FutureLink Lands ASP Hosting Contract From Metrociti Mortgage Company; Outsourcing All Data Center Functions Is Key To Mortgage Banker's Growth

Business Wire, Jan 10, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2000

FutureLink Corp. (Nasdaq:FLNK), one of the first Application Service Providers (ASP), today announced a four-year, 200 seat contract to provide application hosting services to Metrociti Mortgage Corp. Metrociti will outsource the management and hosting of all it's business-critical applications, including Microsoft Office 2000 and customized loan origination software, to FutureLink.

Metrociti, a full service mortgage banker licensed in 22 states, has experienced 100 percent increase in loan origination over the last two years. An aggressive expansion program and innovative partnership programs with the nation's leading realtor organizations have driven the lender's growth. Faced with the challenge of providing advanced information services to its continually growing national network of staff and business partners, Metrociti engaged FutureLink to make its loan origination software accessible over the Web using Citrix application server technology.

In February 2000, Metrociti will launch its customized loan origination software to its staff and business partners. The software will be hosted and managed at FutureLink's Irvine data center. FutureLink will also supply Metrociti end users with business productivity software, including Microsoft's Office 2000 applications.

"As a mortgage banker, we strive to lower our costs of origination--our industry is subject to constant expense pressures," Metrociti's VP of Business Development Jack Riley stated. "The mobility, flexibility and support of the Citrix ASP technology will drive our expansion at a reduced cost. More importantly, it will deliver a cutting edge approach to loan origination. This platform allows us to empower our people with a successful solution."

"We calculated the cost of building out and staffing our data center to handle the thin client technology in-house," said Roy Painter, Metrociti's Senior Vice President, Administration. "We quickly concluded that outsourcing the ASP functions to FutureLink was a cost-effective alternative. We simply could not implement and maintain the level of technology that FutureLink offers through its data centers."

"Metrociti is a prime example of a growing, geographically dispersed company that can benefit from the cost savings and quick start-up that an ASP offers," said President and Chief Operating Officer of FutureLink Glen C. Holmes. "Their vision to deliver innovative Web services through the ASP model marks them as an industry leader and will power their competitive edge."

"We are embracing new technical options to meet our goals of doubling business in the next three years," Metrociti's Riley concluded. "FutureLink's Application Hosting Services provide a platform for delivering Web strategies to expand business-to-business relationships and will contribute to our continued growth."

About Metrociti

Metrociti Mortgage Corp. is a full-service mortgage banker, licensed in 22 states. Primarily located on the West Coast, the company's focus is loan origination. Metrociti ranks in the top 100 of U.S. retail mortgage companies and is the top privately held retail originator in Los Angeles County. The company's annual residential loan volume exceeds $1.6 billion.

About FutureLink

FutureLink, The Computer Utility Company(TM), is one of the founders of the Application Service Provider (ASP) industry and a founding member of the ASP Industry Consortium.

FutureLink's Application Hosting Services Division provides businesses with off-site, Internet-based computing. The company's Application Hosting Platforms Division builds application server farms and provides Citrix application server software integration services. With Application Hosting Platform solutions, FutureLink customers manage their own server farms, and provide ASP services to users with their own IT staff and FutureLink consultants.

For more information, contact FutureLink toll-free at (877) 216-6001; e-mail: sales@futurelink.net; or visit the FutureLink Web site at http://www.futurelink.net.

Forward-looking statements and comments in this news release are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements relating to, among other things, the prospects for the companies to complete the transaction and enhance operating results, are necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which are significant in scope and nature. These risks may be further discussed in periodic reports and registration statements to be filed by the company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future.