FREDERICK, Md. — Although software as a service is a common phrase due to wide market adoption rates, technology as a service is another idiom that is catching on for similar reasons.
"We are so excited about the potential of TaaS, but we are still in the implementation process," said Brian Bultman, chief financial officer at Nymeo Federal Credit Union.
The CU supports 22,000 members in nine branches.
In early January, the $250 million CU decided to look for a local manage service provider as its then vendor was located out of state.
With assistance from Expense Reduction Services Inc. of Gainesville, Va. an exhaustive request for proposal process was undertaken that identified eight candidates. Six vendors responded by February, and by March the top three candidates presented on site.
"All three of the finalists specialized in managed network services, so for none of them this was considered a side business," Bultman said. "We signed with Horsetail Technologies in April."
The Baltimore-based firm handles TaaS services for about 25 clients, said principal Mark Berman.
TaaS is essentially a supported, life-cycle-proof, fixed-budget private cloud, he said.
"It can work for any CU that wants to dive deeply into a decision now, and then not have to re-pitch to the board every three to five years when the board thinks 'we just got that' and the reality is that the devices are at the end of their efficiently useful life," Berman said.
TaaS Scope
Part of the reason that Nymeo was looking for Horsetail's assistance was due to the concurrent transitioning of its core data processing system to Fiserv Solutions' XP2, an online data processing system using a Microsoft .NET framework, Bultman said.
"Since we have strategically decided to outsource our technology, including our contract with Fiserv for the core, it made sense to outsource managed network services," he said.
TaaS makes even more sense because investing on all hardware and software is a significant investment, Bultman said.
"We were at a stage where a lot of our hardware equipment was older, end-of-life and needing replacement," he said. "So it made sense for Horsetail to manage the network equipment since they would be touching it and configuring it."
From discovery to rollout a CU interested in adopting TaaS should expect a six-month time frame, Berman said.
"We start with a baseline study that lasts three days," he said. "The study is followed by strategic work, project prioritization and identification, management and board confirmation, and then we are ready to begin implementation."
The general concept is converting all moving parts to a monthly cost for a three- or four-year commitment, depending on the expected life of the item. The monthly cost also includes acquisition and labor for setup.
"There is a contract set-up fee equal to two months of payments for each monthly item. Ongoing management is priced separately but also delivered for a monthly price," Berman said.
When asked what happens at the end of the three- or four-year period, Berman said that an up-to-date item is delivered with no setup fees or bump in the budget, just the same monthly cost.
And if three years pass and the item hasn't reached end of life, the CU has the option of keeping the item in place for half the monthly fee.
"A financial institution operating completely within the program is essentially renting their technology, for a fixed, budgeted monthly fee that is predictable and guarantees regular upgrades and refreshes, without the distraction of board and management time to revisit the same issues repeatedly," said Chris Sachse, principal of Horsetail.
Win Win Win
Although Bultman said that the CU is still in the implementation phase, which will conclude toward the end of the year, Nymeo continually meets with Horsetail to ensure a streamlined transition.
With 75 employees, three of which were dedicated to the information technology department, one of the deciding factors for selecting Horsetail was its hands-on approach.
"With Horsetail, we are getting essentially a virtual [chief information officer}," Bultman said. "Some of the six finalists from the RFP process did not have this as part of their business model, so the credit union would have to have two or possibly three IT technicians onsite."
As part of the contract, one of the CU's IT employees was hired by Horsetail and assigned back to Nymeo.
"This employee that transitioned is a win, win, win," Bultman said. "It's a win for the credit union, a win for Horsetail Technologies and it's a win for that person because now this person has a career opportunity that the credit union just could not offer."
