This bank, which has more than $1.2 billion in assets, will install Jack Henry Banking's SilverLake System in-house.

According to Daniel R. Daigneault, president and CEO of The First, N.A., "Our decision to replace our long-time core system was largely based on the need for the stronger commercial functionality we require to aggressively and successfully compete in our marketplace. We launched an extensive evaluation that initially included most of the vendors that are 'household' names in the industry. We narrowed the field of technology vendors to four and participated in comprehensive demonstrations of their products. Our evaluation ultimately convinced our decision-makers that Jack Henry Banking has the systems and the experience to support the dynamic needs of commercial banks like ours. Other banks automated by the company's technology confirmed the conclusions drawn from our evaluation, and our meeting with Jack Henry Banking's executive team reinforced our positive impression of the company's strategic direction. We believe the move to SilverLake will materially enhance our commercial capabilities, improve our competitive position and market presence, and enable us to continually enhance our commercial relationships."

SilverLake has been selected to replace every major competitive core processing platform marketed today, and is currently automating approximately 20 percent of the domestic mid-tier banks with assets ranging from $1 billion to $30 billion. SilverLake is designed for commercial-focused banks ranging from de novo to multi-billion dollar, mid-tier institutions, and efficiently supports bank-specific requirements by integrating customizable core functionality with more than 100 best-of-suite complementary solutions. SilverLake supports both in-house and outsourced operating environments, and maximizes long-term technology requirements with the scalable IBM® System i(TM) hardware platform.

Stan Viner, general manager of Sales for Jack Henry Banking, said, "Several of the executives at The First have experience with our solutions from their days working at other banks that use our technology platforms. Considering that our fundamental focus is to deliver high-quality software and exceptional day-to-day support, there is not a more rewarding validation of our efforts than when bankers endorse the way we do business based on their real-world, first-hand experience. We welcome the opportunity to serve as The First's technology partner, and we believe the ability to attract progressive banks like this one will enable Jack Henry Banking to continue our expansion in the mid-tier market."

In addition to the SilverLake core system, The First N.A., will initially install an array of Jack Henry Banking's complementary products and services, including Vertex Teller Automation, StreamLine Platform Automation, Synapsys sales force automation, NetTeller Online Banking, NetTeller Cash Management, InTouch Voice Response, and Relationship Profitability Management (RPM).

Separately, nCipher plc (LSE:NCH), a global leader in protecting critical enterprise data and Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (Nasdaq:JKHY), a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, today announced a partnership in which Jack Henry & Associates' subsidiary, Symitar, will resell nCipher's CryptoStor product as part of its solution offering.

Symitar, which supplies credit unions with software systems and related services, has already deployed the nCipher CryptoStor product in a number of credit unions including Lockheed Federal Credit Union.

"The CryptoStor storage encryption appliance has a proven track record with my data processing department - uncomplicated installation, extremely reliable, simple user-friendly features, and complete transparency with our daily processing and speed of backups. It's exactly what we were looking for in an encryption device. We are so impressed with this unit we have ordered two more for our new IBM systems. Our off-site media is now safe with this device," said Joe Gates, data processing manager of Lockheed Federal Credit Union in Burbank, California.

Security regulations and compliance mandates require organizations - especially those in the financial services markets - to encrypt sensitive information throughout the entire data lifecycle including storage and back-up and recovery systems. Given the large volume of sensitive data that financial services organizations manage, these businesses must evaluate encryption solutions based on a number of criteria. The most important factors are the ease of deployment, the key management capabilities that secure data integrity and assure the on-demand access and recovery of keys, and the overall affect on network speed and performance.

"As solution providers for financial institutions, we are charged with delivering technology that not only meets today's most stringent data security and regulatory requirements, but does it in an easy-to-manage form factor with minimal performance impact and the ability to meet disaster recovery guidelines," said Kathy Hooker Burress, president of Symitar. "nCipher's CryptoStor allows us to offer a risk management solution that delivers unprecedented security and superior key management capabilities all in one easy-to-deploy appliance that helps minimize potential business interruptions."

"As a leading solutions provider for the financial services industry, Symitar knows first hand that its customers need an encryption and key management solution that meets compliance regulations by securing data at-rest and protecting against the loss or theft of encryption keys," said Richard Moulds, executive vice president of Product Strategy at nCipher. "nCipher is pleased to partner with Symitar to assure that its current and future customers' storage security requirements can be satisfied in a convenient and quickly deployed manner."