The $464 million, 38,900-member Members Choice Credit Union inHouston has become the first to use a new hosted core processingsolution from Symitar, the affiliate of Jack Henry & Associates said this week.

Members Choice, already an Episys core system user, is nowrunning it through the SymitarEASE option, which outsources the operation, management and security of the coresystem as well as hosts all third-party solutions, the company said.

In addition, the company's ProfitStars division will beproviding the credit union enterprise security and network servicesthrough its Gladiator suite, including a fully redundant networkdomain environment in a secondary facility.

In a statement, Members Choice President/CEO Steve Gilman said,“We have seen rapid growth in a challenging environment;outsourcing is our best option to maintain that momentum and remainprofitable. I see outsourcing core, security, and network functionsas a smart step in preparing for inevitable changes to our bankingenvironment. We want to focus on optimizing available applicationswithin the core, instead of maintaining IT commodities.”

Symitar President Ted Bilke said, “This is the first time one ofour credit union clients will outsource core and complementaryproducts, hosting, and managing a co-location type offering. Creditunions are on an ongoing search for cost-effective solutions thatalso encourage innovation and turnkey outsourcing supports both ofthose goals.”