STCU Gains Greater Insights with Fewer Reports

Outcome 

ibi^™ WebFOCUS delivers critical information on marketing, customer activity, and finances through 220 flexible reports to 15 analysts and power users. Advanced visualizations make it easier to spot trends and design precise marketing and retention campaigns.

Challenge

It was something of a surprise—but not an entirely unwelcome one—when STCU learned it would need new analytics software. A former vendor had decided to stop supporting the business intelligence (BI) package the credit union had used for 14 years. In that time, the installation had become unwieldy with 6,000 reports defined. That was clearly too many for an institution with fewer than 800 employees. And even with all those reports, analysts found they regularly needed to change numbers in Excel to get needed calculations and visualizations.

At the same time, the leaders of the credit union came to realize they needed to be a lot smarter about using data in their marketing efforts. They wanted to use finely targeted offers to both improve retention and attract new members.

Transformation

STCU executives evaluated a range of BI and analytics providers. "We needed an enterprise tool," said Rozalind Kitt, business intelligence manager at STCU. It was clear ibi™ felt strongly about partnering with us. They were large enough to have cutting-edge products but small enough to treat us like our partnership was important."

The WebFOCUS solution extracts data from STCU’s Finastra core account system, as well as additional software packages used for loan origination, payment processing, and financial controls. This data is loaded into a data warehouse that uses Microsoft SQL Server. The WebFOCUS analytics application delivers critical information on marketing, customer activity, and finances through 220 flexible reports.

"More than 600 STCU employees use the system regularly through a web-based portal," said Kitt. One section displays information visible to the credit union's entire staff, while a separate area gives secure access to more detailed data that is relevant to each user’s role.

Benefits

The credit union's 15 analysts and other power users now have better tools to design precise marketing and retention campaigns. Advanced visualizations make it easier to spot trends. And the ibi™ WebFOCUS system presents a comprehensive view that was not possible in the past. "We had lots of data, but we lacked a 360-degree view of what each member really looks like," said Kitt.

In addition, every night, the system identifies potential problems—accounts without signature cards, fees that need refunding—and automatically alerts the appropriate branch. "Tracking down documents used to be a full-time job," Kitt said. "Now the staff just gets a daily report to see which loans, applications, or new members they need to follow up on."