Open Solutions is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial service providers throughout the United States, Canada and international markets. Simsbury Bank was Open Solutions' first client. Both companies started in the '90s and are now thriving enterprises that pride themselves on providing superior products and services to their clients.

Simsbury Bank was founded in 1995 as an independent, locally controlled bank to provide personalized banking products and services to businesses, families and individuals in central Connecticut. The executive management team understood the importance of implementing an innovative technology infrastructure to support the Bank's visionary approach to ensure both short-term and long-term success. Simsbury Bank was the first financial institution to implement Open Solutions' The Complete Banking Solution in 1995.

"We choose to stay with Open Solutions because we needed a modern technology offering that would be able to support the significant growth we projected," said Howard Zern, Chief Retail Banking, Operations and Technology Officer for Simsbury Bank. "We had an aggressive growth plan and needed a sophisticated technology infrastructure to enable us to reach those goals. With TCBS: DNA, the Bank will be able to rapidly deploy new products, remaining competitive with larger financial institutions, while leveraging the integrated database to maintain superior customer service and deepen existing customer relationships. So when we were looking to renew, we did a complete search and Open Solutions was still the best fit for our needs."

Simsbury Bank is the largest community bank serving its market area, with $240 million in assets and four branch locations. Most recently the institution made the decision to upgrade to Open Solutions' latest release, TCBS: DNA and to move from an in-house to an outsourced environment. This most recent investment in innovation will enable the Bank to further streamline its account opening procedures, improve teller transactions and operate in a more risk-free environment. Additionally, the Bank cites ease of use, enhanced navigation and management reporting as significant reasons for the upgrade.

"With the latest release of The Complete Banking Solution: DNA, the Bank's management team will have additional real-time access to sales, customer and account level reporting," said Zern. "Despite the current economic conditions, we anticipate continued growth and therefore need an underlying core platform that we can leverage and that will enable us to meet our established business goals."

Enhanced by Open Solutions' advanced open platform and using .NET technology, The Complete Banking Solution®: DNA capitalizes on the strength of Open Solutions' unique universal data model and design and its client-centric processes, while greatly enhancing workflow, flexibility, navigation and productivity. Built on a powerful, centralized Oracle® relational database, the solution provides the flexibility necessary for running a service-oriented financial institution. Available as an in-house or outsourced solution, it helps banks streamline both front- and back-office processes and creates a centralized view of customers, employees and business partners.

"We are also taking advantage of the flexibility of the system by moving from an in-house to an outsourced environment to take advantage of the redundant network benefits, both in terms of risk exposure and legal requirements," said Zern. "By moving to an outsourced environment we reduce our IT risk and gain significant disaster recovery planning benefits."

In addition to The Complete Banking Solution: DNA, Simsbury Bank also utilizes Open Solutions' financial accounting suite, e-Commerce Banker (Internet banking and cash management), loan origination system and asset liability management solution. Following the upgrade to TCBS: DNA, the Bank will implement Open Solutions' cViewTM (CRM/business intelligence), digital document solution (electronic document management) and telephony/VRU.

"The current financial landscape presents a unique opportunity for community financial institutions such as Simsbury Bank to set themselves apart in the marketplace," said Louis Hernandez, Jr., chairman and CEO of Open Solutions. "The leadership team at Simsbury Bank realizes the importance of coupling a visionary business plan with modern technology. We are pleased to have re-earned their business and we are confident that our open architecture infrastructure will continue to support the Bank's aggressive growth plan and enable them to continually provide customers with the personal, relationship-style banking to which they've become accustomed. As our first client, Simsbury Bank took a leap of faith by investing in our technology offering. This core platform upgrade and contract expansion further demonstrates our commitment to provide solutions that meet the changing needs of financial institutions. I am proud that TCBS: DNA has evolved as a proven industry-leading solution, and we will continue to help Simsbury Bank leverage our partnership to further succeed and promote their original vision."