Evolving to connect and stop the sprawl

Goodbye Elf on the Shelf^®, countless family gatherings and leftover New Year’s champagne. Hello, 2016!

My mantra for this year is “evolve.” And I’m not just talking about me. I’m talking about the entire financial industry.

We need to evolve the way we think. We also need to evolve our old processes and our technology strategies to become better, faster and more efficient.

My professional life is filled with financial institutions asking how to strategically leverage technology – not just to solve the short-term, immediate issues they’re facing, but to produce long-term results. My favorite success stories come from members who could see the big picture within their enterprise content management (ECM) solutions and expanded them to benefit every department throughout their credit unions.

That kind of big-picture thinking is something more credit unions need to do in 2016. Are your current software applications flexible, scalable and agile enough to stay innovative for long-term success? Or, sadly, were those applications merely “quick fixes” that will need to be updated within the next few years.

The Connected Credit Union

In today’s consumer-driven world, being connected has taken on a new definition. Mobile devices provide access to all the information you need, how and when you need it, wherever you may be. And, as the number of people using mobile devices to do their banking grows, members want that same level of service and satisfaction from their financial institutions.

If your frontline employees can’t access information quickly to address a member question because you’re having issues with an upgrade or your systems can’t communicate, your members are not going to be happy. Worse yet, they might not even be your members for very much longer.

Technology such as ECM can serve as the much-needed connection between disparate systems, processes and departments. It plugs into your important line-of-business applications to add more functionality without adding cumbersome training for your users. Most importantly, it includes functionality like scanning, retrieval, workflow management, case management and email archiving that can be leveraged in every department across your organization. Every employee will have immediate access to the important information they need to do their jobs well – helping your institution exceed your members’ expectations and remain competitive.

Stopping Software Sprawl

Many people don’t realize the number of software applications burdening IT departments. Tasked with managing the maintenance (and upgrades) of every last one of them, IT has more than enough on its plate. Help combat software sprawl by expanding an ECM solution throughout your entire credit union. This way, instead of buying more software, your organization could be exploring more efficient ways to integrate existing systems, helping reduce the mounting pressure on IT staff. The best solutions connect your important systems and offer you a single place to securely store your manage information.

With this in mind, I propose that more credit unions place the following among their goals for 2016: Connect your organization’s data and information by deploying an independent ECM solution across the entire organization to offer staff in every single department a complete member view.

You’ll ease the strain on IT while more fully leveraging your existing technology. That’s what I call a “win-win.”