The announcement last month by Fiserv that it would acquire OpenSolutions Inc. for roughly $1 billion, most of that in debtassumption, has sent some shivers through the credit union coreprocessing world.

Fiserv has confirmed that the Acumen, once billed by Fiserv asthe core processing system for tomorrow, will not live.

“Acumen will not continue on. We will not continue to install itin the U.S.,” said Mark Sievewright, president of the Credit Union Solutions group atFiserv, in an interview. He denied that the acquisition will causeFiserv to tighten its financial belt by killing off a few elderly,high-maintenance cores systems.

“This transaction does not cause us to transform the rest of ourbusiness. Consultants like to speculate that we offer too manycores, but we are not planning additional changes in ourportfolio,” said Sievewright.  

For credit unions snagged in a legacy core abandonment, theacquisition could be tumultuous news. But for everybody else, notso much.

“The Fiserv acquisition of Open Solutions has the potential toreally shake up the core marketplace,” said Scott Hodgins, research director at consulting firm CornerstoneAdvisors in Scottsdale, Ariz., in an interview.

Many cores are old, and many cores struggle to integrate thekinds of 21st century  services. such as mobile bankingand mobile remote-deposit capture, that they never were designed tohandle.  Cores have had to be tweaked, and tweaked more,to coax them into functioning in ways that credit unions and theirmembers demand in 2013.  

 Sievewright said his view it that he now can sell whatamounts to DNA Plus, that is, a well-established and solid butcomparatively youthful core platform that, said Sievewright, willbe augmented by adding smart features from Acumen and a range ofintegrated Fiserv add-ons.

And Fiserv, with its deep pockets and reputation for servicingwhat it sells, probably also can fix the reputation that had beendeveloping around DNA that cash-strapped Open Solutions was notservicing what it sold. “OSI's service reputation was a deterrentto DNA sales, and the Fiserv acquisition should end that,” saidHodgins.

“DNA solves Fiserv's problem at the high end, where Symitar hadbeen cleaning their clock,” added Brad Smith, CEO of Abound Resources, a consulting firm in Austin,Texas.  He predicted that DNA sales would pick up among“the larger credit unions that can afford this core.”

Sievewright underlined Fiserv's commitment to its range ofproducts. “We are constantly improving and enhancing our existingcores.  I do not see any of cores at end of life rightnow.”

While he was at that commitment, Sievewright took pains to alsoextend it to Open Solutions' CUnify, a core aimed at the industry'ssmaller institutions.  “CUnify fits well in ourportfolio,” he said.