[June 16, 2004] Progress OpenEdge Platform Gets Rapid Approval from Quicken Loans BEDFORD, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- June 16, 2004 -- America's Leading Online Mortgage Lender Significantly Reduces Loan Turn Around Times and Increases Operational Efficiency Through Use Of Progress(R) Technology Progress Software, a leading supplier of technology for building the world's best business applications, and an operating Company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), today announced that Quicken Loans, America's leading online home lender, has significantly reduced loan origination times since implementing the Progress(R)-based Loan Origination Lead Allocation (LOLA) software suite of sales and marketing applications. Based on the Progress OpenEdge(TM) platform, LOLA accelerates the handling of mortgage applications nationwide, combining automated client contacts, schedule reminders, Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), and response time tracking with complex business logic. The system also allows sales representatives to accurately quote mortgage products with high levels of precision and has been a major factor in allowing Quicken Loans to increase operational efficiencies to accommodate rapid business growth. "During the refinancing boom of 2002 and 2003, our sales force originated more loans than at any other time in the company's history," said Todd Lunsford, chief information officer for Quicken Loans. "During that time period, it also became more obvious than ever that this increased growth required more sales automation, better metrics and new sales tools." Quicken Loans originally purchased a Progress application to originate, process and close mortgage transactions. The company quickly realized that OpenEdge provides a flexible application development environment, the ability to reliably support 24x7 operations and the scalability to support ever-increasing numbers of transactions and users--all features they need to continue to grow. OpenEdge also offers a unified environment with development tools that simplify complex tasks, industrial-strength application servers to drive the business logic and management, and analysis tools for optimizing performance. Lunsford explained, "Our business simply could not have grown as fast as it has without applications that were highly tailored to our specific business needs. Manual loan processing methods would not allow us to capitalize on the opportunity generated by the massive volume of demand due to low interest rates. Our sales team was already very large and we were adding new reps constantly. We were evolving our product mix so fast, it was next to impossible to keep a large sales team informed without building our own applications that we could adapt instantly." In the highly competitive and heavily regulated mortgage marketplace, Quicken Loans' IT department is continuously looking for ways to gain competitive advantage. This included the addition of the OpenEdge Progress Fathom Management(TM) product, which provides Quicken Loans with visibility, analysis and proactive monitoring of information assets. The reporting capabilities of Fathom Management also supplies valuable information to aid in capacity planning and trend analysis. "I estimate that we continue to improve operational productivity 25 percent year-over-year through the use of IT," said Lunsford. "We have the reliability and flexibility we need to continuously enhance our leadership position. We continue to carefully monitor and analyze statistics and hunt for opportunities to shave seconds off any routine transaction or process so that each day we inch forward and continuously improve business performance." Quicken Loans can now better manage lead flow and more accurately measure and analyze all lead conversion activities, even though the company continues to experience substantial growth in employee count, revenues and closed loan volumes. Despite the mortgage market's fluctuations and Quicken Loans' long-term business growth, Progress technology has provided the scalability and reliability to support their continued growth. About Quicken Loans Quicken Loans is America's leading online lender, and one of the largest home loan lenders in the country. We offer home loans in all 50 states through a simple process and with experienced loan consultants, making it easy for you to choose from a variety of home loan options. Our secure website allows you to research home loans, learn about home financing, and apply and sign your application all online. You can even get a home equity line of credit completely online with our exclusive EquityOnline! process. Or you can call and speak with one of our home loan experts about your needs. Once your loan is in process, you can track your loan status, and print your documents directly from our site. Then, we come to you to sign all the final paperwork. No wonder Quicken Loans has been named "Best of the Web" by PC, Money, and Forbes magazines! Based in Livonia, Michigan near Detroit, our nearly 2,000 Home Loan Experts deliver world-class client service to make sure your loan goes smoothly. We give you great rates, expert advice and an exceptionally fast process. More than 92% of our clients surveyed said they would recommend Quicken Loans to their friends and family. About Progress Software Progress Software is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a US$300+ million global software industry leader. Progress Software simplifies the development, deployment, integration, and management of the world's best business applications. Progress and its 2,000 Application Partners offer more than 5,000 Progress-based business applications that precisely fit customer needs and deliver competitive advantage. Customers purchase more than $5 billion annually in cost-effective software and services from Progress and its partners. Progress(R) OpenEdge(TM) platform enables its partners to rapidly build and deliver lowest cost-of-ownership. Progress Software Corporation also conducts business through its other operating companies: Sonic Software, DataDirect Technologies, ObjectStore and PeerDirect. Headquartered in Bedford, Mass., Progress Software can be reached on the Web at http://www.progress.com or by phone at +1-781-280-4000. Progress, OpenEdge, Fathom Management, and Progress OpenEdge are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]