A Letter from Larry Nichols - Constant...
Transcript of A Letter from Larry Nichols - Constant...
Page 1
A Letter from Larry Nichols President/CEO, Member Driven Technologies
Spring 2017
Inside this issue:
NEWS
Happy April! Spring is here,
and this time of year is synony-
mous with school spring break!
It’s a wonderful opportunity to
get away and have some fun or
just relax, and it’s also a sure
sign that winter is over! Here
in Michigan, we are looking
forward to seeing the earth
come alive with the beginnings
of a fresh, green lawn, budding
trees, and blooming flowers.
We have had a very easy winter
this year, and we even experi-
enced some days in January and
February that were warmer
than those in San Diego. We
broke several high temperature
records in the first few months
of 2017. It makes all of us won-
der what this means for the
remainder of the year!
MDT has had the pleasure of
hosting six credit union visits to
our new headquarters so far
this year. Our clients, potential
clients, and other visitors have
all had wonderful things to say
about our new facility. MDT’s
visitor welcome screen has
been a big hit. Remember when
you come to visit us that we are
a technology company – the
welcome screen will remind
you of that!
We continue to make solid pro-
gress with our new Montana
Data Center. Our team has de-
veloped an extremely complex
project plan – an itemized road
map of every single task that
needs to happen to bring the
Data Center to full operation.
Backup duplication appliances
and redundant server boxes
have been installed in the Data
Center and are operational.
What does this mean to you? It
means that MDT is already rep-
licating data, on a daily basis, in
Montana from Michigan. Trans-
action logs are also being writ-
ten to the new Data Center, and
this happens all day, every day,
for all clients. The integrity
and security of your data are
foremost in our minds. In addi-
tion to all this, we also have a
pilot of the fail-over capabilities
well under way, and we are
excited about all the services
that this second, state-of-the-art
Data Center will allow us to
offer to our clients. And when
will we begin installing live
credit unions in this Data Cen-
ter? We are on target to do this
beginning the 2nd quarter,
which is just about now!
We are busily putting the final
touches on Connect 2017, our
upcoming Client Conference,
which is being held Monday,
May 22, through Thursday, May
25, at the Westin Southfield
Hotel. As always, our plan is to
give you MORE, and this year is
no exception. I hope you had an
opportunity to review the con-
ference agenda and see that
we’ve added a 4th track to our
We are excited
about all the
services that this
second, state-of-
the-art Data
Center will allow
us to offer to our
clients.
Continued on next page ...
A Letter from Larry Nichols 1 - 2
Conversions—1st Quarter 2017 3
Organization News 4 - 6
What to Expect When You’re Connecting:
A Preview of Product-Centered Sessions
at MDT Connect
7
Client Relations & Sales Department
Update
8
Synergy—Time to Tap Into Some New
Capabilities
9 - 10
Training Department Update 11
Where to Start with Centralized Logging 12 - 13
Efficient vs. Effective 14
Coming soon! Improved Process for Handling
Form Changes 15
Efficiencies with MDT Facilities and
Administration Department
16
Add the “S” and Get Responsive 17
What’s the Status of Your Incident Response
Plan?
18 - 19
Standard SYMs and What They’re Used For -
The First in a Series on Symhost Health 20 - 21
The Power of PowerOn 21
Consolidate Your Image Cash Letters 21
An Opportunity to Learn from Your Peers—
Live at Connect 2017— Future of Branch
Experience
22
Review Item Email Notices are Now Available
for RDC!
23
Make Time For Strategic Thinking Every Day 23
Microsoft Engineering Department Update 24
What Inspires You? 25
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program in order to accommo-
date more sessions conducted by
MDT personnel – one of the client
suggestions that rose to the top
from last year’s post-conference
survey. And remember to pack
your island garb for our evening
luau. You know that saying - “All
work and no play makes Jack a
dull boy.” Don’t let that be you!
Registration is open now via our
client portal.
Here are a few other highlights:
Matt Beaudreau will be one of
our keynote speakers. He will
discuss millennial members as
well as employees and how to
keep them at your credit un-
ions.
David Foss, new CEO of Jack
Henry will also present a key-
note address, and he will share
what is going on in the financial
industry today, at JHA and
Symitar, and in the partnership
with MDT.
We are offering a tour of the
new MDT headquarters for
those of you who are interest-
ed, and a shuttle bus to and
from the facility will make the
visit an easy one.
Register today for what we know
will be another great event!
We are also excited about our 2nd
annual CEO Forum, being held in
Denver, Colorado, Tuesday
through Thursday, July 11 -13,
2017. The forum was a big suc-
cess last year, so much so that we
decided to add a full day to the
event. Lee Wetherington, Direc-
tor of Strategic Insight with Prof-
itStars, has again been secured as
our facilitator. He did such an
outstanding job last year that we
A Letter from Larry Nichols (continued)
had to have him back again. Reg-
istration opened on Monday,
March 27, and it was exciting to
see registrations immediately
start coming in! More infor-
mation will follow as we get clos-
er to the forum, but CEOs, save
the date NOW!
In other corporate news, we con-
ducted our Annual Board Meeting
on February 9, 2017, in our new
Board Room in Farmington Hills.
The board has made a change to
separate some duties and they
have appointed Pat Spyke of LAF-
CU as the new Secretary/Director.
Rob Grech – Alliance Catholic CU -
will remain as Chairman, Commu-
nity Choice CU’s Rob Bava will
remain as Vice Chairman/
Treasurer, and Martin Carter,
with Astera CU, is Director at
Large.
We have added Greg Lanigan to
our team as Vice President, Tech-
nical Operations (read more
about Greg on Page 4). Welcome
aboard, Greg!
MDT attended the 2017 CUNA
Governmental Affairs Conference
(GAC) in Washington, DC, in Feb-
ruary. It was another great con-
ference with over 5,000 at-
tendees. Veteran TV news analyst
Bob Schieffer offered a keynote
address entitled, “A Political Out-
look from a Political Insider.”
Every year we look forward to the
GAC as it provides us with a good
opportunity to network with
credit union leaders as well as
our clients.
MDT has built a reputation for
quality and service, and we are
always actively continuing to
improve and grow in both of
these veins. With that being said,
Remember to pack
your island garb for
our evening luau!
we are in the process of adding
some new staff, and we are now
offering to our clients new prod-
ucts that we believe are high
quality and solid additions to our
product suite:
Text Concierge allows clients to
communicate with and engage
their members via the standard
text app available on phones
We also continue to grow our
portfolio with plans to add new
products as they become general-
ly available, such as:
SymApp, a configurable, online
solution that makes self-service
easy and allows members/
applicants to establish mem-
bership, open accounts, and
apply for loans
As you can see, MDT has a lot of
irons in the fire, and every one of
them is with you – our clients – in
mind. We sincerely thank you for
your partnership. We are looking
forward to connecting with you at
Connect 2017! As always, let us
know how we may help you as
you launch new initiatives. And
enjoy the spring! Mother Nature
is already putting on quite a beau-
tiful show for us! Lastly, have
some fun! Remember, all work
and no play…
~ Larry
Spring 2017
NEWS
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1st Community Credit Union
Sparta, WI Conversion Date: February 2017 President/CEO: Brad Bauges MDT Project Manager: Bill Illis https://www.1stccu.com/
Ohio Catholic FCU
Garfield Heights, OH
Conversion Date: February 2017 CEO: Todd Turner MDT Project Manager: Amy Krueger https://ohiocatholicfcu.com/
Bear Paw Credit Union
Havre, MT
Conversion Date: March 2017 CEO: Al Vukasin MDT Project Manager: Brian Howell
https://www.bearpawcu.org/
MDT Welcomes our Newest Client Credit Unions!
Spring 2017
Spring 2017
NEWS
Registration is still open
MDT’s Annual Client Conference May 22—25, 2017
Westin Southfield Detroit Hotel Southfield, MI
Join us!
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Greg Lanigan – joined MDT as Vice
President, Technical Operations. Pre-
viously Greg worked at Talmer Bank
and Trust as Managing Director, Appli-
cation Development and Support. He
has also worked for ELGA Credit Un-
ion, Genisys Credit Union, and Dear-
born Federal Credit Union. He brings
to MDT over 18 years of experience
leading and managing diverse technol-
ogy teams.
Organization News — New Employees
Organization News — Employees on the Move
Tonya O’Connor has been promoted from Client
Services Support Analyst to Professional Services
Analyst.
Denise van der Ster has been promoted from
Client Relationship Manager to Senior Client Rela-
tionship Manager.
Clyde Bonde, System Operator, retired from
MDT on February 28th. We wish him all the
best in his retirement!
Pamela Landon has transitioned from her role
as a Project Manager to Product Manager.
Spring 2017
Sarah Sonneberger – joined MDT
as a Contact Center Representative
reporting to Eric Valla. Previously
Sarah has worked at Quicken Loans
as a Disbursement Analyst and also
at Alliance Catholic Credit Union as a
Member Service Area Representa-
tive.
Spring 2017
NEWS
Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup sugar 1 tsp baking powder 2 eggs 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 2 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 2 cups flour 1 cup fresh blueberries Glaze ingredients 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp lemon juice 2 tsp milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch loaf pan.
2. In bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until smooth. Then, beat in eggs, vanilla, yogurt and
lemon juice. Gradually, add in flour mixture and beat until just combined.
4. Fold in 3/4 cup blueberries.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 cup of blueberries.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes or knife inserted comes out clean.
For Glaze
1. Whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk until smooth.
2. Drizzle on cooled cake.
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A recent survey showed that some of the 2017 New
Year’s Resolutions for Americans were:
To lose weight or eat healthier - 21.4%
To quit smoking - 7.1%
To work out more often - 5.5%
These results send a clear message: Americans are
looking to make their health and wellness a priority
in 2017. As an employer, if you have been considering
putting a program or tools in place to help your em-
ployees reach their personal health and wellness
goals, now is the time!
Employee health and wellness programs come in
many shapes and sizes, and they can be tailored to
meet your employees’ unique needs. The one com-
monality is that they are all designed to support
healthy behaviors and improved health outcomes
while at work. Various resources can be offered to
employees to focus on health and wellness such as
weight management programs, health education and
coaching, stress management programs, on-site fit-
ness offerings, and many more. Often programs in-
clude allowing time for employees to exercise and
offering healthy food options in vending machines, or
having healthy employer-provided meals and snacks
available.
Employee Health and Wellness
By Sarah Gibbs, Senior Manager, Human Relations
The greatest wealth
is health.
While not necessary, many programs will also offer
incentives to help motivate employees to adopt and
maintain healthy habits. An incentive could be some-
thing as small as a drawing for a gift card, or some-
thing larger, like a discount on the employee’s health
insurance premium. Another great way to motivate
employees is with a little friendly competition with
their co-workers. A great example of this is a weight
loss challenge. These programs may provide the cata-
lyst your employees need to begin their journey to-
ward better health!
Over the past few years MDT has implemented sever-
al initiatives focused on improving employee health
and wellness. Our Farmington Hills office has a state-
of-the-art gym that employees can use around their
work hours. Previously, we have offered yoga and
meditation classes. And we currently offer Wellness
Coaching and discounts on nutrition assessments and
gym memberships through our Employee Assistance
Program Provider.
Effective workplace programs and environments that
are focused on health and wellness have the potential
to significantly benefit employers, employees, their
families, and communities!
Spring 2017
NEWS
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The Employee of the Quarter awards for 4th Quarter 2016 were presented on January 31st. As a
refresher, two different awards are awarded to employees ...
Employees’ Choice Award – This peer-to-peer award winner is selected from nominations
made by any non-management employee.
Service Star Award – The recipient of this award is selected from nominations made by any
member of the management team. Nominees are those employees who best performed their
tasks in a manner that demonstrates one or more of MDT’s four strategic drivers and upholds
MDT’s core values.
MDT Announces Employee of the Quarter Awards
Employees’ Choice Award – Tie
Service Star Award
Jack Leich Microsoft Systems Engineer III
Erica Switalski Manager, Professional Services
Tiffany Broutin Client Services Support Analyst
Spring 2017
NEWS
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MDT’s annual client conference, MDT Connect, will
bring credit union representatives, MDT employees,
and numerous vendors together for a week of learn-
ing, networking, and fun! The Product Management
Office (PdMO) will be presenting various sessions
throughout the conference, which runs Monday, May
22 through Thursday, May 25. These product-
centered sessions aim to bring awareness to MDT’s
product offerings, partners, and strategic plans.
Product Road Maps. The PdMO will be offering
three sessions dedicated to reviewing both past and
future product releases. MDT Product Road Map –
Looking Ahead, will be presented on Thursday, May
25. In this session, the PdMO will take a look at the
products and enhancements that are coming in 2017
in all portfolios – Symitar Episys, Ancillary, eChan-
nels, and Technology, Compliance, and Security. This
session has been a favorite for all who have attended
MDT Connect in the past, and will again be offered in
a standalone timeslot, so no one has to miss out! In
addition, the PdMO will take a focused look at the
future within the Symitar Episys product portfolio in
Episys Product Road Map – Looking Ahead, on
Wednesday, May 24.
While looking ahead is always exciting, let’s not for-
get about the great product offerings that were re-
cently made available in 2016. The PdMO will present
MDT Product Road Map – Looking Back at 2016, on
Wednesday, Mary 24. This session is dedicated to last
year’s Product Road Map and is your opportunity to
ensure you are aware of all the products that your
credit union can take advantage of right away!
Vendor Partnerships. As you know, MDT strategi-
cally partners with third-party vendors to provide
product and service solutions. Partnering with ven-
dors allows MDT to offer industry-leading products,
such as Jack Henry’s NetTeller Internet Banking,
MEA’s Text Concierge, and Harland Clarke’s LoanEn-
gine, while providing efficient implementation pro-
cesses and cost-savings to our credit union clients. In
addition to the sessions presented by the PdMO,
many of MDT’s strategic partners will provide in-
formative sessions regarding their powerful add-on
products.
Symitar Products. Kyle Gaither, Product Solutions
Consultant at Symitar, will be demonstrating a few of
Symitar’s newest product offerings: Enhanced Loan
Application (ELA), SymApp, and Contact Event Man-
ager. These products, while not yet available for re-
lease, represent the future of Symitar and MDT prod-
uct offerings, with effortless usability, intuitive work-
flows, and exceptional member connection capabili-
ties. MDT’s PdMO representatives will be on hand to
answer any questions regarding how these products
relate to MDT’s overall offerings.
Strategic Direction. MDT aims to keep our credit
unions on the leading edge of technology with superi-
or product and service choices. The product-centered
sessions presented at MDT Connect will help keep
you informed and included in that strategic future.
From past successes to future direction, the PdMO
will guide you on a tour of our growing suite of prod-
ucts at this year’s client conference.
A communication that was sent on March 2, 2017,
details MDT Connect 2017 registration instructions
and includes information on the conference agenda. If
you would like more information on MDT Connect or
the sessions offered, please reach out to your Client
Relationship Manager. We’ll see you there!
Spring 2017
These product-
centered sessions
aim to bring
awareness to
MDT’s product
offerings, partners,
and strategic plans.
What to Expect When You’re Connecting:
A Preview of Product-Centered Sessions at
MDT Connect By Samantha Allen, Product Manager
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 8
Over the past several months, the MDT Client
Relations team has been hard at work complet-
ing our team’s primary strategic initiative,
which was to create a product database – The
MDT Product Profile. This has been and will
continue to be a very important topic during
your semi-annual visits with your CRM.
The MDT Product Profile is a tool that will aid
MDT in better understanding product utilization
among our credit unions. It will enable our team
to identify potential new partnerships and also
provide product/service references for all of
your MDT credit union peers. We want to con-
tinue to better understand our credit unions’
overall product offerings. This goes for both
MDT and Symitar products as well as third-
party partners that may have no affiliation with
MDT. “Know Our Clients” has been a key initia-
tive at MDT and we continue to make great
strides in this area.
If you have any questions or would like to dis-
cuss how this new tool can benefit you, reach
out to your CRM today.
As always, THANK YOU for your kind words and
encouragement when speaking to prospective
MDT credit unions! Our expansion could not
happen without you. We had a strong year in
2016 where MDT accounted for approximately
one-third of Symitar’s new core business (and
Client Relations & Sales Department Update
By Gary Lee, VP, Client Relations and Sales
The best
compliment is
your referral ...
six competitive takeaways!) and we are looking
forward to another successful 2017.
Over the past two quarters, we have completed
10 corporate presentations and sales engage-
ments. Due to confidentiality agreements, we
can’t reveal the names of our credit union pro-
spects, but MDT is currently a finalist in three
new core deals!
In late February, MDT attended the Governmen-
tal Affairs Conference, and Symitar again, gra-
ciously allowed us to participate in their
booth. This year, the sales team is also planning
to attend the Michigan Credit Union League’s UP
(Upper Peninsula of Michigan) Chapter Annual
Meeting in April, the Wisconsin Credit Union
League 2017 League Annual Convention & Ex-
position show and MDT Connect 2017 - both in
May, the Michigan
Credit Union League
2017 AC&E show in
June, and the Symitar
Educational Confer-
ence (SEC) in Au-
gust. We hope to see
you at one or more
of these events!
We thank you for advocating for MDT and we
are always open to suggestions. Have a great
2017!
Spring 2017
NEWS
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The Synergy Document Management system is now in production at 48 of our client credit un-
ions, and we continue to receive steady reports of fast and easy document retrieval, job effi-
ciencies in multiple departments, and other positive comments about the system.
Now that system users have the basics down pat, they are ready to turn their attention to the
new features and capabilities that Synergy offers. Well, guess what??!! Those new features and
capabilities are ready for you!!
In early March, MDT distributed a client communication announcing availability of several new
features with the recent Synergy Release 2016 upgrade. Additional User Authorities and the
Synergy Organization Administration Supervisor functionality are now available.
Please keep in mind that the new user authorities need to be turned on by MDT and then added
to user groups (like privileges in Episys). Here is a brief run-down of the enhancements.
User Authorities
Several new Synergy
features are now
available!
Synergy—Time to Tap Into Some New
Capabilities By Susanne Harrison, Senior Technical Project Manager
Continued on next page ...
Spring 2017
NEWS
Audit Search Allows you to see activities performed in any Synergy application for all Synergy
users. Combined with Chain of Custody, this is a powerful tool for auditors.
Chain of Custody This authority is similar to Audit Search but specific to a document or report. This frequently requested file maintenance history enhancement keeps an audit trail on
the documents: who viewed them, added notes, etc.
Overlay Assignment Allows you to apply an overlay (similar to a watermark) to a document or report.
Overlay Maintenance This is another frequently requested capability that is related to the Overlay As-signment. Users with the Overlay Maintenance authority can make their own
overlays available to their credit union.
Folder Maintenance All 2016 Synergy users have personal folders (available only to the user who cre-ated them) where they may save copies of documents and reports. Users with the Folder Maintenance authority can create folders and make them available to spe-
cific categories of users. They may also access certain folders created by others.
Hitlist View Maintenance Another sought-after feature, users with this authority can create and edit hitlist
views, managing the column headings and tabs in search results lists.
Stamp Maintenance Much like Overlay Maintenance, this frequently requested feature allows you to
add your own stamps for use by your credit union on documents and reports.
World Link Maintenance This authority allows you to create World Links for your credit union. Expected to be a great efficiency tool, World Links are targeted searches in Synergy based on an open document. As an example, if a World link exists from a loan application to an account card, a user could open a loan application, click on the World Link, and
the account card for that member would open.
Excel Template Maintenance Another sought-after feature, Excel Templates allow you to pre-format data before it is exported to Excel, minimizing cleanup. This authority allows users to create
Excel Templates.
Manage Legal Hold - Reports Similar to the existing authority for Documents, this new authority allows you to place a hold on reports which prevents deletion or modification of a held report. While MDT is not purging older reports today, this feature would prevent reports
from being purged any time in the future.
Page 10
Administrator Supervisor Role
To provide you with more information on these features, please reference the MDT Client Portal –
MDT Training tab. We have provided a teaser video showing a glimpse of the new features in ac-
tion as well as new documentation detailing the new features. These resources should assist you
with deciding which of these features are right for your credit union.
“We know which features we want! How do we get them?”
Please open a ticket to start the process of getting your new Synergy features implemented, and
give your ticket the title of “Synergy v2016 Authorities.” We will provide you with a workbook
that you’ll complete to indicate your chosen features and the options that go with them. We will
also make available to you some pre-recorded videos that will guide you through the correct com-
pletion of the workbook. Once you submit your completed workbook, our Microsoft team will put
you on their schedule to set your selected options in Synergy and make them available to you.
We look forward to working with you on this next phase of Synergy!
Synergy—Time to Tap Into Some New
Capabilities (continued)
Spring 2017
NEWS
User and User Group Maintenance
This new credit union Supervisor role allows access to certain functionality previ-ously managed exclusively by MDT. Credit union supervisors may:
Create and maintain user groups, adding or removing authorities
Assign users to user groups, thus granting authorities to users
Now that warm weather is visiting us more frequently, cleaning up your yard now will help to prevent issues later in the year.
Pruning – Now is a good time to prune trees, woody plants, and non-flowering shrubs. Flowering shrubs should be pruned only after they finish blooming, but you can trim any dead or damaged branches from them now as well. Trim your ornamental grasses, cut back dead perennials, and pull out any dead annuals.
Debris – Remove dead leaves, branches, and other waste from your lawn so that the emerging grass be-low it is not threatened with disease or pests. Clean up your plant beds as well, to make them more eye-appealing and also keep disease and pests from settling there.
Mulch – Rake any disturbed mulch back to its correct location. Add fresh mulch where needed to maintain a depth of 2 to 3 inches and also to freshen up the look of the beds.
Lawn Repair – Walking on a soggy lawn can damage it, so take care to do this maintenance at a time
when the lawn is dry. Overseeding thin spots on warm-season lawns should be done now, while overseed-
ing on cool-season lawns should be done in the fall. Most new grass only after it reaches a height of 4 to 5
inches, and only trim it back to 3 to 4 inches. Mowing new grass too early can result in weak grass that will
have issues later.
Page 11
The MDT Training department has been prepar-
ing a new slate of videos and updated documen-
tation for the Synergy 2016 release. This re-
lease is full of a lot of powerful tools and fea-
tures, and we want to make sure you have what
you need to put into use those that are right for
your credit union.
If you’ve visited our Client Portal lately, you may
have noticed that we have added a new section
to the MDT Training area: “How To’s” was creat-
ed to help you easily learn how to do various
common tasks. Here is a snapshot of some How
To’s that are currently available to you:
We’ve also been hard at work with helpful ma-
terials for new product rollouts such as Collec-
tions Toolkit and Enhanced Membership Verifi-
cation (the other EMV), and making improve-
ments to materials for existing offerings like
Teller Capture. Our friends in the Product Man-
agement department are doing an excellent job
with our ever-expanding product portfolio, and
our goal is to be in lockstep with them on the
timeliness of our educational pieces for the new
offerings.
If you didn’t know, we can customize videos
with your branding and features for products
such as Mobile, RDC and much more. Take your
story – your processes and procedures – to “the
big screen”! Contact us for more information!
Yours truly has been invited back to conduct a
session at the 2017 Symitar Educational Confer-
ence (SEC) in August. I can’t believe this will be
my third year in a row having an opportunity to
present! I also had the pleasure of speaking at
the annual meeting of an MDT credit union cli-
ent in March. If you need a speaker for an event
Spring 2017
MDT Training Department Update By Eric Gubka, Manager, Training
you’re having, let’s talk. I am happy to custom-
ize the message for your audience!
Elizabeth Lin, Kevin Nether, Waheeda Brandon,
and I look forward to seeing you at MDT Con-
nect. The MDT team sifted through the attendee
survey results from our 2016 conference, and
we’ve created an agenda to deliver to the survey
requests. We are hosting a variety of sessions
on Symitar capabilities, Synergy, soft skills, and
the credit union industry.
As always, I leave you with a profound message
from the one, the only, David J. Matthews…
“We're as sure of that, as we all once were when
the world was flat.”
Eric, presenting at the MTC FCU Annual Meeting
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 12
Logs are an integral part of any computer system.
They tell you what is going on currently, and they
keep historical records of what has happened in
the past. This information can be vital when trou-
bleshooting an issue or investigating a possible
security concern. Logging and log retention is com-
monly a key component of different regulations
(SSAE 16, PCI, etc.). Typically, logs are located lo-
cally on the device that created them. When one
gets beyond a handful of systems, examining or
collecting logs can be a challenge, especially when
you aren't sure which device’s log would have the
answers you are looking for. Also, if a system fails,
you may lose those important logs. These are just
two reasons why having the logs backed up in a
secondary location, known as centralized logging,
can be helpful.
What do you need to do for centralized logging?
First, you need to have a purposeful list of systems
from which you want to gather logs, systems such
as routers, firewalls, servers, email filters, etc. Cre-
ating this list is a key step as certain centralized
logging methods described in the information be-
low do not work for all systems. Some device or
software logs may have a limited scope regarding
what you can do with them, and they do not sup-
port third-party applications. As you create your
system list, give thought to the potential effects or
strain that external logging can create and also
whether you want to limit the access needed for
centralized logging to sensitive systems.
There are different methods for getting log files off
of different systems:
File Replication - This method includes services
like rsync. This service duplicates the logs of speci-
fied folders to other systems. Usually it has to be
scheduled regularly with a tool like cron. This can
be an easy way to get to logs on resource intensive
systems as you can schedule it to run in batches so
it runs less frequently. The downside is that you do
not have access to live data and its always as old as
your last batch run.
Syslog - This is a common service that is support-
ed by many products. This is a great choice, and
sometimes the only choice, for accomplishing cen-
tralized logging for software or devices that are
specialized. For example, routers and host third-
party logging agents usually cannot be rsynced but
they often have support options of syslog. To use
syslog, you will need a centralized syslog server
that can collect this data, parse it out and put it
Logging and log
retention is
commonly a key
component of
different
regulations
Where to Start with Centralized Logging By Thomas Koster, Security Analyst
Continued on next page ...
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 13
into a logical framework to make it easier to find
logs you are looking for. A good open source prod-
uct that is available is Syslog-NG. Unfortunately,
the downside to this method is that searching
through the data on a centralized server like this is
harder and the search doesn't scale well with size,
so one is generally left to grepping through folders
(searching plain-text data sets for lines matching a
regular expression).
Distributed Log Collector - These agents can go
out and collect logs and forward them to another
service. This can be great for some systems where
log parsing can be harder. Windows systems have
a variety of logs in a bunch of different places, and
a distributed log collector will gather all the logs
and forward them, saving you from having to go
into a box and tweak the different places logs are
coming from. These log collectors also generally
come with easier ways of searching the logs that
come in, like ElasticSearch, which are easier than
grepping through data. There are open sourced
options like logstash and Scribe and also more
commercial options like Splunk. There are even
some hosted "cloud" options that allow you to
send your logs to a service to parse and store
them. These services are a lot easier as you just
need to point your logs or use their agents to reach
the instance and they will sort and parse out the
data. The downside to a hosted option is that it’s
not onsite and the cost can be higher. Splunk, Log-
gly and Papertrail are a few examples of compa-
nies that offer a cloud option.
There is no “one
size fits all” to
extract logs from
all devices.
You can mix and match these options to meet your
needs, as there is no “one size fits all” to extract
logs from all devices. As an example, you could
have routers sends syslog to a centralized box, run
a cron job every 15 minutes to get logs via rsync
from a high utilized server, and use third-party
agents to extract data to make it easier to search.
The final piece of centralized logging is storage.
The amount of storage you will need depends on a
few factors. The amount and size of logs you pull in
on a daily basis need to be added to the length you
want or need to store logs for regulatory compli-
ance reasons. It is always hard to determine exact
amounts of space needed, so a sample of logs may
need to be taken to give you a better idea of what
you will need.
Because there are so many options, I encourage
you to refer to the additional references I’ve in-
cluded below. And, as always, MDT is here to as-
sist you with any questions you may have.
Additional References: https://www.balabit.com/network-security/syslog-ng https://www.splunk.com/ https://github.com/facebookarchive/scribe https://www.elastic.co/ https://www.elastic.co/products/logstash https://www.loggly.com/ https://papertrailapp.com/
Where to Start with Centralized Logging (continued)
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 14
Running an efficient organization is an essential
component of continued growth, cost savings,
and minimal waste. It’s pretty common to hear
organizations say that they want or need to “be
more efficient”; but where do you start? In or-
der to begin the task of finding efficiency oppor-
tunities, you should first ask the question, “Are
my teams doing the right things?” Having effec-
tive processes and programs in place is an es-
sential first step toward finding efficiency gains.
Have you ever heard the comment, “We don’t
know what we don’t know”? How would you
know if your processes or programs are correct
or effective? That’s how you have always done
it, right? I have heard this statement many
times over from organizations that simply want
to be more efficient, but don’t know where to
start.
MDT’s Professional Services Team offers both
on-site and remote consulting opportunities to
have not only your Episys programs reviewed,
but also your internal processes and procedures
reviewed for efficiency gains.
Maybe your tellers are taking too much time
performing routine transactions and infor-
mation gathering, when they could be spending
time educating members and cross-selling prod-
ucts and services to them. Perhaps your loan
officers are so hung up on the application pro-
cess that they aren’t capitalizing on refinance
opportunities. Are these processes currently
ineffective? If you feel that may be the case, we
can help automate and streamline operational
tasks and free up your staff members to use
their time in more effective ways.
Our Professional Services Department compris-
es very experienced individuals who have
worked an average of 15 years directly in the
credit union industry. With all of our
knowledge and experiences, including the expo-
sure we have received while serving our 80+
client credit unions, we can offer superior in-
sight and analytic capabilities to assist your
credit union. Consider partnering with MDT
and let the Professional Services Team assist
you in your efficiency and effectiveness im-
provements this year!
Spring 2017
Having effective
processes and
programs in place
is an essential first
step toward finding
efficiency gains.
Efficient vs. Effective By Erica Switalski, Manager, Professional Services
Efficiency is doing things right; Effectiveness is doing the right things.
-- Peter Drucker
Spring 2017
NEWS
-
1975 – Bill Gates and Paul Allen established Microsoft. Today, Microsoft has become a multinational corpora-
tion, which is the world’s largest software maker by revenue.
1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The civil rights activist was killed by James Earl Ray. Ray, a
segregationist, received a 99-year prison sentence. He died in jail in 1998.
1949 – NATO was formed. Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty to establish what is today one of
the world’s most important military alliances.
Page 15
With regulations, disclosure requirements, etc. constantly evolving, the financial industry experi-
ences steady, numerous changes to the forms that are used to conduct business. The number of
new forms MDT receives throughout the year from CUNA, Oak Tree Business Systems, and other
vendors for our clients is quite high. Every time your forms vendor sends you forms, they also
send those same forms to MDT, and we’ve learned over time that some of them you need, and
others you don’t.
Our current process for handling these forms is that we open a ticket so the forms project can be
scheduled, and this is where we will be improving the process. Because you know which forms
you need to have programmed within the core system, we simply ask that you open the ticket for
those forms that need to be programmed, or contact your dedicated Client Services Support Ana-
lyst for assistance.
Process Change Benefits
There are benefits to having you open a ticket for the forms you need versus MDT opening a tick-
et for all forms we receive:
The Effective Date of the Change
In order to make this change in process a smooth transition:
MDT will continue to open tickets for received forms through May 31, 2017
The new process of the credit union opening tickets for forms work will begin on June 1, 2017
We sent out a communication to notify our clients of this pending process change in March, 2017,
and we will send a reminder sometime in May.
As always, please contact Client Services at 586.795.9135, Option 0 if you have any questions.
Coming Soon!
Improved Process for Handling Form Changes By Eric Valla, Senior Manager, Client Services
The only thing
constant in life
is change.
Quality Having you open the ticket will allow you to spend the time you need beforehand to work with your forms
vendor to understand the changes and review and approve all forms. Rather than “Garbage in, garbage
out,” this form review will allow for “Quality in, quality out.”
In the past, we have opened and worked on unnecessary forms because we assumed that, if we received
them, you must need us to program them. We now know that this isn’t necessarily true. Frequently we
receive forms that a client doesn’t need at all, and we also receive forms that the credit union chooses to
program internally. Having you open a ticket for the forms you need will eliminate this unnecessary work,
thus speeding up the delivery of the work you do need MDT to do.
Efficiency
Consistency Forms vendors desire the opportunity to work with you before work begins with us to ensure you are getting
the forms you need along with a complete understanding of all form changes.
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 16
“Efficiency” is a popular word in today’s fast-
paced business world. This is no different for
MDT as an organization and specifically within
MDT’s Admin department. There is a constant
focus within our department to find ways we
can fine-tune our processes to allow us to “do
more with less” and not do things “the way
they’ve always been done.” This approach has
allowed MDT to focus additional resources, both
headcount and dollars, toward client-related
technology and service offerings.
One major addition that has helped us improve
our department’s efficiency was the 2015 imple-
mentation of our new web-based accounting
system, Intacct Solutions. As we’ve become fa-
miliar with Intacct, we have adjusted many of
our processes to utilize the system to its fullest
capabilities and reap the benefits – both in time
savings and cost savings.
Some highlights of the improvements we’ve
made:
Created templates that allow us to import
month-end close journal entries and vendor
invoices to save data entry time
Installed the interface between Intacct and
our web-based expense reporting system to
automatically import employee expense re-
ports into the accounting system, cutting our
expense report processing time almost in half
Utilize Intacct’s internal note/chat function to
make sure all users have access to same infor-
mation to improve learning across the team
Created an accounts payable email group to
receive more bills electronically and enable
billing entry responsibilities to be shared
across multiple team members regardless of
location
Utilize Intacct’s expanded reporting capabili-
ties to produce reports to create real-time
internal budget tracking, as well as division,
service, and client level reporting
Utilize Intacct’s “Recurring Transaction” fea-
ture to reduce the manual data entry and
preparation time of invoices
All of these new efficiencies allow the MDT Ad-
min staff to devote more time to our clients!
Spring 2017
Efficiencies with MDT Facilities and
Administration Department By David King, Controller
Spring 2017
NEWS
MDT Connect 2017 – May 22 - 25, 2017
Westin Southfield Detroit, Southfield, MI
MCUL - Annual Convention and Exposition – June 8 - 10, 2017
Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI
MDT CEO Forum– July 11 - 13, 2017
Westin Denver International Airport, Denver, CO
Symitar Educational Conference (SEC) and Technology Expo
August 28 - 31, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, San Diego, CA
Page 17
There are many reasons why your credit union
should add the “S” to your web address (HTTPS
instead of HTTP).
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is
the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over
which data is sent between your browser and
the website to which you are connected. The 'S'
at the end of HTTPS stands for “Secure.” It
means all communications between your
browser and the website are encrypted. HTTPS
is often used to protect highly confidential
online transactions like online banking and
online shopping order forms.
Google Chrome now warns of sites that are non-
HTTPS – specifically those pages that collect
password and/or credit card information. They
mark those HTTP pages as non-secure.
Google also boosts the index ranking of sites
that are served over HTTPS - an added bonus.
With more Google searches coming from mobile
devices than computers (desktop/laptop) these
days, Google has also announced that site rank
will improve if the site provides a “mobile
friendly” version. It’s recommended that you
design your site as “responsive.” Responsive
Web Design makes your web page look good on
all devices (desktops, tablets, and phones).
A combination of both of these for your web site
(having an http --> https redirect in place and
making your website “responsive”) should be a
top priority for your credit union in 2017.
For more information on any of the above top-
ics, click any of the following links:
HTTPS
http->https redirect
Google Chrome now warns of sites that are non-HTTPS and collect password and/or credit card information
boosts index ranking of sites that are served over HTTPS
more Google searches coming from mobile de-vices
Google announcing site rank will improve if the site provides a “mobile friendly” version
responsive website
Add the “S” and Get Responsive By John Duda, Web Developer
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 18
Is your Incident Response Plan well documented? Is it readily available to staff and is it consistently used?
If not, today is just as good as any other to get started. So whether you’re beginning to create a plan or
you’re making updates to your plan, the following information should be beneficial.
At a minimum, an Incident Response Plan should define the areas of responsibility and establish proce-
dures for handling various types of incidents.
The areas of responsibility include:
A designated Incident Response Team – This team should consist of a designated core group with as need-
ed, ad hoc subject matter experts, who are responsible for the investigation and resolution of incidents.
They will identify the incident, characterize the nature and severity of the incident, and provide immedi-
ate diagnostic and corrective actions. They will receive incident reports from intrusion detection systems,
through proactive scans, from system administrators and other resources. Once an event has been con-
firmed, the team should create an event log noting the date and time of all actions, immediately take a
snapshot of all pertinent files of the incident investigation and inform C-level executives. The team is re-
sponsible for reporting all incidents to the appropriate individuals and, in some cases, to governmental
agencies. A final report of findings and a post-incident review completes their responsibilities.
This team typically consists of members of the following areas, and a primary and alternate member from
each area may be appropriate.
Security Operations
IT Operations
Business Applications
Procedures for handling various types of incidents
Incidents can occur in countless ways and each type of incident requires a different response strategy.
Below are 10 types of incidents that trigger our Incident Response Plan here at MDT.
There are typically six stages in the process of responding to an incident.
Identification and Confirmation
Gather all relevant system information to assist in the resolution of the incident.
2. Containment and Notification
Take action to prevent further intrusion or damage and remove the cause. Notify management immediately; notification of appropriate agencies and your members may
also be appropriate. Notify affected parties.
3. Analysis
The discovery and analysis process should attempt to answer the following questions:
Describe the incident that resulted in “unauthorized access to or use of member information.” When and where did the incident occur? What was affected by the incident? How did the incident occur? Who was the perpetrator?
4. Eradication
This phase deals with the actual removal of the cause and restoration of affected systems.
An Incident
Response Plan
should define the
areas of
responsibility and
establish procedures
for handling various
types of incidents.
What’s the Status of Your Incident Response Plan? By Shirley Bailey, Vice President, Operational Analytics & Process
Root or System Attack Suspected Impropriety by Provider/Vendor Internet Fraud
Unwanted Disruption/Denial of Service A Virus Infected System Compromised Desktop System
Identity Theft of a CU Member Unauthorized Use Unauthorized System Changes
Compromised Individual User
Continued on next page ...
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 19
5. Recovery
Take action necessary to bring the affected system back online and start processing as originally intended.
6. Review
After an incident has been resolved and all systems are restored to a normal operation, a follow-up postmortem analysis should be performed.
Meet and discuss actions taken and lessons learned. Evaluate and modify existing incident response procedures, if necessary. If applicable, a set of recommendations should be presented to senior management.
Preparation is also a key to a successful Incident Response Plan.
Are all staff aware of the security policies of the organization and do the Incident Response Team members understand their roles?
Do members of the Incident Response Team have access to the resources required to perform the incident response procedures?
Have the staff and Team members participated in incident response drills to practice the incident response process?
Lessons Learned – A good work practice to gain value from incidents
“Lessons Learned” can be defined as knowledge or understanding gained by experience that has a significant
impact for an organization. A lesson must be significant in that it has a real or assumed impact on operations;
valid in that it is factually and technically correct; and applicable in that it identifies a specific design, process,
or decision that reduces or eliminates the potential for failures and mishaps or reinforces a positive result. Ef-
fectively managed, lessons learned facilitate continuous improvement.
The following is the MDT “Lessons Learned” template:
For more information, the following is a list of suggested resources.
http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-61r2.pdf
https://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/white-papers/wp-sans-incident-response-fight-back.pdf
What’s the Status of Your Incident Response Plan? (continued)
Lessons Learned Template
Exactly what happened and at what times?
How well did staff and management perform in dealing with the incident? Were the documented procedures followed? Were they adequate?
What information was needed sooner?
Were any steps or actions taken that might have inhibited the recovery?
What would the staff and management do differently the next time a similar incident occurs?
What corrective actions can prevent similar incidents in the future?
What additional tools or resources are needed to detect, analyze, and mitigate future incidents?
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 20
Most credit union employees work in the “live” data-
base, which is the complete production repository of
all the credit union’s data. There are also backup cop-
ies that are made on a regular schedule – some daily,
some monthly, some once or twice a year and even
some upon request. Many times, employees work on
projects that require a separate copy of the live data-
base for the development and testing of their pro-
jects. Each of these copies or backups is referred to as
an “institution” in Symitar’s documentation, and
they’re commonly called “SYMs” due to the name of
their directory path on the AIX system. Each SYM has
a three-digit number in its name – e.g., SYM000,
SYM111, SYM867, SYM952.
Symitar (and MDT) have some established conven-
tions for identifying these SYMs, based on the numer-
ic identifiers that the system gives them. Following
are the standard SYMs:
Live SYM – This SYM is sometimes called “SYM
Zero” or the “Zero SYM” because its ID number
ends with a 0. Your live SYM may be SYM000,
SYM110, SYM960, etc. - always a 3 digit identifier
ending with 0. This SYM is where all members are
serviced and production transactions are recorded.
You may still see a test SYM whose ID ends with a
0, but the Episys software specifically identifies the
Live SYM as the “live institution” in a special con-
figuration file.
Daily backup SYM or “1 SYM” – This SYM is for
MDT use only and is used as a backup point should
a recovery of Live SYM ever be needed for any rea-
son.
Daily NFS backup SYM or “2 SYM” – This SYM is
for MDT use only and is stored separately from the
Symhost. This data is retained according to the
MDT retention policy.
Monthly backup SYM or “3 SYM” –This SYM is for
client use and is refreshed at month-end with data
from the last day of the month.
Monthly NFS backup SYM or “4 SYM” – This SYM
is for MDT use only and is stored separately from
the symhost. This data is retained according to the
MDT retention policy.
Daily Test SYM or “5 SYM” – Both the client and
MDT utilize this SYM to test changes or trouble-
shoot issues in a current and up-to-date environ-
ment. This SYM is refreshed daily.
MDT Test SYM or “8 SYM” – Both the client and
MDT utilize this SYM for development and testing
of ongoing projects. This SYM also contains test
configurations for home banking, audio, and other
miscellaneous devices. It is only refreshed upon
request.
ATM Tester or “SYM777” – This SYM contains an
ATM configuration to be used for ATM-related test-
ing and is only refreshed upon request.
Standard Restore SYM or “SYM867” – This SYM
is a “shell” and contains no data. It is only used by
MDT to perform a restore of data from a previous
date.
Release Testing SYM or “SYM952” – This SYM is
used by the client to test new Symitar releases
prior to the release load dates and only contains
data during the testing period.
IRS Processing SYM or “SYM953” – This SYM is
refreshed at year-end and is used by the client for
IRS processing. It only contains data during the IRS
processing period.
Next Up: The 2nd article in our 5-article series:
Test SYM Copies – Do We Really Need All that Data
All the Time? No one likes to hear that there isn’t
room for another test SYM. Our next article will delve
Symitar (and MDT)
have some
established
conventions for
identifying these
SYMs, based on the
numeric identifiers
that the system gives
them.
Standard SYMs and What They’re Used For (The First in a Series on Symhost Health)
By Rebecca Medalle, Applications Analyst II and Don Walli, Enterprise Architect
Continued on next page ...
Spring 2017
NEWS
SYM usage Live = SYM000
Live = SYM960
Daily backup “1 SYM” SYM001 SYM961
Daily NFS backup “2 SYM” SYM002 SYM962
Monthly backup “3 SYM” SYM003 SYM963
Monthly NFS backup “4 SYM” SYM004 SYM964
Daily Test “5 SYM” SYM005 SYM965
MDT Test “8 SYM” SYM008 SYM968
ATM Tester SYM777 SYM777
Restore Shell SYM867 SYM867
Release Tester SYM952 SYM952
IRS Processing SYM953 SYM953
Page 21
into the question of how much data is really needed
for testing or development. Simply making a copy of
your live database is the easy way, but is it the correct
way? Over time, many copies of live data can take a
toll on disk usage and eat away at the available space
needed to create another test SYM. Do you need every
member account for this test SYM? Do you need re-
Standard SYMs and What They’re Used For (continued)
ports, FM or transaction history for this specific pro-
ject? Many times the answer is “no.” If we engineer a
better and more efficient way of providing test envi-
ronments, then you may not have to hear those
words… “We need to perform SYM cleanup before we
can create another SYM…” again.
The Power of PowerOn - Catch the Session at
MDT Connect By April Schultz, Manager, Implementation Analysis,
Erica Switalski, Manager, Professional Services,
Jennifer Lee, Senior Manager, Software Services and
Tiffany Broutin, Client Services Support Analyst
This year, MDT Connect will feature a session titled, “The Power of PowerOn.”
During this 60-minute session, a group of four fabulous women will showcase a variety
of PowerOn solutions that place power in your hands with their inherent efficien-
cies. This session will be jam-packed with live demonstrations to introduce (or re-
introduce!) some of MDT’s favorites to your credit union.
Here’s the lineup:
eReceipts
Share/Loan Transfer Module
Fee Reversal Manager
NetTeller Inactive Maintenance Program
PowerOn Marketplace – MDT exclusive section
Questions & Answers
We hope you’ll join us for this informative session - and for what’s sure to be a conference favorite! You
may find yourself feeling like Buddy the Elf feels about Santa! Arrive early to get your seat up front!
Spring 2017
NEWS
Consolidate Your Image Cash Letters! By Kelly Calnan, Manager, Check Services
MDT Check Services recently installed the new x937 File Import Manager for ImagePoint Hub.
As a result, we can now take your image cash letters and consolidate them into a single outgoing cash
letter. Through this process, we can also run duplicate detection on your items and archive check imag-
es into a single repository.
Sound interesting? Contact MDT Check Services for more information.
Page 22
We are pleased to be able to offer you the slate of educational opportunities that we’ve lined up for
Connect 2017, our annual client conference. Now with four tracks, the conference is more robust than
ever before and features several presentations by MDT subject matter experts, Jack Henry/Symitar
personnel, and several of our business partners. And new this year to the conference is an opportunity
to learn from your credit union peers – a panel discussion on Future of Branch Experience!
As you know, brick and mortar branches are still a popular and viable approach to member service, but
in today’s world where multiple generations of people are managing their finances in all sorts of ways
in this fast-paced, electronic age, lots of other approaches to the credit union branch have sprung up to
meet the demands of the members.
Many of these different branches are operational among MDT’s credit union clients, and we are excited
to host a panel at Connect 2017 featuring 5 different credit union representatives who will be discuss-
ing their branches! Representing different sizes and different strategies, this conversation among the
panelists is sure to stimulate your thinking and challenge you and your credit union to consider differ-
ent branch alternatives for the future of service to your members.
Ron Kaplan, Manager of Episys Technical Product Management at Symitar, will be facilitating this lively
and interesting discussion. Our slate of panelists includes representatives from the following credit
unions:
* Statistical information from credit union websites and other sources
This session is sure to be a hit with all conference attendees, as it is a great opportunity to learn
firsthand the experience others are having with some of these unique branches and ponder whether
any of these solutions may be right for your membership. It is scheduled for Thursday morning and
competes with no other sessions, so we will see you there!
An Opportunity to Learn from Your Peers—
Live at Connect 2017—
Future of Branch Experience
By Carol Kerr, VP, Marketing & Communications
Spring 2017
NEWS
Name Location Members Assets Branches
Community Choice CU Farmington Hills, MI 99,570 $1,018,314,905 16
CU of the Rockies Golden, CO 9,549 $94,161,905 3
Marine CU La Crosse, WI 60,203 $689,785,894 29
On Tap CU Golden, CO 19,723 $226,767,096 2
UnitedOne CU Manitowoc, WI 19,746 $201,095,809 7
This conversation is
sure to stimulate your
thinking and
challenge you and
your credit union to
consider different
branch alternatives
for the future of
service to your
members.
Page 23
MDT is excited to announce that email notifications are now available from ImagePoint Hub when
mobile deposits are sent to the Item Review queue. These notices will allow your staff to better
serve your mobile deposit users when items hit the review limits.
Each credit union can specify two email addresses to receive these notifications, a primary email
address (the “To:” address) and a CC email address (someone who is not the primary recipient but
another whom you want to receive a copy of the notification). MDT recommends using a group
email address, as only one primary email address is allowed for each field.
Emails will include the following information:
Email Subject will be: “Pending Mobile RDC Review Items”
Email Body will be: “New items pending for review in IP Admin.”
From Email Address will be: [email protected]
The default sending interval for notification emails is 30 minutes. However, each credit union is
able to customize their notification frequency. The service will continue to send emails at the
scheduled intervals until the review queue is cleared.
If you would like to enroll in this service, please open a ticket and we will be happy to start the
process for you!
Email notices will
allow your staff to
better serve your
mobile deposit users
when items hit the
review limits.
Review Item Email Notices are Now
Available for RDC! By Kelly Calnan, Manager, Check Services
Spring 2017
NEWS
If you believe that only senior executives need
to think strategically, think again. No matter
what level you’re at, strategic thinking is a criti-
cal skill — one that can always be improved. To
hone your capacity to see the big picture, start
by making sure you have a solid understanding
of the industry context and business drivers.
Make it a routine to explore the internal trends
in your day-to-day work. Pay attention to the
issues that get raised repeatedly, and synthe-
size the common obstacles your colleagues
face. Be proactive about connecting with peers
in your organization and in your industry to
understand their observations of the market-
place, and share this information across your
network. Take the time to understand the
unique information and perspective that your
job function contributes to the company.
Make Time For Strategic Thinking Every Day By Jennifer Lee, Senior Manager, Software Services
Thinking at this higher level will position you
to be more strategic in your role.
Recap: How to improve your strategic think-
ing
Know: Observe and Seek Trends Think: Ask the Tough Questions Speak: Sound Strategic Act: Make Time for Thinking and Embrace
Conflict
Source: Adapted from “4 Ways to Improve Your Strategic Thinking Skills,” by Nina Bowman.
Being a strategic
leader is about
asking the right
questions.
Page 24
Hello, and welcome to spring!
I hope everyone was conscious of Daylight Sav-
ing Time and remembered to “Spring Forward”
on March 12. Otherwise, your servers and work-
stations have been getting an extra hour of sleep
when they shouldn’t be!
Relocating the Microsoft Engineering team to
the Farmington Hills office has proven to be a
very wise, strategic decision. Communication
between teams has improved dramatically, is-
sues are getting resolved significantly faster,
and cross-training between departments is a lot
easier now that we’re all in the same building.
On that note, Eric Valla, Senior Manager, Client
Services and I have spent a significant amount
of time together over the last few months work-
ing on the next phase of enhancing client service
via our Resource Center Pods. The planned
changes, which are expected to go live in the
2nd quarter, 2017, are targeted at eliminating
the frustrating situations we’ve received com-
plaints about such as tickets being misrouted
and tickets not being acknowledged in a timely
fashion. In a nutshell, each pod will have its own
ticket queue so the team in that pod will receive
only tickets for their assigned credit unions. The
staff members in each pod will rotate as “Pod
Captain” and will be responsible for managing
the queue. This queue management includes
ensuring that “quick-hitters” are handled effi-
ciently and that high priority requests are han-
dled with a greater sense of urgency.
In the Synergy world, upgrades to release
2016.2.163520000 have been successfully com-
pleted on all eight of our stacks – groups of serv-
ers dedicated to a group of clients. I would like
to thank Jeff Lumley from the Microsoft Engi-
Microsoft Engineering Department Update
By Billy Panagiotopoulos, Manager, Microsoft Engineering
Communication
between [MDT] teams
has improved
dramatically, issues
are getting resolved
significantly faster,
and cross-training
between departments
is a lot easier now that
we’re all in the same
building.
neering team for all of his hours, hard work, and
dedication to this project.
We continue to work with some high-level engi-
neers at Jack Henry & Associates on some global
issues we’ve been experiencing. This strong col-
laboration has allowed us to make some sizea-
ble improvements with the Batch Queue back-
ups.
In Synapsys land, Andrew Melton from the Mi-
crosoft Engineering team has been working dili-
gently to get all of our clients migrated to our
new Synapsys environment. At this time, we
only have a handful of clients remaining which
we will be migrating over the next few months.
Great job, Andrew!
I look forward to seeing everyone (and meeting
those I haven’t) at our Connect 2017 Client Con-
ference (May 22 – 25) in Michigan. Until then,
enjoy the beautiful weather and thank you for
your continued support as we work to improve
YOUR experience day to day.
Spring 2017
NEWS
Page 25
“What inspires you?” I have always thought that
was such a cliche question, but recently I’ve found
myself giving more thought to the idea of inspira-
tion. What really inspires me? And what can I
learn from other people regarding what inspires
them?
Steve Jobs once said: "The ones who are crazy
enough to think that they can change the world,
are the ones who do." People like Steve Jobs, Rich-
ard Branson, and Walt Disney dreamed big and
have inspired many people over the decades. Giv-
en the accomplishments of people such as these, it
may seem weird to think that the one person who
inspires me virtually every day is a 15-year-old
kid. This inspirational kid is my stepson, Max, who
has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
I find myself being inspired not by what Max has
done or may do in the future, but more about what
he hasn’t done. The
list of what he hasn’t
done is quite
lengthy: He’s never
walked or run. He’s
never played foot-
ball or swung a
baseball bat. He’s
never skipped a
rock on the water or
landed a basketball
in a net. Setting
aside all those phys-
ical activities, there
are still lots of things he can’t do. In fact, the easy,
day-to-day tasks that we all do, like cutting our
food or opening a soft drink can, Max cannot do.
But I am inspired by the greatest thing Max cannot
do, that he chooses not to do -- complain or feel
sorry for himself.
He takes each day with a positive attitude and a
smile, never asking, “Why me?” or saying things
like, “This is so hard,” or “My life stinks.” Max’s
attitude toward life and living are what inspires
me every day.
Several years ago when we were at the zoo, a
woman approached me and said, “He will teach
you what it means to live life” and she walked
away. I will never forget what that perfect
stranger said to me. I believe what she was really
saying was, he will inspire you. And he has.
When things get tough or I’m stressed, I shift my
focus to Max. Some days I’m pretty good at looking
at the bright side, and other days, not so much.
And on those days, I think about Max. If he can
keep trying, keep giving his best to living and keep
smiling, then I can keep trying to have a good atti-
tude and give all my tasks my best effort.
There really are so many things to be thankful and
we can be reminded of this if we start counting our
blessings. They, in turn, may serve as inspiration.
My blessing of Max is near the top of my list.
If you’d like to learn about SMA (Spinal Muscular
Atrophy), check out
http://www.curesma.org/sma/about-sma/
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/9-sources-
of-inspiration-for-highly-successful-people-2013-7
“The ones who
are crazy enough to
think that they can
change the world,
are the ones
who do.”
—Steve Jobs
What Inspires You? By Tracie Loudermilk, Senior Project Manager
Spring 2017
NEWS
L-R: Hannah, Max, Chris and Tracie Loudermilk
Page 26
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