International Finance Bank Outsources Their IT Functions To UDT

IFB knew they needed a technology upgrade with top-of-the-line solutions and security. After several meetings, UDT assessed IFB’s technology needs to provide a roadmap to improve their IT and infrastructure.

International Finance Bank (IFB), located in Miami, Florida, is a community-based financial institution who prides themselves on superior customer service and banking principles. IFB knew they needed a technology upgrade with top-of-the-line solutions and security. After several meetings, UDT (UDT) assessed IFB’s technology needs to provide a roadmap to improve their IT and infrastructure. IFB agreed with the IT roadmap but knew they did not have the technical skillset or internal manpower to complete the large-scale technology overhaul.

“I knew UDT would be the perfect partner to complete this project for IFB because the people that represented each area of expertise are very responsive, knowledgeable and pleasant to work with,” said Jose Cueto, President & CEO of IFB. “We understood the scope and importance of upgrading our technology and were confident in outsourcing the work to UDT. After speaking with several vendors and gaging the market, we evaluated the proposals and negotiated the agreement with UDT. The process moved along quickly and UDT began our IT upgrade in November of 2017. We signed the contract for all the necessary work at once but completed the overhaul in stages, utilizing multiple UDT teams (cloud, managed services, security). This format was successful in minimizing the disruption to IFB.”

“UDT worked closely with IFB’s executive team to fully understand their short, medium and long-term goals,” said Guillermo Benites, UDT’s VP of Financial Services. “The purpose of this exercise is to ensure we aligned the technology proposed to meet IFB’s needs in every phase of its business development. UDT then needed to align our solutions and resources to ensure the bank remained fully operational during the technology transformation.”

UDT migrated IFB from an on-premise email server to Microsoft Office 365, with the latest features and security applications. This helped to drive their employee productivity by providing them with the tools of the future- instant access to email, files and documents across any device from any location, and ongoing Help Desk support from IT professionals. UDT’s professional services team completely refreshed IFB’s datacenter, ensuring the information was upgraded and within compliance. UDT also supported the institution in an upgrade of their application process to support Windows 10. All of their endpoint devices not only needed updating, but also imaged in UDT’s configuration center and supported through our Network Operations Center (NOC).

“Managed Services helps clients to monitor and maintain their infrastructure to keep their systems functioning efficiently, freeing them to concentrate on business operations,” said Carlos Marchini, VP of Cloud Architectures for UDT. “In this stage of the project, our experts also enhanced restrictions on IFB’s network configuration with a security conscious.”

Security was top-of-mind for Cueto and critical to any financial institution. UDT’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Mike Sanchez, stepped into the CISO role for IFB to provide security assurance that the institution passes audits and maintains compliance. IFB has also outsourced their managed security function, allowing UDT’s Security Operations Center (SOC) to monitor their infrastructure for potential threats 24x7x365.

“We have completely outsourced our IT needs to UDT so they are responsible for monitoring, managing and securing all aspects,” said IFB’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Alejandro Safie. “We knew this outsource was necessary because we have limited professionals in house to handle day-to-day responsibilities and it wasn’t enough. This industry is very fast changing and the bad guys can adapt quicker than the financial institutions. We needed a broad level of expertise and that’s not feasible for an institution of our size due to budget, payroll and headcount restraints. UDT provided full service, end-to-end solutions, so we could leverage the expertise and skillset of a larger organization. Additionally, we partnered with UDT to enhance our cash management solution. They procure our check scanners, laser etch the devices in their configuration center according to institutional requirements, then proceed to install the scanners to our customers.”

IFB knew their outdated equipment needed an upgrade, architected and deployed for future growth but was not equipped to handle in house. Outsourcing all IT functions to UDT put the institution in a better position for not only compliance standards and audits but also in terms of efficiency and infrastructure. UDT professionals worked nights and weekends to ensure the financial institution did not experience any downtime that would be disruptive to their business and its clients. All solution areas within the company worked closely with IFB to provide modern-day technology and cutting-edge infrastructure, making for an efficient and elite banking institution.

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