Open Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) is a provider of integrated enabling technologies for community financial institutions in the United States and Canada. Its relational data processing, open architecture and member-centric platform is designed to help credit unions offer efficiencies for both the front and back offices and will be the underlying technology for all GTE's product and service delivery initiatives in its 38 branches.

"We've been using the same system for 23 years, but our recent growth has dictated that we needed a more powerful, feature-rich solution for data processing," said GTE Senior Vice President of IT John Thompson. "We have successfully completed five acquisitions of smaller institutions in the past four years, and we're on track for even more aggressive growth in the next few years. It was very important for our new solution to be sophisticated and dynamic enough to support products and services for a wide range of members in varying geographic areas. We were impressed with Open Solutions' track record of working with institutions of our size as well as their proven ability to scale and grow with clients. They proved to us that they could handle our current and rapidly-growing integration demands, changing market strategies, and the processing needs of a credit union of our size."

GTE Federal Credit Union is comprised of more than 1,400 select employee groups and averages approximately 3,500 new members a month. The credit union attributes open architecture, choice of complementary products and the Oracle database as key factors in the decision to move to the Open Solutions platform. "We are very technology-oriented. We do a great deal of customization work and we have an in-house staff of developers," Thompson said. "Open Solutions shared our commitment to the concept that technology should help you accomplish more for members. The ability of the technology to propel our unique business model forward was important to the management team. Open Solutions also has a wide array of business services applications. Our members want the same service and trust for their business accounts and lending needs they get from personal banking. This partnership with Open Solutions broadens our ability to exceed those expectations."

Gary Daniel, SVP & GM, Open Solutions Credit Union Group, commented, "GTE's vote of confidence in Open Solutions and our technology is a true statement to the value we bring to the credit union movement. We believe our open technology platform can service institutions of all sizes, from local, community-based credit unions to larger, national institutions like GTE. That's the beauty of our single-system approach to the industry - no matter what size the institution is, The Complete Credit Union Solution will handle all data processing needs. GTE is a true leader in their industry and we're proud that they've placed their trust in our company and our technology to help them meet their strategic goals."

In addition to The Complete Credit Union Solution data processing platform, GTE also selected Open Solutions' cView (CRM/business intelligence), e-Commerce Banker (Internet banking), financial accounting, ProfitVision (profitability), collections, Open Solutions' Channel Management Center suite (an interface between disparate systems), the voice response and imaging applications.

"The cView business intelligence application is indicative of the rationale we used when choosing to go with Open Solutions," said Thompson. "This move to a better technology platform really is a move closer to our members. We believe the cView suite will offer more information about the entire relationship we have with each member and enable us to offer financial products to him or her on a very targeted and individual basis instead of blanket marketing. Likewise, Open Solutions' applications for document imaging, voice response and Internet banking bolster our already high-touch approach to member service and retail delivery initiatives. It was clear that Open Solutions wanted to be our business partner, and we feel equally invested in their growth. This is a win-win for both organizations."

"We believe GTE Federal Credit Union is very unique in its approach to growth and member service," said Open Solutions CEO and Chairman Louis Hernandez, Jr. "We share the belief that an open technology platform is key to enabling institutions like GTE to leverage information throughout the entire enterprise and across all customer touch points, consistently and in real-time. Aging legacy technologies are nearing the end of their useful cycle and pose a roadblock to increased profitability and the successful implementation of other mission critical applications such as business intelligence and strategic marketing. We look forward to the growth of our partnership and supporting GTE with the most innovative technology applications and superior service."