Headlines:
Sybase Enhances Data Server
Sybase Inc. plans to announce today the general release of its Adaptive Server Enterprise 15 database server and data management platform.
"Security and privacy have become an important component of compliance," said Raj Nathan, a senior vice president in the information technology and solutions group of the Dublin, Calif., software vendor.
With the updated system, columns or tables of a database can be individually encrypted without modifying the computer application that accesses the data, Mr. Nathan said.
The system also allows database queries to target specific portions of a large database rather than the entire file. It can erect "smart partitions" that isolate a portion of the file and protect the database if a single partition becomes corrupted or a device containing part of it fails, Mr. Nathan said.
Sybase says ASE users include Bank of Montreal and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Harland Offers E-Sign System
Harland Financial Solutions Inc. plans to offer lenders a system to enable their customers to sign closing documents using an electronic stylus on a signature pad, so that the paperwork need not be scanned for electronic processing after the closing.
Mark Little, the vice president of product development at Harland Financial Solutions, said one lender is testing the system now, and the vendor anticipates general availability by the end of the year.
Harland Financial Solutions, a unit of the Atlanta check printer John H. Harland Co., announced the product, Pro Sign, in late August. It is designed for use with the vendor's document-production system, Laser Pro, and can be used for a variety of loan types, including consumer, commercial, mortgage, and home equity.
Mr. Little noted that the initial version of the product is not compliant with requirements of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, which governs home loans sold into the secondary market.
"We are looking at supporting that in the future, but not in this release," he said.
Though Harland plans to offer Laser Pro to nonbank lenders, he said, "In reality we expect banks to be the primary adopters, given our market presence."
