SAN ANTONIO-It's critical that credit unions understand that rapid "consumerization" of technology is changing how credit unions conduct business, along with how members interact with their credit unions, according to one person.
Rick Roy, SVP/CIO with CUNA Mutual Group, told the CUNA Technology Council Conference here that the same technologies CU employees are using in their personal lives are now becoming core tools in their professional lives, including social media, mobility, cloud computing and data security/privacy.
"Social networks are changing how we talk, interact, sell, and build brands. The astounding reach social media has had on marketing and sales can create new opportunities for credit unions to reach new demographics, quickly and effectively," Roy said.
He said the same is true with the explosion of mobility, including smart phones and tablets. "Mobility is a powerful market differentiator for credit unions," suggested Roy.
"Today, cloud computing has experienced a major shift from infancy to a real business strategy for many companies. We are hearing more about how insurers are adopting software with a service (SaaS) platforms outside their core systems of policy administration, claims and financials," Roy noted. But Roy also cautioned that while market forces may push toward such a strategy, the insurance industry is still assessing if it is the best solution, and he acknowledged the potential drawbacks related to the security, performance and availability of cloud offerings.
Roy provided several key recommendations for each trend:
• For social media, develop an internal and external social media policy that incorporates clear corporate messaging standards for all employees to use.
• For mobility strategies, embrace mobile devices' new levels of productivity for employees, and create a secure, "mobility choice" support model.
• When addressing security and privacy, eliminate all non-essential private and credit union data and encrypt the remaining data, including data on mobile devices.
• For cloud computing, beware of industry hype, but closely monitor industry progress as options are maturing very quickly; be very clear on security and privacy shortcomings.
