North Shore Systems
Leaders in Commercial Real Estate Finance Solutions

In recent years, the popularity of cloud solutions has substantially increased among the fintech solution buyers due to its real-time access capabilities and low data security risk. However, the CIOs considering these solutions are troubled due to the vendor risks that come with it. The unfulfilled promises from up-shoot and relatively newer vendors usually create a situation where CIOs have no other option but to regroup and start the evaluation process all over again. With more than 20 years of history in offering web-based solutions, North Shore Systems (NSS) solves this issue as they have a solid track record in system implementations. The company is known for the three major migrations of its codebase and the way that it has kept up with the development of the fintech space. The NSS solution offers the ‘best of both worlds,’ combining the benefits of a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution with the flexibility of a custom-built one. “We are the only CRE/Commercial Lending platform that has a true embedded business rules engine, a truly seamless cradle-to-grave database model,” states Brian McCracken, president, and CEO of NSS.

At its core, NSS is one of the most flexible and configurable platforms available, as it was designed specifically to allow clients to customize the functionality and to have the capability of modifying/adding to the functionality through client-defined and controlled administration. This provides the clients with a best-practices LOS/Servicing/Portfolio out-of-the-box solution, and the degree of customization that usually comes from a custom-developed solution from consultants. NSS offers the intangible benefit of a COTS code base that is supported and regularly upgraded with new releases. The implementation of the solution is front-loaded with definition, specification, and design, however, this work pays off with a more user-accepted and capable solution in the long run.

The NSS methodology has been developed over the years to facilitate that process, making it one that serves the purpose of helping a company to standardize, re-engineer, and even strategize as they perform the configuration and customization of the system. This applies not only to the back-end functions such as workflow, business rules, and reporting but the front-end customer and partner experience, through externally facing portals. Another differentiating factor is the underlying data model.

We are the only CRE/Commercial Lending platform that has a true embedded business rules engine, a truly seamless cradle-to-grave database model

The foundation of any fintech solution is a central, comprehensive, and scalable database. “We serve as a ‘platform’ upon which functional business objects reside, reporting engines pull from, business rules comb data, and the UX is ultimately dependent on. It’s the engine in the fintech vehicle—the foundation of the fintech structure,” says McCracken.

In addition to offering the most capable platform, NSS is always applying what it has learned over twenty plus years and over fifty implementations to make the system better and the implementation process less impactful to the client’s day-to-day business. The knowledge gained from each implementation usually translates into added capabilities and extension of the platform, usually in the form of digitization and digital B2B interaction.

Having carved a unique niche, NSS is currently developing the final piece of its end-to-end solution, the loan servicing accounting module. In the company’s master plan conceived twenty years ago, this module was scheduled last based on the fact that all services currently had a system (loans can’t be serviced without one) and that it is the most difficult to get a lender to replace. Lenders typically highly modify these systems and retain them for a long time, making them engrained in operation and, therefore, very disruptive to uproot. The development of this last piece of the platform is key for NSS as this complete functionality on both the front-end (LOS) and back-end (portfolio & asset management/servicing) is not presently available in the market. Further, it completes the suite of modules integrated as one truly ‘straight-through’ solution.