October 22, 2002
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - From the floor of the 89th annual Mortgage Banking Association Convention and Exposition, a la mode, inc. announced today that over the past 12 months, over 6.48 million individual appraisal files passed from a la mode real estate appraisers to their lender clients via a la mode’s Mercury Network servers.  The files averaged 1.03 megabytes each, meaning that just under 7 terabytes of data passed through the servers in the past year.  The number sets a new standard in what is becoming the most talked about segment of the mortgage technology industry: true network transaction volume.    

a la mode also revealed that the 12-month run rate is significantly higher, since the most recent months are approaching a million transactions each.  September’s total of 918,288 appraisal reports, and the growth rate from five years of the servers’ use, supports a 12-month forward projection in the 15 million transactions per year range.

Mortgage Industry technology expert Scott Cooley commented, "I applaud a la mode's 6.4 million appraisals flowing through their transaction network.  Clearly a la mode has been a leader in the appraisal industry for years, but of the dozens of companies hoping to handle similar transaction volumes in the greater mortgage industry, only a handful can currently boast such numbers.  This tremendous growth and their proven solutions certainly place them in the long term winner's circle."

The Mercury Network is an open architecture platform of desktop software and Internet servers, supporting XML data standards established by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO).  a la mode’s real estate appraiser members subscribe to the Mercury Network to connect to clients while using the report form filling software of their choice.

Mortgage lender and broker members of the Mercury Network enjoy solutions to common industry collateral workflow problems which have not been sufficiently addressed by internet portals or legacy report-conversion products.  a la mode software tools are developed as reliable Microsoft .NET services, so the scalability and portability of the products provide a level of control and confidence unavailable to mortgage technology professionals in the past. .

About a la mode
a la mode, inc. is the leader in the design, development and support of real estate related software, Internet solutions and electronic document technologies. The company's flagship product, WinTOTAL appraisal software, is used by over 50% of the nation's appraisers, nearly three times the share of its closest competitor.  Its e-commerce servers delivered over 6.4 million electronic appraisals to lenders in the past 12 months, making it the undisputed leader in paperless real estate transactions.  The privately held company was founded in 1985, is headquartered in Oklahoma City , and employs approximately 150 people.  More information on the company can be found on the Web at http://www.alamode.com.