Credit unions confront a very challenging operating environment today. They face strong member demand for many cutting-edge financial products and intense competition from other financial institutions. At the same time, credit unions face increasing levels of scrutiny by examiners over their IT security and greater regulation and higher costs of compliance, which are shrinking bottom lines. 

For small credit unions to survive and thrive, they need to be able offer competitive products while keeping pace with a changing security environment. This can be a tall order, as many credit unions do not have the resources to manage and secure complex systems.

Faced with these challenges and constraints, outsourcing may allow credit unions to maximize their limited resources and compete effectively in an environment that demands both greater access to sophisticated technologies and greater security. There are significant benefits of an outsourcing strategy, but giving up control also entails certain risks, which credit unions need to be prepared to mitigate.