3 minutes
Sponsor by Fiserv.
Most credit unions manage many vendor relationship, which can be costly both in time and dollars. But InTouch Credit Union found a solution that simplified operations and saved money.
Snapshot
InTouch CU, a long-term Portico® core account processing client with Fiserv, is based in Plano, Texas, and has more than $750 million in assets and 90,000 members.
Originally chartered as EDS Employees Federal Credit Union in 1974, the credit union significantly expanded its field of membership and number of branches and ATMs over the next three decades. By 2010, the credit union was rebranded as InTouch to reflect its broader membership.
InTouch CU now serves over 20 countries and five U.S. states.
Challenge: Managing Multiple Vendors
The credit union was spending a significant amount of time and resources managing multiple vendors on its legacy IT network, which supports 21 U.S. branches and a dedicated grid of ATMs.
“We were serving as the intermediary between our core processing platform, Portico, our telecomm vendors and other suppliers – and this was wasting a lot of resources,” says Tom Condos, SVP/chief information officer for InTouch.
The legacy network also required InTouch CU to manage several firewalls, which was a significant burden on the credit union’s IT team, often requiring work to be completed after hours and on weekends.
Security was another key decision driver for InTouch CU. “We wanted to leverage the expertise of Fiserv to ensure the security of the perimeter of our business – to have that second pair of eyes,” says Condos. “I would recommend the solution to other financial institutions on the basis of its security benefits alone.”
Solution: Network Management Innovation from Fiserv
Recognizing a need for greater efficiency, the credit union turned to Fiserv to streamline its network and optimize internal resources through a Multiprotocol Label Switching network.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Fiserv that is built on honesty and mutual respect,” says Condos. “When deciding to outsource network management, trust is critical and we knew we could trust Fiserv based on past experience.”
To build on the strength of its existing Fiserv relationship, InTouch CU opted to consolidate network operations and management using Managed Network Services from Fiserv.
“One of our objectives was to get everything into one bucket,” says Condos.
InTouch CU replaced two data conduit circuits with the Fiserv-managed MPLS network, simplifying the complexity of the network and sharply reducing the associated expenses by approximately $1,500 per month. The credit union also saw improvements in operations and availability. “System uptime improved significantly and availability has exceeded expectations,” says Condos.
With the MPLS network and Managed Network Services from Fiserv, the credit union now has only one vendor relationship to manage, saving valuable management-level time and resources.
Managed Network Services includes 24/7/365 coverage, and “is like having two or three additional employees at a fraction of the cost,” according to Condos. This also enables senior management to focus on highly-strategic IT initiatives, which enables an even greater value proposition.
Outcome: Significantly Enhanced Member Experience
High quality member services form the heart of a credit union’s business. And a key measurement of success for any technology implementation is the positive impact it has on the member experience.
By implementing the Fiserv-managed MPLS network solution, InTouch CU gained seamless, uninterrupted service for its members. If a failure does occur at one branch, the fail-over process will take over seamlessly and transactions continue without interruption. This seamless process also helps mitigate or eliminate disruption to credit union staff.
InTouch CU’s new network infrastructure has produced better network performance, with added reliability and security, and has helped the credit union streamline vendor management. The high-performance network is managed through a single-vendor partnership with Fiserv, which optimizes internal resource management on a holistic basis.
Instead of managing vendors, the credit union can now focus on serving members.
