SAN FRANCISCO — Make the most of the tools you already have as your company's technology spending slows down, suggested a panel including Microsoft, BECU and Harland Financial Solutions at the CUNA Technology Council (CTC) Summit.
"The biggest mistake you can make is not to become incredibly expert with the software you buy," said Butch Leonardson, SVP-CIO at $9-billion BECU in Tukwila, Wash., during remarks at the CUNA Technology Council Summit here. "We expect our business analysts to know more about the software than the vendor does. When they get to that level, they get the chance to do some cool stuff right inside the product you've already purchased."
Figure out how to optimize business processes using existing tools, said Marley Gray, chief technology strategist, banking, Microsoft Corp., Charlotte, N.C.
"Can you save seven seconds per teller per transaction over seven years?" he asked. If so, "the ROI on that is staggering, especially when compared to the cost of buying a new software license."
Best-practice credit unions using Harland technology appoint a governance committee that examines each Harland software release to see "what's fresh and valuable from a business perspective," added David McConney, EVP-GM of Pleasanton, Calif.-based Harland Credit Union Core Systems.
Earlier, some members of a CTC Summit panel of personal financial management (PFM) software vendors put forth a divergent perspective, suggesting that it's high time to spend on online banking (see related story, page 22). PFM can lure new members and provide a CU with information critical to sales and offering financial advice, said the panel.
PFM could be particularly valuable when combined with internal business intelligence (BI), said Gray. BI cross-referenced with the member's average spending on expenses, such as groceries and utilities that members enter in outward-facing social computing software, can help the CU deliver service and sales, he said.
CTO John Morawski of the Massachusetts CU League in Marlborough, Mass., rounded out the four-person panel, which was moderated by Sam Kilmer, VP-market development of Lake Mary, Fla.-based Harland.
Offering advice related to the title of the session, "Opportunities in the Turbulence," the panel also cautioned against giving up on innovation during the financial crisis.
"Our CUs are so bogged down with compliance that it's like hitting a wall trying to talk to them about innovation," said Morawski. "And for the first time in history, our CUs are laying people off. This is the time to show CIOs how to produce innovation and how it will help them."
In order to keep from completely hunkering down, CUs can encourage innovation by taking one step at a time, according to Gray.
"Your organization doesn't need to create the next iPhone to be innovative," Gray said. "For example, just move one step forward in the process of enhancing your loans or account openings." Microsoft uses tools that allow an employee to submit an innovative idea; let other employees comment and vote on it using social media; and then, if the idea is well-received, send it through a workflow to align it with business priorities, he said.
Innovation is scary, added Leonardson. "Some people don't think they're innovative." Instead, BECU wants employees to make "bold moves with available technology. People think they can do that."
The current economic turbulence is "a wonderful time to make change," he said. "You've got everyone's attention. The moment of truth is when you have the opportunity to delight or disappoint a member" across the five common delivery channels.
"Make sure that the member intimacy and member service experience comes through every technology you use and everything that you do," said McConney.
