MFSI Breaks Free of Fixed Networks to Improve Customer Loan Service

MFSI Breaks Free of Fixed Networks to Improve Customer Loan Service

Mortgage Company Secures Its Personal Touch with SonicWALL Wired and Wireless VPN

TEWKESBURY, Mass. and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- New Jersey-based Mortgage Financial Services, Inc. (MFSI), a thriving residential and commercial lender and broker, announced today that it has chosen SonicWALL's wired and wireless VPN solutions to secure its network and maintain a mobile mind-set among its loan officers. The deployment illustrates a growing trend among service-based companies to use secure wireless technology to improve their customer interactions and stay ahead of the competition.

In updating its network, MFSI's goal was to build IT systems that would allow the company, which lends more than $1 billion a year, to become entirely connected, enable minute-by-minute Web interaction and support connectivity beyond the fixed network for its mobile loan officers. Director of Technology Rick Beaupre chose SonicWALL products to provide the entire secure network because of the high level of features delivered at a very competitive price point.

"Quality of service, a personal touch and responsiveness are very important to us," commented Beaupre. "MFSI's steady growth, and the fact that the majority of our customers are long-term clients, prove that this approach works."

The introduction of secure wireless technology has created a new breed of loan officer, frequently out in the field and rarely behind a desk, said Beapre. "Secure wireless connectivity is a key factor in helping our loan officers maintain high service standards. There's a special mind-set that's generated by loan officers going out to work with customers rather than connecting into the fixed network," added Beaupre. "We therefore provide wireless access in the branches so that they can maintain that 'pick up and go' mentality."

The 200-person company employs some 65 loan officers who are in daily contact with the public, as well 14 telecommuters, to provide an exceptional level of personal service and responsiveness to their customers. A vital tool for loan officers is the company's web-based Easy Loan Finder program, an aid to matching the right loan to the customer's needs. Loan officers frequently work with customers at their homes, using wireless satellite card-enabled laptops to access and download information. Once the recommendation is agreed, the loan officer transmits the data to the office so that all paperwork is completed by the time the loan officer returns to the branch.

After a false start with the original reseller and vendor, Beaupre turned to Chuck Desjardins of North Shore Data Services, Mass., a SonicWALL Gold Medallion partner, to institute a major network upgrade in a short time frame.

"I only sell SonicWALL security solutions," said Desjardins. "I like using one product that really works, and I love the SonicWALL product range." For MFSI, Desjardins designed a security network based on a SonicWALL PRO 3060 as the main headquarters security gateway, with a second 3060 in high-availability mode for redundancy. Branch offices are connected to the VPN with TZ 170 appliances, which Beaupre found 'amazingly easy' to deploy, while MFSI's telecommuters are protected and connected with SonicWALL's SOHO TZW wireless appliances in their homes.

Desjardins has deployed SonicWALL's deep packet inspection-based Intrusion Prevention Service in all the branches to protect the company from worms, Trojans, viruses and other threats, together with Gateway Anti-Virus, and Global Security Client software for remote users. Beaupre also relies upon North Shore Data Services, Inc. to manage, monitor and report his entire security solution using Sonicwalls Global Management System.

Working with Desjardins, Beaupre has also installed a secure wireless network in every branch to maintain the mobile mentality among loan officers. At the end of this year, MFSI will introduce SonicPoint wireless access points in all its branches to enable secure, distributed wireless connectivity. The SonicWALL Distributed Wireless Solution allows users to roam across large areas while maintaining their sessions and security policies and enables IT administrators to manage both the wired and wireless networks centrally from the main security gateway.

For Beaupre, having the right reseller partner was as important as having the best technology fit. "SonicWALL will be securing the organization from the edge to the desktop," he said. "But our decisions are all based on Chuck's recommendations. For MFSI to maintain productivity, IT support is vital, and North Shore Data Services, Inc. delivers support effectively and efficiently. If a loan officer has tech problems, we need to be on top of it immediately. If a vendor has the right approach, they've earned my loyalty and I'll stay with them to the end."

About SonicWALL, Inc.

SonicWALL, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNWL) is a leading provider of integrated network security, mobility, and productivity solutions for the SMB, enterprise, e- commerce, education, healthcare, retail/point-of-sale, and government markets. Core technologies include firewall, VPN, wireless, intrusion detection and prevention, SSL, anti-virus, and content filtering, along with award-winning security management solutions. Together, these products and technologies provide the most comprehensive distributed enforcement architecture available. SonicWALL, Inc. is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA. SonicWALL trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol SNWL. For more information, contact SonicWALL at +1-408-745-9600 or visit the company web site at http://www.sonicwall.com/ /.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding our ability to provide secure wireless technology that enables our customers to improve customer interaction and to maintain high service standards; our ability to provide secure, distributed wireless connectivity, to enable wireless roaming, or to enable the management of wired and wireless networks centrally from the main security gateway. These forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time the statements are made and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. In addition, please see the "Risk Factors" described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and Form 10-Q for subsequent periods, for a more detailed description of the risks facing our business. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to SonicWALL as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement.

NOTE: SonicWALL is a registered trademark of SonicWALL, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.


Source: SonicWALL, Inc.

CONTACT: Mary McEvoy of SonicWALL, Inc., +1-408-962-7110, or
mmcevoy@sonicwall.com; or Carolyn Robinson of The Hoffman Agency,
+1-408-975-3065, or crobinson@hoffman.com, for SonicWALL, Inc.

Web site: http://www.sonicwall.com/


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