MADISON, Wis. – AdvantEdge Digital is reporting that to date in 2021 its analytics consulting client portfolio has grown 55% year-over-year and it now services 43 credit unions.
According to the company, the increased interest is due to credit unions’ need to make better use of data for real-time decision making, with President Michael Herman saying alternative providers are pushing credit unions to find ways to respond to changes more quickly.
“Today’s members are less easy to typecast, especially given the monumental shift in day-to-day banking that’s taken place over the past two years,” said Herman. “Credit unions know their members exceptionally well. The unknown of fast-changing member needs and wants presents new territory. As a result, more credit unions are turning to data and analytics to better understand the people they serve.”
AdvantEdge Digital said among the credit unions with which it is working the $13.9-billion Randolph-Brooks FCU in San Antonio, which has been seeking in part to accelerate its data governance strategy.
“Working with AdvantEdge Digital is like working with friends, but friends with years of data transformation experience,” said Amanda Pelata, RBFCU metadata analyst. “There isn’t the typical sales fluff you sometimes get with vendors. The team can drill down and focus on the issue at hand. Collaborating with AdvantEdge Digital on data governance has been both fruitful and enjoyable.”
Full Range of Analytics
AdvantEdge Digital, a subsidiary of CUNA Mutual Group, said it offers a full range of analytics consulting services across six categories: data strategy, data governance, predictive analytics, data visualization, data engineering and capability outsourcing. The company said each of its consultants brings more than 20 years of experience to the credit union movement, many of them spent coaching Fortune 500 companies through their own data transformation projects.
AdvantEdge Digital said a “key component” of its consulting services is customization, saying the $4.3-billion Coastal Credit Union in North Carolina experienced that benefit firsthand when COVID-19 dramatically altered the data team’s needs.
“AdvantEdge Digital delivered a lot of analytics capabilities with practical outputs,” said Richard Sowell, Coastal Credit Union’s vice president of reporting and analytics. “However, it became clear the greatest value to our team is learning from them to evolve our own analytics expertise. We asked them to teach us how to provide business-altering information internally, and they did. Not only did the engagement enrich my team; I learned a lot about how to do analytics well. AdvantEdge Digital helped me take big steps forward really quickly.”
For info: www.AdvantEdge.Digital.