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February 8, 2010 - February 12, 2010
General News
* Heartland CU Signs 7 Year Agreement with CU*Answers
* MeridianLink & IWS Partner to Improve Auto Lending
* Open Solutions & BANKDetect/CU-Detect Extend Partnership Agreement
* LogRhythm Granted Patent for Log & Event Management Technology
* MindBox Signs Navy FCU
CU*Answers, a West Michigan CUSO known for providing its enterprise core data processing system CU*BASE, recently announced that Heartland Credit Union ($187M) of Springfield, IL, has signed a 7 year agreement for data processing services. Heartland Credit Union has been serving the Springfield area since 1946, and now provides services to over 27,000 members from four branch locations.
MeridianLink, a leading provider of enterprise business solutions for credit unions, and Intercontinental Warranty Services, (IWS) provider of Vehicle Service Agreements (VSA), Mechanical Breakdown Insurance (MBI), and GAP to credit unions nationwide, are working together to integrate their warranty and loan programs. Their partnership has permitted Florida West Coast Credit Union to integrate the two processes, allowing the warranty to be offered as part of the loan process.
Open Solutions, a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for credit unions across the United States, Canada and other international markets, and BANKDetect/CU-Detect, a knowledge-based technology company that focuses on loss prevention and compliance for financial industries, announced they have expanded their eight-year referral relationship into a more comprehensive reseller agreement. The new agreement means Open Solutions will now offer BANKDetect/CU-Detect products including new account, OFAC and other identity-screening services that will provide options for basic to advanced identity analysis and monitoring; account risk management solutions that produce and maintain risk profiles for both fraud prevention and compliance; and account activity analysis solutions for risk detection, fraud prevention, anti-money laundering and ID theft compliance.
LogRhythm, a provider of enterprise-class log management, log analysis and event management software, announced that it has received a patent from the US Patent & Trademark Office for several key components of the technology underlying the LogRhythm log and event management platform. The patent covers innovations developed by LogRhythm that span content-aware log processing, log management, log analysis, and event management.
MindBox, a leading provider of advanced decisioning solutions to the mortgage lending industry, announced that Navy Federal Credit Union has implemented MindBox’s ARTOptimize decisionmaking solution for mortgage and home equity loans. ARTOptimize personalizes each step in the loan origination, deal negotiation, deal structuring, optimization and underwriting process. ARTOptimize integrates credit data from multiple sources, analyzes that data based on company-specific policies, prices the final product, and provides suggested strategies for lowering costs or creating a debt portfolio.
Hardware News
Samsung has released a 2 TB hard drive called the EcoGreen F3EG which uses their signature EcoTriangle technology. This technology includes:
- Using eco-friendly components
- Requiring less power (40% less power consumption in idle mode, 10% lower in reading/writing mode)
- Providing a low-noise operation
The EcoGreen F3EG runs $179.
Dell announced a new computer under its enterprise business-focused laptop line, the Latitude 13, which it calls “the world’s thinnest 13-inch commercial client laptop.” Features include:
- Solid-state (SSD) drive
- Full disk encryption
- Trusted Platform Module
- Computrace recovery software
- Preinstalled Citrix client
- Virtualization ready
- Remote manageability
- Optional integrated Webcam/microphone
- Optional WWAN mobile broadband
- Bluetooth
- 802.11g/n wireless LAN
- Support for Broadcom TruManage technology
- Dell ImageDirect service which lets IT create, update and deploy system images 24/7 from a secure online location
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Hardware Section Sponsored by
Millennial Vision, Inc. (MVi)
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Software Updates
Bamboo Solutions, a provider of technologies that enhance Microsoft SharePoint, announced that it is launching BambooRM, a new SaaS-based requirements management program that requires no installation, is easy to use, and is available via monthly subscription. Managers, business analysts, consultants, and team leaders can view, manage and trace project requirements online in their browsers, including:
• Create business requirements for any product or service
• Define and associate sub-level business requirements
• Associate use cases with multiple associated business requirements.
• Associate functional e-requirements with each business requirement
• Prioritize business and functional requirements
• Trace the project requirements
• Create and print requirement summaries
Choosing just enough virtual machines, but not too many, for a given server is a challenge. That is because each application makes a slightly different set of demands on the host OS and the hardware. We will provide some virtualization guidelines in the March issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.
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Software Updates Sponsored by
Raddon Financial Group (RFG)
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ATMs/Kiosks
ATM4MEDIA, an Australia-based ATM advertising company, is making headway with campaigns across Australia, e.g., they have a new anti-drug advertising campaign set to launch in this month across 6,000 ATMs. ATM4MEDIA says it expects 13,000 ATMs to be hosting its third-party advertising campaigns within the next four months. Their next step is the US with their entrance expected later this year.
Innovative products that actively prevent skimming and other attacks on ATMs are proliferating in the marketplace thanks to a rise in attacks and ever more sophisticated schemes. We will present some solutions in the March issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe today.
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Vendor Case Studies
Here is a chance to learn about real life credit union case studies from various technology vendors through the words of their clients. This week's vendor is:
Credit Union On-Line, Inc. (CUOL)
and their client is:
RTN Federal Credit Union
Credit Unions - if you have a vendor that you are happy with then please let us know!
Vendors - if you have a credit union that is happy with your solutions then please let us know and we will give you a $100 discount on your Case Study!
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Wireless World
According to the Mobile Marketing Association and Luth Research, 17 percent of all adults currently use mobile banking, with interest levels suggesting that usage will grow to 22 percent within the next year. The survey showed that consumers' most common forms of mobile banking are in order of popularity:
- mobile Web browser
- SMS
- applications
Over the next 12 months, mobile-Web-based banking and applications will grow, while SMS mobile banking usage will likely remain flat.
French handset manufacturer Sagem Wireless plans to launch a Google Android phone that incorporates fingerprint authentication technology that would help secure mobile financial services. Sagem Wireless, who is working with biometric fingerprint specialist Upek to bring the technology to a range of devices, says biometrics is both more secure and easier to use than current username, password and account number-based systems.
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Security Section
Some security experts are calling the Massachusetts Data Breach Law, passed in 2007, the toughest data security requirements in the nation. Organizations that hold personally identifiable information on Massachusetts residents must be compliant by March 1st. The regulations take into account the size of a business, the amount of resources available to it, the amount of personal data held and the sensitivity of the data. It covers paper and electronic records and requires physical and IT security. Regulations require up-to-date firewall protection and operating system security patches, and up-to-date antivirus tools and signatures. There must be user authentication with passwords or other factors of appropriate strength and least privilege access policies, along with monitoring of systems for unauthorized access. The law also requires at least 128-bit encryption of personal data transmitted via public or wireless networks and stored on laptops or other portable devices.
McAfee announced McAfee Security Quickstart Services for small to medium-size businesses (SMBs), and the services are available as standalone services or in bundles. The standalone services include:
• McAfee Security Quickstart Training: Includes one-year of unlimited access to a library of McAfee product and technology video training modules.
• McAfee Security Quickstart HealthCheck: Helps to automatically assess the security readiness of a SMB's security policies by interpreting security policy settings, comparing them to a selected baseline and providing metrics based on at-risk settings.
• McAfee Security Quickstart Experts-On-Demand: Includes McAfee remote consultants that help take the effort out of implementing, optimizing and configuring McAfee-based security solutions.
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Security Section Sponsored by
William Rogers & Associates
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CU InfoSecurity Conference
The CU InfoSecurity Conference is the original and premier conference dedicated solely to credit union security. Here are just some of the topics that will be covered in this two and one half day security summit:
Social Networking
Phishing & Malware
Vendor Management
Virtualization Security
Security Best Practices
Controlling Admin Rights
Protecting Online Banking
Website Risk Management
Member Security Education
Controlling Employee Access
All paid attendees receive 2 complimentary room nights at a 5 star resort as part of the low conference price - the only conference in the credit union movement that makes this generous offer!
Plus multiple attendees from the same credit union attend at no charge!
More Info & Register Now ~ 800.808.2188
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Leaders Roundtable
Security:
Managing Risk and Security Efficiently and Affordably
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Technology and Marketing
A new report from Aite Group analyzes the satisfaction rate of U.S. small businesses, defined at those businesses generating less than $10 million in annual revenues. It reveals declining satisfaction rates of many "Big Four" and regional bank customers over the last two years. Among small businesses that are "disappointed" with their large banks, 31% stated they "definitely" or "probably will" switch to a new financial institution over the next two years which should create excellent opportunities for credit unions that offer small business services.
British Columbia-based Currency Marketing has developed the Young & Free financial management program which is designed to engage 18-25 year olds to effectively manage their money through a microsite, Facebook, Twitter and other non-traditional media. ORNL Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, TN is the latest credit union to adopt the program for their younger members.
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Technology & Marketing Section Sponsored by
MARQUIS Software Solutions
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Contact John Kassing @ johnk@gomarquis.com to learn more.
GoMarquis.com ~ 800.365.4274
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Online Banking/E-Commerce/Website Design
Trusteer is reporting that the vast majority of online bankers reuse their login credentials to access non-financial and much less secure websites. Trusteer found that 73 percent of online bankers use their online account password to access other websites, and that 47 percent use both their online banking user ID and password to login elsewhere on the Internet. Trusteer based its research on data collected over a 12 month period from millions of Rapport users in North America and Europe. Rapport protects online banking credentials, recognizes when users attempt to submit them to other websites, and warns them not to do so.
A new report from Aite Group looks at U.S. credit unions' online channel priorities for 2010. It shows that:
- 42% plan to increase their online channel budget by 5 - 15%
- 30% see no change to their online channel budget
- 15% plan to increase their online channel budget by more than 15%
- 11% plan to decrease their online channel budget
"Credit union executives largely agree that consumer behavior - namely the prevalent use of the Internet to research and apply for financial products - is driving their focus on the online channel," says Ron Shevlin, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of this report. "As a result, they're focusing on improving capabilities like e-mail marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, and social networking."
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Online Banking Section Sponsored by
Code Green
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Credit Union tech-talk readers receive a 10% discount!
Sign up today: http://www.codegreen.org/cuwebhunt
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Internet Access
XO Communications, a provider of voice, data, Internet, VoIP and managed services, is targeting smaller organizations with their signature IP Flex which is an integrated access product designed for companies that want to improve voice and data communications over a single location. IP Flex is a converged Voice over IP solution that contains a complete package of communications services, including local and long distance voice, Internet access, web hosting, the XO Anywhere Package for unified communications, and business continuity features such as automatic call routing.
One vendor is looking to help organizations support IPv6 and unlike vendors who used tunneling or network address translation, the company claims that it will preserve application and content delivery. Learn more about this solution in the March issue of Credit Union tech-talk - subscribe now.
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Call Centers
nVoq, a developer of speech-based software for call centers, has launched SayIt, a new speech-to-text application for agents. SayIt is a server-based application that can run on the customer's server or nVoq's with a hosted account - there is no desktop software to deploy or manage. SayIt lets agents speak call notes, e-mails and chats instead of typing them. It converts speech to text in real time, and nVoq claims that it works with 98 percent accuracy, versus the 50 to 70 percent typing accuracy of the average call center agent. Also, instead of typing at 20 to 30 words per minute, agents using SayIt talk at an average of 80 to 120 words a minute. As a result, the firm says that average hold time (AHT), average call handling (ACH) and after-call work (ACW) key metrics for call centers, all improve with SayIt.
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Call Centers Sponsored by
Telecom Recovery
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Inbound Telecom Disaster Recovery
Nothing is more important than serving your members. Telecom Recovery, which protects the communications for dozens of credit unions across the US, has a very powerful - and low cost - technology that protects your inbound calls during any kind of outage including:
• equipment failure
• carrier failure
• network congestion
• line-cuts
• disaster
• pandemic (employees forced to work remotely)
• complete evacuation
• and more…
During any of these events your members' calls would still ring to the right people - with just a few clicks on the mouse to re-route all incoming calls and faxes.
All we need is 5 minutes of your valuable time to discuss whether there’s enough of a fit to arrange a brief Web demonstration at a later date.
Sign up now for a 5 minute consultation.
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Conferences
Catch Tom and Bill Rogers, Associate Editor of Credit Union tech-talk at the following conferences in 2009:
February 21-25, Washington - CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference
March 8, Washington - MACUMA Seminar
May 19-21, Las Vegas - Credit Union InfoSecurity Conference
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