Mortgage Brokers & Microsoft

Hugh Valentine: So, Sam, that’s a trend we’re seeing at the moment. We’re getting a lot of financial services organisations and mortgage brokers reaching out to us, and there seem to be some common challenges across the industry. Perhaps you can share what those are?

Sam Gareh: Yeah, definitely. We’re seeing a lot more interest from financial services organisations, mortgage brokers, and companies involved in mergers and acquisitions. The industry is still heavily reliant on legacy systems, and that creates several challenges.

Some of the common issues include duplicate data entry, limited visibility into mortgage processes and cases, manual document creation and processing, and a lack of meaningful reporting and insights. Those are probably the most common challenges we’re seeing right now.

Hugh Valentine: I think one of the drivers is AI as well. People are trying to connect AI to these legacy systems, then discovering they can’t, and that creates even more challenges.

Sam Gareh: Exactly. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had three or four organisations come to us that are still relying on Microsoft Access databases and haven’t modernised. When they start looking at Microsoft Copilot or AI generally, they’re held back because they’re still operating on those older systems.

We’ve been helping them move away from Access and into Microsoft Dataverse and modern Microsoft 365 tools. Once they’re there, they can start taking advantage of technologies like Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI Foundry.

Hugh Valentine: We often come across custom-built solutions that businesses rely on every day. They may have been developed 10 years ago, but they’re critical to the way the organisation works. Sometimes they’re Access databases that were built by someone who has since left the company, or even by the founder. The business becomes trapped by those systems. Excel is another example. We see businesses running huge parts of their operations from spreadsheets.

Sam Gareh: That’s exactly right. Another challenge is that many of these older systems don’t allow organisations to work the way they want to work today. The business may have evolved, expanded, or changed its processes, but the technology can’t adapt with them.

That’s where Microsoft Power Platform solutions, particularly model-driven apps and Power Pages, have been a huge benefit. We can build custom workflows that allow organisations to move into Dataverse, take advantage of Microsoft Copilot, and redesign processes that they may have previously been stuck with.

Hugh Valentine: There are also some challenges we’ve solved specifically for mortgage brokers. Can you talk through some of those?

Sam Gareh: Absolutely. Mortgage brokers typically follow a fact-find process. If someone applies for a mortgage, an adviser gathers information such as personal details, income information, payslips, and supporting documentation.

Traditionally, that information is often entered into older systems. By using model-driven apps, we’re able to manage the entire process through business process flows. We can capture information at different stages and guide customers through a structured journey.

One of the biggest benefits is that mandatory information must be completed before a case can progress to the next stage. That reduces the risk of missing critical information during the process.

We’ve also seen concerns around customers sending sensitive documentation by email. People understandably worry about sending documents such as passports, driving licences, and payslips to the wrong person.

That’s where Microsoft Power Pages has been particularly valuable. It provides a secure portal where customers can log in and upload documentation safely. Those documents are then securely connected to the model-driven application used by the mortgage broker.

Hugh Valentine: We’ve also seen some really interesting AI use cases around removing manual checks, such as validating identity documents automatically.

Sam Gareh: One hundred percent.

By combining Azure AI Foundry with Power Pages, documents can be checked automatically as they’re uploaded. For example, if a customer’s date of birth doesn’t match the information they’ve entered, the system can flag it immediately.

Similarly, if a photo is blurry, incomplete, or affected by glare, that feedback can be provided to the customer in real time. This eliminates the need for multiple emails asking customers to resend documentation and significantly reduces administration time.

Previously, organisations often required teams of people to process those documents manually.

Hugh Valentine: Lots of administration staff working behind the scenes.

Sam Gareh: Exactly. Those employees can now focus on higher-value activities rather than simply processing paperwork.

Hugh Valentine: We can also automate commission reporting and payback processes, which are quite common within the sector.

Sam Gareh: Absolutely. Reporting is another major benefit.

Organisations can track how many fact-finds are completed, how many progress to a property purchase, and a range of other key metrics. Because all of that information is stored in one location, reporting and business insights become much more effective.

Hugh Valentine: We do a lot of work with mortgage brokers, but we also support the organisations that sit above them. We’ve completed some great projects for holding companies and groups that have hundreds of businesses underneath them. That creates challenges around mergers and acquisitions, Microsoft tenants, and security. Could you talk about some of the services we’ve delivered in that area?

Sam Gareh: Definitely. One of the key technologies we use is Microsoft Fabric.

When organisations grow through mergers and acquisitions, they inherit large amounts of data across multiple businesses. Those businesses are often using different systems and platforms.

Hugh Valentine: Exactly. Some might use HubSpot, Dynamics, Excel, or entirely different systems.

Sam Gareh: They may even be running custom-built applications.

Microsoft Fabric allows organisations to bring together data from all those different sources into a single environment. Once that data is consolidated, the parent organisation gains visibility and insight across all acquired businesses.

That’s a significant advantage, particularly for private equity-backed organisations that need a clear view of performance across their portfolio.

Hugh Valentine: Another challenge for the parent company is security. If one of those businesses experiences a security breach, it can have implications for the wider group. We’ve done a lot of work around Microsoft Purview and Enforcer. Can you explain how we help organisations manage security across multiple companies?

Sam Gareh: Yes. Using tools such as Enforcer, we’re able to establish a consistent security baseline across multiple Microsoft tenants.

Hugh Valentine: Aligned to frameworks such as Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.

Sam Gareh: Exactly.

We define a common security standard that every tenant must meet, then roll that out across the organisation. For companies that regularly acquire businesses, this makes it much easier to bring security controls up to the required standard.

The platform can also help manage security alerts and identify potential issues across all tenants from a central location. For organisations going through mergers and acquisitions, that’s a real game changer.

Hugh Valentine: The final area is tenant-to-tenant migration. As parent organisations acquire more businesses, we often support the migration of data into a central Microsoft tenant or help organisations move from platforms such as Google Workspace into Microsoft 365.

Sam Gareh: Exactly. Not every business that is acquired continues to operate independently. Some become fully integrated into the parent organisation.

That means migrating files, data, and ways of working. It also creates opportunities to modernise outdated systems as part of the transition. It’s a huge area of growth and a significant opportunity for organisations looking to modernise their operations.

Hugh Valentine: Nice one. Thank you, Sam.