Symitar expands outsourcing initiatives

Its Symitar® division today announced the preference for more credit unions to expand outsourcing beyond the core, by having a number of Episys® clients move their IT infrastructure to a fully outsourced environment via Gladiator® Hosted Network Solutions™.

Almost half of the credit unions on Episys run the platform in an outsourced environment. And, many of these credit unions are also turning to Jack Henry for broader hosted support to augment the demands of keeping pace with technology innovation, compliance and security requirements, and disaster avoidance standards. To date, more than 115 banks and credit unions have shifted their IT management responsibilities to the certified experts and engineers behind Hosted Network Solutions.

One example is $710 million 1st Northern California Credit Union (“1st Nor Cal”) in Martinez, Calif. The credit union converted to a community charter three years ago and, following an NCUA exam, realized the need for a more modern data center. A co-location facility didn’t make sense, and being situated along Silicon Valley brings its own challenges in keeping qualified IT experts on staff. In just eight months, the credit union migrated Episys to Jack Henry’s outsourced environment and moved its data center to Hosted Network Solutions. 1st Nor Cal also enlisted Jack Henry to provide ongoing access to certified, experienced experts that help develop, implement, and sustain a scalable information security program.

David Green, president and CEO of 1st Nor Cal, said, “We were rotating servers every five or seven years, but now have fully removed the burden to buy or maintain any equipment. Our team is able to do more active monitoring of our systems and not waste time fixing or updating them. Today’s mode of banking requires skilled IT professionals to serve members in the best way possible; trusting Jack Henry with the hosting and maintenance of our systems allows the individuals we employ to focus on priorities that drive business and build relationships.”

Wichita, Kan.-based Skyward Credit Union (“Skyward”) with $286 million assets is also relying on Jack Henry to host its core and broader IT infrastructure. The credit union was running on servers in need of updating, and that belonged to and were managed by its members’ primary employer. It made Skyward’s IT processes cumbersome and complicated. When notified that the credit union would need to invest in its own server alternative, Skyward faced an imminent hard cutoff. It was then that the credit union turned to Symitar to outsource Episys, and found added value in Hosted Network Solutions. Over a weekend, Skyward successfully migrated all IT responsibilities to be live on Monday morning.

Kevin Wilmoth, Skyward’s president and CEO, acknowledged that the change has been positive for its IT staff of two. “Hosted Network Solutions moves our entire infrastructure – servers, storage, operating systems, everything – to a private cloud that we know is more resilient than anything we could have on our own. The decision to outsource both our core and our network to a single partner who can coordinate all the variables was the most logical and cost effective choice.”

Ted Bilke, vice president of Jack Henry & Associates and president of Symitar, added, “Demands for tighter security as well as a better member experience are equally driving credit unions of all sizes to recognize the value in outsourcing their IT environments. We’ve seen a steady trend of hosting in recent years, increasing especially among larger credit unions, and are committed to helping clients expand the scope of their outsourced environments to enjoy the many benefits of the cloud.”