-DCI and Southwest National Bank recover seven years of futility in six bold months-
Data Center Inc. (DCI), the privately-owned developer of iCore360® core banking software and related digital banking technologies is celebrating after bringing back long-term customer Southwest National Bank of Wichita, Kan., in an unprecedented core software conversion completed entirely remotely due to coronavirus, and involving significant custom programming, all in less than half the time usually reserved for a typical conversion requiring no programming at all.
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Trish Minard, president and CEO of Southwest National Bank, said, “We are a full-service bank, but with a niche lending business involving a staggering volume of transactions, complicated processes and strict regulatory requirements.”
Seven years ago, the bank left DCI after nearly 30 years to move to one of the ‘big 3’ core providers promising more scalable, automated technology to better manage their workload and a deeper bench of customer service staff.
Sarah Fankhauser, DCI President and CEO, says that “It is always disappointing to lose a customer. So I contacted Trish last year for an opportunity to bring them back home to DCI. Even if it looked like a longshot, I was determined to try.”
However, the bank was running out of time to make a change, and although Minard was impressed by the advancements DCI had made in their iCore360 and other digital banking solutions, she knew it still required custom programming to meet the bank’s unique needs for their large, complex dealer loan portfolio.
But notes Fankhauser with a smile, “DCI doesn’t give up on customers that easily.” Fankhauser committed to create the custom programming and found cost savings in other areas, so Minard agreed to return to DCI.
With the clock ticking, the DCI team quickly dove in, but delays brought on by the other core and other unexpected custom programming created more challenges. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelter-in-place orders forced DCI teams to initiate contingencies to complete the conversion programming, data mapping, bank staff training and more, all remotely.
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