The eSign Blog

The Great Migration: Vendor Management 101

Written by Howard Klein | Jul 21, 2022 12:07:00 PM

In today’s competitive landscape, financial institutions are looking to modernize their strategy and create a better customer experience in the process. As a result, banks and credit unions alike are searching for new technology to meet evolving expectations and compete with fintechs and nonbanks.

FIs no longer have the luxury of sticking with legacy systems out of convenience. Therefore, institutions are changing systems at a rapid pace, whether that be their core processor, LOS, account opening, or imaging system – every operation is on the chopping block right now, with financial services professionals regularly looking for a “better” system to drive their institutions and customers.

If your institution is in this boat, know that you aren’t alone – it’s happening everywhere. However, it’s crucial to examine if the current solutions, which your customers have grown to love, successfully integrate with the new system you introduce.

Luckily with IMM, we interface with every system in the financial services industry. So, if you decide it’s time to switch up your systems, we can easily come along for the ride. The point we want to drive home is that before making any system change, it’s important to make sure that your current investments are protected to ensure a smooth transition.

A system change, including a core processor conversion, is a huge undertaking, involving countless touchpoints, the risk of customer disruption, and demanding enough development bandwidth to sideline important IT projects.

On top of the stress of an operational change, you also have the pressure of ensuring that your current solutions smoothly integrate with the new system. Consider if your third-party vendors understand how to manage a migration successfully or if they are equipped to help.

For example, our extensive userbase sees customers switching systems all the time. We have the migration process down to a science and make it as simple as possible to move our eSignature solutions to any system. You must keep this in mind with other vendors and fintech partners for an effortless migration process.

Before switching, you need to ask the following questions about your third-party applications:

  • Will this system change affect any solutions already in place?
  • Do your popular solutions integrate with this new system effectively?
  • Is there an extra layer of training involved beyond learning the new platform?

Again, your overall goal should be to eliminate the extra stress of a migration, especially when it comes to your original solutions. At IMM, we understand the unique aspects of a financial institution’s daily operations, including prevailing regulations and risk management processes. We also have ample experience integrating our eSignature solution with every financial system and are experts in navigating migrations between them as well.

We advise engaging with your third-party providers early in any conversion process to ensure a seamless transition. With the dramatic rise in financial institutions making core, deposit or loan origination system changes, it will be comforting to know that moving your current solutions won’t cause any extra headaches. Although any conversion remains a significant and nerve-rattling effort, the good news is that some of the add-on products may be more portable than expected.