In the current wave of digital transformation, many mortgage lenders believe they’re modernising by integrating best-in-class point solutions into their value chain. But what if integration alone is no longer enough? What if the real value lies not in assembling a toolkit but in reimagining the entire system?

That’s the essence of platform thinking. It’s not just a technology strategy; it’s a mindset shift. One that asks: Are you building an ecosystem that can evolve and scale, or are you just stitching together systems and hoping for harmony?

The Landscape Has Changed

To compete effectively in 2025 and beyond, mortgage lenders need to recognise that the vendor landscape has fundamentally changed. What once looked like a fragmented supplier market is now forming into three clear categories:

1. Specialists: Deep expertise in one function (e.g., ID verification, document automation).
2. Integrators: Middleware vendors stitching together different parts of the transaction process.
3. Orchestrators: A new class of platform provider that doesn’t just integrate it connects, enables, and facilitates value creation across the entire ecosystem.

This emerging Orchestrator category is particularly significant. These vendors aren’t simply solving one problem, they are redefining how the ecosystem operates. They’re facilitating open-loop collaboration, embracing standards like Horizontal Digital Integration (HDI), and ensuring data flows predictably across all stakeholders.

From Integration to Orchestration

Historically, lenders have adopted vertical integration strategies digitising their own siloed workflows while relying on fragmented vendor connections outside their four walls. But in today’s environment, lending is no longer just about what happens inside your own organisation.

Borrowers engage with estate agents, brokers, legal professionals, and lenders in a process that still feels disjointed. Each actor manages their own tech stack, datasets, and workflows leaving borrowers to feel like project managers of their own transaction.

Platform thinking turns this on its head. Rather than layering integrations onto existing infrastructure, it encourages lenders to become orchestrators in a connected network where value is created through interoperability, shared data standards, and connected services. This is the philosophy underpinning HDI, a strategic framework enabling organisations to collaborate more effectively across the transaction lifecycle.

Rethink Your Partner Strategy

With these shifts, lenders must critically assess their partner strategy. Not all vendors are equal and not all are future-ready.

Some are quietly building closed-loop ecosystems. On the surface, they may seem slick offering pre-integrated journeys and impressive demos. But behind the curtain, these are closed, siloed environments that reduce flexibility and trap you in a specific ecosystem.

Others are building open-loop collaboration, embracing HDI, data standards, and interoperability as central tenets of their platform.

Here’s the question we want you to ask this month:Are your partners enabling HDI… or standing in its way?

Why Platform Thinking Now?

There are three reasons this shift is becoming critical for mortgage lenders:

1. Digital maturity across the ecosystem is rising. PropTechs, conveyancers, and lenders alike are investing in digital capabilities. The opportunity to connect is greater than ever.
2. Customer expectations are shifting. Borrowers expect real-time updates, seamless handovers between parties, and a single version of the truth. Closed systems can’t deliver this experience.
3. Data has become the new differentiator. Lenders that can aggregate, enrich, and act on data across the value chain will be better positioned to personalise products, improve risk assessment, and drive customer retention.

 

Platform Thinking in Practice

To embrace platform thinking, lenders don’t need to rip out legacy systems. But they do need to evolve how they think about architecture, partnerships, and customer experience.

Here are four practical ways to begin:

1. Adopt open data standards. Proprietary APIs and data silos are roadblocks to collaboration. Participating in standards-based initiatives like the Smart Data Bill or working with bodies such as the Open Data Property Association can unlock real value.
2. Prioritise interoperability over integration. Integration solves for connectivity. Interoperability solves for scalability. It means designing systems that can not only connect, but evolve as new partners and technologies emerge.
3. Map your ecosystem, not just your journey. Many lenders map the customer journey, but few map the full ecosystem in which that journey takes place. Platform thinking forces a broader lens on how you can facilitate better experiences across the chain, not just within your own domain.
4. Create value beyond the transaction. Platform businesses don’t just complete a task, they build communities, offer insights, and drive continuous engagement. Lenders who embed themselves further up and down the transaction chain can do the same.

Final Thought: Are You Building for the Future?

Mortgage lending is no longer a linear process. It’s a collaborative, data-rich journey that crosses multiple stakeholders and systems. In this environment, platform thinking offers lenders a competitive edge not just through efficiency, but through enablement.

Integration will always be important. But integration alone is no longer enough. As an industry, we must move from connecting systems to designing ecosystems.

This is the kind of strategic evolution we help lenders navigate at Novus Strategy, where HDI and platform thinking are core pillars of our transformation model.

Because the real question isn’t can you plug in? It’s can you scale, adapt, and lead in a connected future?

Chris Williams, Strategy & Transformation Partner at Novus Strategy