Your 2018 Plan: Identifying Top IT Priorities for Community Banks & Credit Unions
To help small financial institutions get a better understanding of what their peers are spending and planning for technology, compliance and security, we survey community banks and credit unions across the country annually. Last year, our 2017 Community Bank Information Technology Outlook Survey provided valuable data including top IT priorities, IT challenges, security concerns and compliance issues.
Looking Back at 2017
Looking back at last year’s survey, bankers and credit union executives were acutely focused on:
- Cybersecurity was one of the greatest security challenges for 2017 according to 94% of respondents.
- Nearly 77% of respondents claimed they were spending more on technology than they had in the past.
- Banks found it challenging to keep pace with the rapid rate of technological change that is influencing and impacting the banking industry.
- 71% of respondents reported outsourcing their network management and 63% outsourced their IT support.
- Compliance issues were top-of-mind as many community banks indicated that regulators were more aggressive as examiner expectations and demands continued to increase. This resulted in approximately 59% of participants spending more on their IT and compliance needs headed into 2017.
What Has Changed
What are community banks and credit unions evaluating most headed into 2018? In this year’s survey, we will focus on compliance and security concerns, IT management issues, vendor management, audit and exam preparation and implementation of new services, among others. Each year, the data we gather provides valuable peer data from financial institutions across the country t0 use as guidance for their own key IT, compliance and security decisions in 2018 and beyond.
We hope you will participate in the 2018 survey by visiting http://info.safesystems.com/2018-community-bank-credit-union-it-outlook-survey. By completing the survey you will receive access to this comprehensive year-end report. Your anonymous responses will be aggregated to provide detailed graphs, charts and plenty of insight amongst your peers in the community financial industry.