Banking through a crisis: IBM Canada and Celero are collaborating to transform Canada’s credit unions for a post-COVID environment

For those following the cross-industry impact of COVID-19, we are witnessing the fragility of many enterprise IT infrastructures as they start to weaken under the weight of escalating demands. The pandemic is also proving to be a catalyst for change in the financial services industry, with many institutions recognizing they need to better prepare themselves to successfully navigate out of this crisis if they are to play their role as a lifeline for the country.

Last week, IBM Canada and Celero announced they had signed a seven-year, multi-million dollar agreement to help transform services for more than 110 credit unions. By significantly advancing digital banking technologies, hybrid cloud, security, and payment solutions, these credit unions and their members should not see a decline in service that others might with organizations that haven’t future-proofed their systems for the post-pandemic economy.

Celero, a leading solutions integrator for credit unions, chose to work with IBM because of its proven success in delivering operational resiliency of critical business services, uninterrupted service, remote and easy access, and rigorous data security measures against disruptions and threats. These competencies are critical for credit unions in how they provide innovative service delivery and excellence to their members.

We are looking at taking the biggest hit to our economy since 2008; what’s different now, however, is that more organizations are preparing themselves for such a recurrence. Innovation cannot stop in a crisis. Businesses that move forward with acceleration of their digital transformation will emerge stronger and more prepared. What we’ll see in a post-COVID economy is those who have made digital transformation a priority will experience less impact to their businesses in recovery from the effects of COVID-19.

This blog was co-authored by:
Tom Papagiannopoulos – Senior Vice President, Celero
Xerxes Cooper  – GM, Global Technology Services, IBM Canada