mortgagebot's Mortgage Marvel is recognized for creating a website that makes it easier for consumers to research and compare mortgage rates, loans and lenders and NYLX's LendingArt is recognized for releasing an information portal that includes free product eligibility and best execution product and pricing. The winner is Flagstar Bank's DocVelocity for delivering robust, proven lender-level paperless mortgage process technology to independent mortgage originators online, with no upfront investment.
(Left to Right) Andrew Schmidt, manager of operations, assistant VP at DocVelocity, Steven Brooks, EVP, COO of lending at Flagstar Bank, and Jason Dufner, SVP, product development at DocVelocity, were singled out for sharing their proven lender technology with the whole industry.
The STEVE FRASER VISIONARY AWARD is given to an outstanding mortgage technology innovator, visionary or evangelizer. Lester Dominick of MortgageFlex is recognized for being a part of a very small group of pioneers in automating mortgage functionality. Andrew Dubinsky of Encomia is recognized for working to help the industry develop and adopt e-signature technology by authoring several pending patents for technologies that secure financial instruments. The winner is Kim Weaver of Fiserv for being an industry advocate and proponent for e-mortgages. She is an active participant in MISMO and was instrumental in getting Flagstar Bank live and in production with e-mortgages.
For advancing the cause of electronic mortgages Kim Weaver, VP, product management, eLending at Fiserv, is the 2008 Steve Fraser Visionary Award winner.
The SYNERGY AWARD is given to technology initiatives and alliances that show exemplary interoperability in a production setting to advance the cause of automation and e-commerce. Lydian Data Services and NYLX are recognized for offering one-stop, seamless access to product eligibility/pricing technology and outsourcing services. Wolters Kluwer Financial Services is recognized for its Disclosure Manager tool, which fully automates the disclosure process. The winners are Optimal Blue and Secondary Interactive for coupling best efforts and mandatory functionality into a single platform and service.
(Left to Right) Ivan Darius, founder, co-CEO at Optimal Blue, Greg Beers, principal at Secondary Interactive, and Don Brown, principal at Secondary Interactive, took home this award for bridging the gap between pricing and secondary marketing.
