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104 and social media—most notably, big data—are set to change the game. Unstructured data and data derived from previously unmined sources such as social networks, e-commerce and buying patterns, business and banking data, PDF document extraction (OCR), electronic devices, and the internet of things (IOT) present a significant opportunity to acceler- ate underwriting and improve accuracy. e application of big data and analytics for risk analysis will enable lenders to project forward the performance of a loan by gauging borrower behavior and the ability to pay over a long- term period. Moreover, big data innovations that will improve access to data will eliminate long wait times for information and help lenders tailor their solutions and processes to meet a unique borrower profile. ere is no limit to the benefits of big data, but the main ones include precision in underwriting, fast turn times, delivery of tailored products and processes, and ultimately greater profitability. Employee Engagement By redefining "customer" to include inter- nal stakeholders and employees, lenders will be able to improve overall staff engagement and enthusiasm, which will ultimately improve customer service and drive productivity for the lender. As lenders move forward in select- ing technology and tools or innovating new approaches, it is critical to keep in mind how the innovation will impact the person doing the work. Will adopting a new web portal or mobile app require them to manage multiple disparate platforms or will it integrate seam- lessly? As the millennial generation is entering the workforce in droves, lenders with a modern tech-driven origination approach will suc- cessfully attract and retain new talent, while driving the type of excitement that will lead to new contributions and innovations. As customer-facing technologies and Fin- Tech solutions gain popularity, it is important that the mortgage industry recognize the need for balance. ere is a symbiotic relationship between operational innovation and customer innovation. By broadening our perspective and identifying the impact that back-office innovations can have on the customer experi- ence and vice versa, the mortgage industry will be able to connect more dots and create more connections so that one innovation will inspire another, ultimately shaping a new mortgage landscape. Sandeep Hinduja is a Director at Franklin, Tennessee-based Wipro Gallagher Solutions, a Wipro Limited company offering end-to-end tech- nology products and services for retail, wholesale, correspondent, and consumer lenders. Hinduja has more than 16 years of experience developing prod- uct growth strategy and consulting with clients. TEXAS Codilis Firm Changes its Lone Star State Address e attorneys and staff of Codilis & Stawiarski, P.C. have announced that the firm has changed its office location, effective immediately, to a new address: 400 N. Sam Houston Parkway E., Suite 900-A, Houston, Texas 77060. Codilis & Stawiarski was founded in 1988 and serves the needs of mortgage lenders and servicers throughout the Lone Star State. For more than 25 years, the firm has been provid- ing full-service foreclosure, bankruptcy, evic- tion, and REO services in Texas. e firm is a Legal League 100 member and offers litigation services to its clients through all phases of litigation and appeal. Its cradle-to-grave approach reduces common de- lays and efficiently resolves exceptions. Codilis & Stawiarski's management team brings on average 15 years of experience to every matter that it handles. With an innovative staff, along with an exclusive, custom case-management system, the firm maintains a consultative approach to default mortgage services, providing solu- tions and legal support. In what can feel like a dog-eat-dog industry, this firm offers a more humane approach to all of its locations across the nation. Austin Blockchain Expert: Tech Can Change Doc Sharing for Good By Laurie Pyle Most industries rely on document col- laboration to conduct business and finalize transactions. Whether it's the mortgage industry dealing with clearing a title, an accounting firm providing a tax opinion, or a company preparing to go through the acquisition process, due diligence is necessary through current, trustworthy documentation. With multiple players in different locations involved in business deals—and some types of transactions like mortgages, audits, and M&A activity taking weeks or months to complete finding reliable processes for document sharing is challenging. Here's a hint: most companies today rely on one of two main models by which stakehold- ers share documents, but both are flawed. Fortunately, there's a superior option now available in the form of blockchain technology. Blockchain offers a disruptive collaboration model by which work groups and teams across diverse industries can store information in a way that everyone trusts is unaltered—without needing to rely on a third-party company or outside entity. Option 1: Sending the Document Itself In this model, someone within the mort- gage ecosystem—say the title company—takes a document such as a title commitment out of their system and sends it to someone else who is involved in the transaction—say the lender. e title company sends the title commitment either by email or a secure file transfer system, taking the document out of their system and sending it to the lender. While almost all businesses operate using this model today, the problem with it is simple—as soon as the recipient has the document, it's no longer nec- essarily current. At any point after the act of sending the document a change to the source document could occur, making the recently sent document obsolete. If you follow the title commitment through the eyes of the lender, they assume the docu- ment they have received is current and correct and since they hold the document now in their system, they have the benefit of know- ing the document itself hasn't changed. What the lender doesn't know is whether someone else involved with the transaction—perhaps a different colleague at the title company—has added or updated information in the title system, rendering the lender's "reliable" docu- ment instantly out of date. So, the lender gets the benefit of knowing their document version hasn't been changed, but it still might be no longer accurate or relevant. Option 2: Sending a Link to the Document Many businesses are understandably worried about the versioning issue that comes up when using the first model, whereby a document received isn't necessarily the most current update of the file. For documents that will frequently change due to the nature of the transaction, companies can opt instead to send the other party a link to the document rather than sending the file itself. e advantage here is that when the lender clicks on the link, they can review the current version of the title commitment right off the

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