Charles Potts: 4 Natural Advantages of Solution Provider Partnerships

I have been evangelizing for a while about the importance of strategic partnerships, and now, we’ve come to a place where these very relationships are bolstering community banks’ businesses. Solution provider partnerships create ways to capitalize on opportunities and address mounting, conflicting priorities. Here are four practical advantages of partnering with a solutions provider.

1. They enable you to compete in today’s digital-first environment. Digital transformation remains a priority as customer demand for a seamless experience grows. With this shift, we also are seeing increased competition from neobanks, large banks, direct-to-consumer technology providers and others. The good news? At ICBA, our aggregated buying power allows us to continually look at community bank needs and identify new solution providers that address business challenges and opportunities.

2. They offer systems to address regulatory change. Regulatory change is only getting more complex, which makes solution provider partnerships even more valuable to community banks. With the right technology partner, community banks can focus on key areas and use companies, like recent ThinkTECH Accelerator participant Azimuth, to simplify compliance requirements.

3. They introduce strategic, cost-effective solutions for operational and business needs.  I’ve said this even from the days when I was building solutions: Bankers and banks need to be good at banking, but it’s hard to stay on top of the technology and the evolution in financial services simultaneously. Strategic solution provider partnerships offer a best-of-breed technology approach, allowing bankers to spend more time nurturing customer relationships. When solution providers directly target problems community banks face, their products become viable, cost-effective solutions. In addition, with community banks as their chief clients, the knowledge they acquire breeds clarity that allows for more rapid product deployments and quicker ROI for banks.

4. They address staffing demands.  Staffing and talent are persistent challenges for community banks, but leveraging technology to become more efficient and effective allows you to maximize your existing staff’s potential. New solutions, including intelligent automation offerings like what’s presented from ThinkTECH alum HuLoop, complement staff efforts and allow banks to augment or grow business without adding head count as quickly as would have been necessary in the past. 

We have reached an interesting inflection point for community banks: a chance to turn up the volume, strategically lean into partnerships and acquire the natural advantages that come with partnering. 

So, I encourage you to take another look at ICBA’s Solutions Directory (solutions.icba.org) and identify a provider that can support your bank. Taking that action today may just be the first step toward the future of your business.