"Cloud computing will reshape how value-added products and services are designed and delivered to customers," the report predicts. "Virtual interaction with customers will become the primary interaction for financial institutions, with data analytics creating 'high touch, high-tech' personalized relationships.

Also driving the need for digital banking will be Baby Boomers starting new careers to pay for their own aging and the demands of Gen Yers now in their prime earning years.

Globally, more than a billion new middle-class consumers will enter the market, primarily from Asia, the report said, and women will take on increasingly prominent roles in what the report calls a new "she-conomy." The report is available at Intuit's banking.com portal.

Atlanta CU Expands

The 165,000 members of the $1.6 billion Georgia's Own Credit Union can now find branches and ATMs on any mobile device they choose.

The Atlanta credit union had been offering the service on its website and through the mobile Web but now has added iPhone-, Android- and BlackBerry-specific apps, using the BranchMap solution from Code Green of Gaithersburg, Md.

Code Green is offering the multi-platform solution through a new partnership with mobile solutions specialist WanderWorx they're calling Credit Union Mobile.

The service allows the credit union's members to find branch and shared branching locations and Georgia's Own and other surcharge-free ATM locations, along with addresses, distance, hours and driving directions.

"We needed a solution that would show our members not only Georgia's Own Credit Union locations, but also CU Service Center locations and the ATM network locations all in one. BranchMap made that possible for us in one user-friendly platform," said Kelly Garmon, senior vice president of marketing/sales and service at Georgia's Own.

Jason Green, CEO of Code Green, said, "Most credit unions can't afford a king's ransom to develop and maintain mobile apps. So we created the Credit Union Mobile initiative to make custom credit union-targeted mobile apps affordable."

Eco-Friendly Tips

Ready to make The Leap? The Filene Research Institute is ready for you.

The Leap is an interactive Web-based program that gives credit unions the chance to educate their members about money-saving and eco-friendly practices that can save everyone some cash and the Earth at the same time.

The Leap was created by volunteers from America First CU, Teacher's CU, Heritage CU and Call FCU, who also are members of the i3 rising leadership group at Filene. Targeted toward Earth Day, the program provides members with step-by-step recommendations and the savings they can realize.

Credit unions willing to test The Leap are being sought. Participation is free and includes a marketing kit and Web tools that can be customized for a nominal fee.

For more information, go to www.theleapforgreen.com or email [email protected].

Focus on Maintenance

Information technology spending among financial institutions is dominated by global spending, according to a new report from Celent.

The Boston-based financial research and consulting firm said its analysis shows that 72.8% of total IT spend in the sector is on maintenance, a number expected to drop to 70% in 2013.

"Economic conditions and the financial crisis have resulted in a slow-moving shift to increased spending on new investments. This will change as financial services firms put greater emphasis on innovation. It will, however, take several years before it has a material impact," the think firm said.

Overall, IT spend in 2011 is expected to reach $363.8 billion worldwide in 2011, an increase of 3.7% over 2010. That compares with 2.5% growth in 2010, with the growth rate beginning to climb across most regions and IT products and services, the think firm said.

The new report, "IT Spending in Financial Services: A Global Perspective," showed that North American and European firms account for about an equal share of the total investment, combining for 68%. Asia-Pacific spending accounts for 26.4%, with 5.8% split between Latin America and Africa.

Asia-Pacific growth is predicted to be the fastest, 6.2% in 2011, compared with 4.3% in North America, 1.7% in Europe and 3.7% in Latin America and Africa. Nearly half the total spend is on banking activities, with the rest split between insurance, securities and investments.

Dell Completes Takeover

Dell has completed its takeover of SecureWorks and added its name to the Atlanta-based provider of information security services.

Terms were not disclosed. Dell has said it plans to retain what is now Dell SecureWorks' operations and staff and expand its offerings as part of the Texas computer giant's "IT-as-a-Service" offerings.

Ten-year-old Dell SecureWorks now employs about 700 people and offers 24/7 monitoring that includes processing more than 13 billion security events–including more than 30,000 malware specimens–a day.

It has a client list of more than 3,000 customers worldwide, including more than 600 credit unions.

"SecureWorks will be the foundational platform for Dell's security solutions. Thousands of customers already entrust SecureWorks with mission-critical data resources. Dell looks forward to bringing these solutions to customers around the world," said Steve Schuckenbrock, president of Dell Services.

"Our current and future customers can be assured that Dell SecureWorks will continue to deliver excellent customer service and the very best in information security services. The combination of our security expertise and threat visibility with Dell resources creates a tremendous opportunity for Dell SecureWorks," said Mike Cote, the former SecureWorks CEO, now vice president of Dell SecureWorks.

Fiserv Reports RDC Growth

Fiserv Inc. said more than 3,300 financial institutions and 160,000 end users are now using its remote- deposit capture solutions and that the mobile and home market for Check 21 products is particularly growing.

The company said its RDC users processed nearly 4 billion items in 2010, including branch, merchant, teller, personal desktop and mobile capture users, all on the same Fiserv Web platform.

The Golden 1, a user of Fiserv's DataSafe core platform, deployed an ASP version of consumer home capture in August 2009 and the $7.4 billion, 600,000-member California credit union said it now has about 2,500 active users making 2,000 to 3,500 online deposits per month.

Fiserv said it is seeing growing demand particularly for home and mobile capture.

"In 2010 and early 2011 we saw increased demand from financial institutions for our consumer and mobile deposit capture solutions, in all likelihood because their consumers are asking for them," said Gary Brand, director of Source Capture Solutions at Fiserv.

Service Channels at Unitus

A new IP communications software suite at the $836 million Unitus Community Credit Union of Portland, Ore., is adding several new channels to its member service lineup, the credit union said.

The Customer Interaction Center from Interactive Intelligence of Indianapolis replaces an Avaya system and includes member contact via email and Web chat, as well as speech-enhanced interactive voice response and skills-based routing, the company and credit union said.

"As our credit union has grown we've needed to find new ways to better serve members," said Unitus project manager Leah Keeler. "With CIC, we will now be able to do things like match caller ID with the associated account information so members are automatically routed to the most appropriate agent."

The IT staff's existing .NET skills also can be used to manage the system in-house.

Unitus also has purchased add-on applications for outbound dialing, multichannel recording, customer feedback surveys, and a custom CRM integration. When deployment is complete, CIC will support the entire Unitus workforce located across its eight branch offices throughout Oregon and Washington.

Interactive Intelligence said it now has more than 4,000 customers of its contact center, IP telephony and business process automation solutions.

S.D. CU Launches Mobile

The 3,400 members of the $28 million Dakota Territory Federal Credit Union in Deadwood, S.D., can now use mobile banking from their credit union.

Dakota Territory FCU is one of 11 credit unions that have ordered mobile from CO-OP Financial Services so far this year, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., CUSO said.

"Our community credit union encompasses the boundaries of the Lead-Deadwood School District, which is a geographically huge, mostly rural area, so the mobile banking capability is extremely important to our members," said Floyd Rummel, its president/CEO.

He said the mobile and shared branching offerings appeal to the CU's younger members and will encourage them to stay with the credit union if they move away for school or work.

The mobile service includes text, Web and downloadable app options and operates along with shared branching on CO-OP's Next Generation Network platform, the company said, enabling the service to go live within 60 days after it was ordered.

Tech Planning White Paper

How to effectively choose and deploy automation and other technology solutions is the focus of a new CUNA Technology Council white paper.

The 28-page report, "Strategic Technology Planning: Align Planning with Your Credit Union's Goals," is authored by Judy Dahl, a former CUNA staffer and now owner of a communications firm in Madison, Wis.

The paper focuses on ways to develop and follow technology plans that include senior management participation and maximize technology's enabling role in nearly every phase of a credit union's operation.

Included are case studies from the $1.5 billion Spokane Teachers CU in Washington state, the $5 billion San Diego County CU in California, the $350 million Nassau Financial FCU in New York and the $550 million Great Lakes CU.

The white paper is one of now more than 200 white papers that are free to CUNA Council members and cost $50 for nonmembers. The CUNA Technology Council is one of six CUNA Councils and now has more than 500 members working together to share information and foster professional development.