GLASTONBURY, Conn.–Open Solutions Inc. reported it now has available more than 100 apps in its DNAappstore. Approximately half of those apps were created by its client credit unions and banks for use on the company's DNA core platform.
The DNAappstore made its debut in May 2011 and enables Open Solutions developers, clients and partners to create and share integrated, custom core extensions that it calls DNAapps without altering DNA's base code. As a result, all DNA core platform users, no matter their charter or location, can create and share innovations that benefit the entire global community of DNA users.
Lizette Nigro, VP-core business leader, said Open Solutions' clients have purchased approximately 200 of those apps. Among the most productive in creating DNAapps has been the development team at Redstone FCU, which has developed more than a dozen. Creators of those apps split the revenue from sales with Open Solutions. "So it's generated nice revenue back for them," said Nigro.
Nigro said approximately 30 organizations have been certified as DNAapp developers, which takes a couple of weeks to complete. But she also noted that only about 30% of its 560-plus client institutions have developers on staff.
Developers create the DNAapps using tools Open Solutions makes available in a DNAcreator tool set. The apps are then run past a Development Review Group.
One popular DNAapp, said Nigro, helps to reduce the call time related to NSFs (often due to debit card overdrafts) from 20 minutes to five for one CU.
While there are tensions between credit unions and banks in Washington, that's not the case in the IT backoffice, said Nigro, noting many CUs and banks use, share and sell to each other DNAapps. She acknowledged the company is hopeful it will see more business lending-realted apps.
"The DNAapps were created so code does not intermingle with the code of the core," said Nigro. Updates are offered at no charge.
Santo Canone, EVP-group sales, said the reason Open Solutions is able to offer the DNAapps is that the apps are "inherent to the architecture of the system. There are a lot of legacy systems that do not allow (institutions) to do that."
Added Nigro, "It means that not only is core not becoming less meaningful, it's becoming more meaningful. And this helps reduce turnover and improve training."
Nigro said the apps currently available cover a wide range, such as those that integrate with Excel or mapping technologies, to another app called "Skins" that changes fonts and colors so the individual system can be branded."
