The following is an article written by Trellance’s Chief Sales Officer, Patrick McElhenie. It originally appeared on CUInsight.com.

Economic reports continue to show that while the American economy is strong, the average consumer is still feeling the strains of high inflation and increased interest rates. And when consumers feel the strain, so do the credit unions where they do their banking. As members continue to tighten their belts and make cost-saving cuts, so must credit unions look into ways of reducing their overall spending so they can continue to meet member needs.

Using Technology to Save

You might think investing in technology in a time like this would be counterintuitive, but you’d be wrong. While new technologies can have an up-front cost, the cost savings they can offer in both the immediate and long-term make them well worth the effort. Data and cloud technologies especially can help credit unions to optimize production and reduce time and money spent elsewhere, while specialized talent services can help address skills gaps on existing teams.

Data

Well organized and well-maintained data is key to so much of what your credit union does for its members. From running reports, to automating member communication, to identifying campaign strategies, data keeps your credit union running. By investing in a robust data warehouse, you can ensure your credit union’s operations continue to run smoothly. You can also use a data warehouse to power your reporting initiatives, automating what was once a manual process, saving time and allowing your employees to focus their energies elsewhere.

Data can also be used to drive marketing campaigns, ensuring your credit union is putting the right products in front of the right members at the right time. Focused marketing campaigns such as these are less expensive and more effective than one-size-fits-all campaigns applied to your entire member base, or even those that are targeted towards one manually-selected member segment.

Cloud

The cost saving benefits of the cloud cannot be understated—from reducing the need for clunky on-prem equipment that needs constant maintenance, to enabling quick and easy scalability, the cloud streamlines many of your credit union’s existing processes while allowing for greater speed and ease of use. With the cloud, your credit union can establish fail over procedures, ensuring all data is backed up to a safe and secure location in the event of a natural disaster, cyber-attack or other continuity event. The ability to recover quickly from an event such as this, ensuring continued member support, is in and of itself priceless.

The cloud is also the basis for much of modern technology, including AI and machine learning—investing in cloud today can allow your credit union to take advantage of these other powerful technologies in the future.

Talent

Getting the talent your credit union needs to implement cost-saving technologies doesn’t need to be a stumbling block, either. Utilizing either full or fractional staff augmentation can allow your credit union to find and partner with skilled technology professionals at a fraction of the cost required to source, onboard and train a new hire. Utilizing staff augmentation also allows your credit union to easily scale up or down as needed, allowing you to meet goals and implement new technologies within your preferred timeline.

Utilizing a specialized talent services provider also allows your credit union to take advantage of a global talent pool. The person who best fits your needs may not live in your community—or even your country. Utilizing a specialized talent services provider allows your credit union to review candidates from multiple backgrounds and with a variety of experiences to find the person who ultimately meets your unique needs.

Maximizing Your Credit Union’s Budget

With the cost of living showing no signs of cooling, your credit union must be prepared for tighter budgets—both members’ and its own. Meet these budgetary needs by using technology to streamline and reduce costs while also maximizing member satisfaction. With the power of data, technology, and talent, your credit union can reduce overhead while still offering the same—or even improved—services your members have come to expect.

Patrick McElhenie is the Chief Sales Officer at Trellance.