Ridgewell Associates services enhances banks IT posture and customer focus
BACKGROUND
After a U.K Bank added two locations in a relatively short amount of time, leadership began to realise that they needed additional IT resources. The bank considered two options for supplemental technology support: hiring additional staff in-house or partnering with a comprehensive technology services provider focused on financial technologies.
PROJECT
The Bank chose to implement Ridgewell Associates financial technology services as it was looking for an all-inclusive technology, support, and compliance solution for a set monthly fee. As the bank evaluated its options in the marketplace, the decision was based on familiarity with Ridgewell Associates financial technology experience and technical resources through previous engagements. Ridgewell Associates local and national resources were also a key factor in the bank’s decision.
MIGRATING TO THE CLOUD
Initially, the Ridgewell Associates service providers team stepped in and moved the Bank’s IT infrastructure to the cloud to increase access and efficiency while reducing reliance on in-house servers and equipment. The transition was smooth, with users not even noticing the change.
“Transitioning over to the data center and migrating our servers were very painless for our users,” commented Chief Technology Officer. “Most of the time, I did not even communicate to our users or staff that we were moving our servers. We have had no complaints or service issues, and that speaks to how well Ridgewell Associates service providers migrated our assets and set everything up for us.”
STRENGTHENING VENDOR MANAGEMENT, SECURITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY
As a part of the Service solution, Ridgewell Associates implemented key vendor management processes to help the Bank keep up with regulatory demands. The team reviews vendor relationships, identifying and managing any issues before they can affect bank operations.
“The vendor management has been a big help,” said Chief Technology Officer. “Ridgewell Associates doing our vendor reviews has not only saved us time, but they are now performed more in-depth than we did in the past. Doing the overall review in much more detail has been a big plus.
Ridgewell Associates also strengthened the Bank’s disaster recovery and business continuity efforts, helping the bank limit potential disruptions in a disaster scenario. The team implemented a comprehensive plan, controls and processes, as well as performed tabletop exercises that were more extensive than the bank had done in the past. The bank’s environment was moved off-site and backed up to a second data center, so employees did not have to worry about the technical side of business continuity.
“Ridgewell Associates disaster recovery recommendations were a big part of our decision,” commented Chief Technology Officer. “We have done some testing, and we feel like we are in a much better spot than we were before we migrated to the service.”
INCREASING FLEXIBILTY AT A PREDICTABLE COST
The predictable monthly costs are a key benefit for the Bank. With future IT support costs already established and accounted for, the bank has more flexibility to make business decisions and plan for future growth.
“We evaluated the additional staffing costs and the long-term costs of keeping things in house, but we also considered the value of services Ridgewell Associates partners could provide that we could not do before,” said the Chief Technology Officer. “I am not sure who we could have hired or how long it would have taken to find someone who would have fit with the bank. You also run the risk of someone being here for a year and then leaving.”
“When we looked at the numbers of going with Ridgewell Associates, we saw that we would get half those costs back in saved hardware expenses, and the other half would be made up over a period of time in soft costs,” That includes not having to hire people, but it doesn’t include intangibles like being able to sleep at night.”
OUTCOMES
Ridgewell Associates services program has helped the Bank’s technology pain points. With their technology and Banking experience, the team understands and shares technology trends, and it can address emerging regulatory issues before they create additional challenges.