Forging Alliances: The changing relationship between Banks & IT Support

Five Nines Team : Sep 28, 2016 2:28:14 PM

2 min read

Forging Alliances: The changing relationship between Banks & IT Support

TL;DR

As community banks grow across multiple locations, their IT environment becomes more complex and harder for a single internal person to manage.
Many banks struggle to recruit and retain IT talent with the right mix of support, security, and strategic skills.
Partnering with specialized IT support helps banks use technology as a growth driver instead of a barrier.

As banking has evolved over the past few years there has been a growing trend towards consolidation of community banks. As a result, there is a huge challenge around finding the right IT Support solution for those banks that are growing both organically and via acquisition.

First let's discuss the challenges:

As a community bank goes from 15 people in one location to 35 across 5 locations, the complexity of the technology deployed goes up significantly. Locations need to be tied together, VPN connections maintained, citrix or terminal servers deployed, and security becomes even more important.
With that exponential increase in need for IT support comes another challenge, staffing. Finding, hiring, and probably most challenging... keeping a single IT person is a challenge that never ends.
With growth comes the challenge of being able to leverage technology as an actual asset to the company, not just something where the computers need to work in the morning. Even if you found that magical single IT person, can they also help you integrate technology into your strategic plan?

Now for some good news: help is out there!

We are seeing a growing number of community banks reaching out to us for comprehensive IT partnerships. For the same reason banks outsource their core software that runs the bank (because they can get a complete banking software solution WAY cheaper than they can pay a developer to build them their own), these same banks are “Partnering” with Five Nines to get their IT into a position to help them continue their growth pattern and not be something that holds them back (we’ve seen countless community banks that feel like their growth is inhibited because of lack of good technology). Why are they looking to companies like Five Nines to partner with?

With extensive experience working with community banks, our team knows inside and out what technologies should be deployed to help a growing bank flex and be ready to continue that growth across multiple locations.
Our team has mastered finding, hiring, and keeping IT talent that we deploy to support your bank. You don’t have to worry about whether you can recruit an IT person to come work where your headquarters are. We have locations in Kearney, Lincoln, and Omaha…and we support banks spread out all across Nebraska.
One of the most significant competitive advantages we give our clients is our ability to provide strategic IT consulting to help them leverage technology to further their growth. Our team steps in to provide that CIO-level consulting to make sure your plan for next year is BETTER because of technology, not held back or delayed because of it.

The trend of consolidation in community banks will continue to be seen across Nebraska in the coming 5 years. We’re proud to work alongside many of those community banks working hard to grow in Nebraska!

Nick Bock

Co-Founder, Five Nines

Frequently asked questions

Why does IT get more complicated as a community bank grows?

Because each new branch, user, and application adds more systems to connect and secure. VPNs, remote access, shared applications, and stronger security controls are all needed as the bank expands.

What are the risks of relying on a single IT person?

If that person leaves, gets sick, or becomes overwhelmed, the bank may struggle to keep systems stable and secure. Critical knowledge is often in one person’s head instead of being shared and documented.

Why is IT so important during bank consolidation and expansion?

Growth often requires tying locations together, standardizing systems, and meeting stricter security and regulatory expectations. Without strong IT, growth can slow down or introduce unacceptable risk.

How can community banks turn IT into a strategic asset?

By treating technology as part of their growth and business plan instead of just a cost. That includes planning for connectivity, security, and user experience as they open new locations or add services.

What kind of IT support model works well for growing community banks?

Many banks benefit from a model that combines some internal knowledge of the bank’s culture and goals with external experts who bring depth in infrastructure, security, and strategic planning. This blend supports both day‑to‑day operations and long‑term growth.