Increase Efficiencies in Regulated Industries

Build a repeatable, tactical solution to slash error rates and create a system anybody can use.

Battling the IT backlog is a perennial challenge. Requests for IT projects can easily pile up—from departmental wish lists, to urgent demands for immediate strategic solutions. Complicating matters for the CIO/CTO and their application managers is the sometimes less than ideal communication between IT and the business, with the foggy expectations that can result. Moreover, failure is never an option because IT efficiencies affect business results and the customer experience.

Clearly, straightforward adaptable solutions that deliver strategic results are called for in order to avoid chaotic project scenarios that jeopardize everything from budgets to morale—and ultimately the bottom line.

Sometimes Growth Is the Problem

In the case of Westminster Finance and Business Solutions, a Sydney, Australia-based firm that negotiates funding for clients seeking loans throughout Australia, success spurred the need for more adaptive and efficient systems. As the company grew, the 90+ tasks associated with applying for and closing loans threatened to overwhelm the staff.

“The systems we had in place didn’t allow for us to be efficient as we began to take on more clients,” says James Grima, owner and director of Westminster Finance & Business Solutions. “Managing commissions, generating reports and maintaining separate databases were all lengthy, manual processes that began to overwhelm our staff as our client base grew.”

Mr. Grima and his developer patched things up with a temporary Microsoft Access CRM solution, but after a year, this too threatened to be overwhelmed.

A colleague recommended Progress Rollbase.

Cloud-Based Solution Makes Loan Processing Easy

Rollbase provides a low-code rapid application development platform in the cloud, rather than client side. It enables you to build, manage, and deploy apps on a public or private cloud, or on premise.

“Rollbase adapted to all the technology we’d already built, while enabling us to add to it, so we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel,” says Grima. “And, because the solution is cloud-based, it provides the flexibility we need to scale the application and add to it as our needs change.”

The new application took one full-time developer roughly three months to build and implement. Rollbase drives the mortgage brokerage division, serving brokers and support staff working internally, remotely and off-shore.

A key functionality is the ability to create templates that allow users to move easily through a workflow. Once a task is complete, the system creates the next task automatically and assigns it to the appropriate person or division, eliminating delays in processing and ensuring no task is left unfinished.

“With Rollbase, we have a system in place that makes loan processing easy,” says Grima. When a client calls the firm, a broker simply opens Rollbase and selects a template to add the client’s information. Any existing data in the CRM populates the template. Tasks are generated as needed, and staff can upload the application directly to the bank once it’s ready for approval.

“There are roughly 90 different tasks throughout the workflow,” he says. “Our Rollbase application drives the business through all tasks, from the application through to settlement.”

Results: Data Entry Errors Virtually Eliminated

With the solution in place, Grima says that “Thanks to Rollbase, we have a single repository of all the data and tasks associated with a loan. It’s one centralized system that everyone can use and understand, and it’s helped us to virtually eliminate data entry error.”

Grima also calls out the main benefits of improved efficiency and consistency. “Because tasks are pre-assigned and generated sequentially as we move through the loan process, nothing gets missed,” he says. “And it’s much easier to track the loan status and manage the workflow.”

Grima uses the system to generate all-important daily task reports. “The daily task report is crucial,” he says. “I no longer have to ask the various divisions for updates; I can simply look at the report and follow up with guidance and direction, if needed, helping to speed up the loan process.”

Build Once - Adapt Everywhere - Reduce IT’s Burden

While currently the Rollbase application is used only in Westminster’s mortgage division, Grima says implementation in the financial planning unit is underway. “The solution is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of multiple business units, so we can easily customize it to fit the needs of our Financial Planners,” he says.

To learn more about Westminster Finance & Business Solutions and their use of Rollbase, check out the complete success story. You can also learn more about Progress Rollbase, take it for a 30-day test drive, and see for yourself how you can deliver cloud apps at the speed of business.