WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.-Could your credit union's network use an "Extreme Makeover?"
Get ready. In October Horsetail Technologies and Credit Union Journal will announce the second annual $100,000 Extreme Network Makeover contest.
"We are very excited about this year's contest, because we had a successful experience last year," said Mark Berman, principal and co-founder of the Baltimore--based Horsetail Technologies that provides managed services, solution integration and cloud management. Liberty Savings Federal Credit Union in New Jersey has just completed its makeover, having won the inaugural contest in 2012 (see related story above).
The $69 million-asset credit union, which has three branches and roughly 16,000 members, received hardware from Dell, security devices from Sonicwall, Cloud Services by Ongoing Operations and Cloudworks, credit union electronic communication by Digital Mailer, encryption by Zix, as well as other updates.
"This was about more than just cosmetics," said Frank J. Diekmann, publisher of Credit Union Journal. "The Extreme Network Makeover is about helping a credit union to do more to protect and serve its members. We were thrilled to be a part of the 2012 makeover and are so happy to see the results at Liberty Savings. We are looking forward to helping another credit union this year."
While Liberty Savings is excluded from the second contest, all other credit unions are eligible to enter. Berman explained that the online application process takes about a half hour to complete and includes eight questions, the last of which is in essay format querying applicants why their CU deserves $100k in technology upgrades.
"This year we are also going to accept video entries, which is exciting," said Berman, noting representatives from his company and Credit Union Journal will judge the entries. Last year, more than 100 applications were submitted. Applications will be accepted starting Oct. 1, with the winner being announced in January. Look for more details in September.
