HARRIS COUNTY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
Relocating Offices Without Disrupting Operations

Moving is often cited as one of the top five stress-inducing events in the life of a human being. As businesses are composed of human beings, an office move certainly falls under the stress category. In this day and age, the pressure on technology departments for a seamless transition is enormous.

The technology gurus at the Harris County Federal Credit Union (HCFCU) experienced that stress in 2003 when they consolidated their offices into a new building in downtown Houston. "We shut down on Friday and moved in," said Gertie Toups, V.P. of Technology and Accounting. "By Saturday we were up and running."

The Harris County Federal Credit Union (HCFCU) was formed in 1951 and membership has expanded beyond employees of Harris County. When the County government decided to build a downtown parking garage, it offered space on the ground floor of the building to HCFCU. "We were embarked on a major project over a multi-year period involving lots of coordination among other Harris County departments," said Toups. "We needed help in planning our new Tech Center and building our new computer room, and there was a long history of trust with The Aldridge Company."

Susan Roberts, the HCFCU President, had worked with Dave Aldridge in the past, according to Toups. The Aldridge Company had assisted HCFCU in 1995 to upgrade its mainframe to communicate with PCs. Later, The Aldridge Company assisted HCFCU to access the Internet, which changed the way financial transactions were handled.

When it came time to plan for a big move, The Aldridge Company was tapped by HCFCU to handle the technology transition. From the planning stages with the county to specify server room and wiring needs all the way through to Transition Weekend, The Aldridge Company was there.

"Dave Aldridge stayed with us all night during conversion," says Toups. "There was another vendor on the data processing/programming side who was on call. When we ran into a problem and called him in the wee hours of the morning, he said, 'I can't help you now, I'm sleeping, call me in the morning.' That was a national company, and we made sure his supervisor heard about that!"

HCFCU has big plans for the future, including kiosks to bring its financial services into the neighborhoods that it serves. "We are proud of the personal relationships that we forge with our members," said Toups, "and we are proud of the technology leadership position that we hold among financial institutions."

Toups' second-in-command, Carlos Perez, echoed her sentiments. "We are so fortunate to have a CEO and Board who are supportive of our work and aggressive in the application of new technology. We are headed in a cutting-edge direction and The Aldridge Company could take us there."

www. hcfcu.com
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