New to Credit Unions, IT Exec Emphasizes Integration

Kevin Jepson
May 26, 2010 | COMMENTS

HarborOne Credit Union's new CTO sings an uncommon chantey: integrate, integrate, integrate.

It's a tune this Brockton, Massachusetts credit union will hear again and again during its three-year sea change in technology, according to Wayne Dunn, senior vice president and CTO at the $1.8-billion credit union. The changes aim to "provide more efficient services to customers and improve processes without the requirement to increase headcount," he said.

Dunn is new to credit unions; he still uses the word "customer" to describe the people who belong to credit unions. Indeed, Dunn hails from the world of integration technology.

“One of the things that is frustrating and interesting about financial institutions is that they use one technology product that solves one need and another product to solve a different need," Dunn said. "The integration piece is a little harder to pin down in this industry."

What's so great about integration? Better processes and decreased costs, according to Dunn. Who does an "impressive" job at providing integrated tools? Microsoft, he said. For example, when Dunn set out to cut the cost of telephony at the credit union, he didn't turn to Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) like so many credit unions have. Instead, he jumped right into Microsoft's existing blend of Microsoft Office Communications and Live Meeting, SharePoint, Active Directory, and Exchange, for a collaboration platform that supports voice, video, web sharing, and document sharing across the credit union.

"We weren't looking for better e-mail," Dunn explained. "We didn't just want a portal or VoIP. We wanted e-mail that could support voice mail, instant messaging, web and video conferencing for unified communication and collaboration. Staff members are sharing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets over the web without requiring them to leave their desks for meetings."

Half of the HarborOne fleet is on the new collaboration platform, with remaining branches being phased in by the end of the month. Call center software will be integrated soon after.

Mortgage originators in the field depend on the collaboration platform, he continued. "Originators communicate with us in real-time using broadband, tablet PCs with video, and phones with headsets."

HarborOne will save about $250,000 per year, primarily in hardware costs, by avoiding VoIP and going with Microsoft collaboration, Dunn said.

Another game-changer is HarborOne's new account opening process. Dunn is taking solutions from three different players: Integra Business Systems, Fidelity National Information Services, and eFunds. Together, the solutions will deliver a document management system that is guided by an automated workflow and pulls in new account opening documents. The system will be entirely electronic from documents to signatures, "know your customer" compliance, and instant card issuance.

"Our account opening eliminates paper and accelerates the process for our members," Dunn said. "We'll use pre-filled electronic forms and workflow rules that require each member services representative to complete all required tasks. Electronic signatures streamline this process, with the intent of improving our account-opening speed."

HarborOne will have spent five months deploying the new account opening process before it goes live in July, said Dunn. "The key to this short time frame is having a vendor that's truly a partner." That partner is COCC, the Avon, Connecticut-based technology provider to credit unions and community banks.

Few CIOs at financial institutions experience Dunn's level of success with integration, suggested Robert Bessel, COCC's public relations director. "Wayne's way ahead of the curve," he said.

HarborOne helped COCC transform its existing INSIGHT core system to the open Microsoft.NET Framework built on an Oracle database, making integrations possible and thus processes that are more efficient.

COCC and the new INSIGHT have "helped us assemble our needs under one umbrella to create leading edge solutions," Dunn added.

This article appeared at www.cujournal.com and is reprinted with permission.