Press Releases

9/03/2008

Par3/IT Announces New Managed Services Offering

Par3/IT announced that the company has achieved Dell Certified Partner status and is the first company in Minnesota to be certified by Dell to resell the Dell Remote Management (DRM) solution. Par3/IT will resell the solution under the OnGuard Managed Services TM  brand name.

 “OnGuard Managed Services allows us to provide our clients with 24x7 management of their servers, routers, firewalls and PCs,” said Fred Alonzi, president of Par3/IT. “We can detect problems and perform remote remediation, often before our clients even know they have a problem.”

 In addition to problem detection and remediation, OnGuard Managed Services provides hardware/software inventory, patch management, vulnerability assessments, and bandwidth analysis.

 “Clients can use our advanced reporting capabilities to comply with industry specific regulations such as HIPAA in the healthcare industry and Graham-Leech-Bliley in financial services,” said Mike Ferderer, chief technology officer. “The reporting also helps our clients verify Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) that they have negotiated with their vendors.”

 By partnering with Dell, Par3/IT can offer clients a unique solution. “Dell provides us with a world-class product that we can offer to our clients,” continued Alonzi. “And Par3/IT provides the local support and industry expertise to create a truly value-added solution.”

 For further information, email Fred Alonzi at falonzi@par3it.com, or call 612-326-3613.

 
8/5/2007 Par3/IT Adds Eleven New Clients

Par3/IT has reached agreements with eleven new clients to provide OFAC Compliance tools. Each new client will have access to the Par3/IT OFAC Lookup website where they can check new accounts and wire transfers against the US Treasury Department's list of known terrorists and drug traffickers. Also, on a regular basis, Par3/IT will compare their entire entire member database against the OFAC database and provide a report of matches and near matches.

The new clients are: Brooks County FCU, Brooks, MN; Trumbull County Postal CU, Warren, OH; Greater Milwaukee CU, West Allis, WI; Austin City Employees CU, Austin, MN; City County Employees FCU, Albert Lea, MN; GCM FCU, St. Paul,  MN; Phi Beta Sigma FCU, Washington D.C.; Chagrin Falls School Employees CU, Chagrin Falls, OH; Fire Department CU, Superior, WI; Kirkwood Municipal CU, Kirkwood, MO; Manitowoc County Employee CU, Manitowoc, WI.

 
9/01/2007

 

Heartland CU Moves to New Headquarters

 After over two years of planning and construction, Heartland Credit Union opened its new headquarters in Inver Grove Heights , Minnesota on July 30, 2007. The new facility includes a drive-up, a call center, and safe deposit boxes—all new services previously unavailable to credit union members due to space restrictions.  “For 68 years, we’ve been a part of Dakota County ”, said Pam O’Connell, President and CEO of Heartland Credit Union. “This new location will give our members more convenience than ever before.”

For the critical Data Center move, Heartland Credit Union contracted with Par3/IT. The project required relocation of servers and infrastructure as well as the reconfiguration of the credit unions’ substantial data communications network which includes seven remote locations as well as online interfaces to five third party vendors. The credit union also provides online services to local credit unions.

The credit union required Par3/IT to perform the data center move over a weekend without interruption to their normal business hours. Par3/IT accomplished this, but not without some unexpected problems.  A storm took out power in the entire neighborhood during the weekend, which set the process back a few hours. Par3/IT had the UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) installed in advance, so there was no damage to servers or communications equipment within the building.

However, after the power outage, one of their main T1 datacomm links did not come back up.  “We knew it was a problem with our telecomm provider, as all of the customer premise equipment tested out just fine,” said Fred Alonzi of Par3/IT. “If you can believe it, we had our telecomm provider working to resolve the problem onsite for 12 hours on a Sunday. We simply wouldn’t let them go until they found the problem. They finally found a faulty repeater in a nearby under-street location which had been flooded by the storm.”

Another challenge was caused by the credit union’s ATM provider who had technical problems of their own. But Par3/IT was prepared with a “Plan B.”  Commenting on the ATM issue, Par3IT’s Mike Ferderer said “We realized early on that we should have a backup plan since everything had to happen over a single weekend. So we kept our previous network intact and had in advance created a link from our old network to our new network. Then, if we had problems with any of the 3rd party interface links, we could keep them on our old network and just make a few routing changes.”  The backup plan was well worth it. It kept the credit union’s ATM network available until the ATM vendor was able to correct the problem on their end…a process that took over 2 weeks!

In addition to moving the data center, Par3/IT also integrated many new products to automate and secure the new facility. These products included a leading-edge training center, computerized door locks and HVAC systems, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone system, digital security video, biometric Safe Deposit Box entry, electronic tote boards, and marketing videos on the drive-up terminals.

“The Credit Union has taken a giant leap forward…in terms of its image to the community as well as thru new automation,” concluded Fred Alonzi. “We were happy to be a part of their success!”

5/16/2007 Nashwauk FCU selects Par3/IT for OFAC Compliance

Nashwauk Federal Credit Union of Nashwauk, Minnesota has selected Par3/IT to provide OFAC compliance tools including access to the Par3/IT OFAC Lookup website. On a regular basis, Par3/IT will also run a compare of the credit union's member database to the US Treasury department's list of Specially Designated Nationals and provide a report of potential matches. The credit union currently uses the CUBICS data processing software.
5/1/2007 ASSOCIATED Healthcare Credit Union Completes Web Site Redesign

Associated Healthcare Credit Union of St. Paul, MN introduced a redesigned web site on May 1. The new site offers improved navigation thru drop-down menus, faster load times, and additional information for its members. Also, registered members can securely log on to their credit union account from the home page.

The new site was designed and implemented thru a joint effort of Par3/IT and their business partner CU*Online. You can visit the new site by browsing to www.ahcu.org.
 
3/26/2007 Par3/IT Adds Three New Clients

In three separate deals this week, Par3/IT has finalized agreements with Distinguished Service CU of Youngstown, OH; Central Hanna CU of Keewatin, MN; and S M H Federal CU of Peru, IN to provide OFAC Compliance tools.

Each new client will have access to the Par3/IT OFAC Lookup website where they can check new accounts and wire transfers against the US Treasury Department's list of known terrorists and drug traffickers. Also, on a regular basis, Par3/IT will compare their entire entire member database against the OFAC database and provide a report of matches and near matches.
 
2/21/2007 Good Samaritan CU Selects Par3/IT for OFAC Compliance

Good Samaritan CU has selected Par3/IT to provide OFAC compliance tools including access to the Par3/IT OFAC Lookup website. On a regular basis, Par3/IT will also run a compare of the credit union's member database to the US Treasury department's list of Specially Designated Nationals and provide a report of potential matches.

The Good Samaritan Credit Union serves over 11,000 members and is located in Sioux Falls, SD and currently uses Harland CUserv data processing software.
 
2/13/2007 Red Wing Credit Union Chooses Par3/IT for Online Reports and Statements

Red Wing Credit Union, a $46M credit union located in Minnesota, has purchased the Online Reports and Statements (OLRS) product from Par3/IT. OLRS provides the credit union staff with instant access to daily reports and monthly statements.

OLRS is browser-based, requiring no special programs or installation on client PCs. Report and Statement retention is limited only by available diskspace and can be archived to CD-ROM or DVD. OLRS also features industry standard formats for both reports and statements. The Auto-Print feature allows the credit union to automatically print selected daily reports. This feature even offers the capability of just printing the first or last page of the report.
 
2/6/2007 Par3/IT Adds Four New Clients

Par3/IT has reached agreements with four new clients to provide OFAC Compliance tools. Each new client will have access to the Par3/IT OFAC Lookup website where they can check new accounts and wire transfers against the US Treasury Department's list of known terrorists and drug traffickers. Also, on a regular basis, Par3/IT will compare their entire entire member database against the OFAC database and provide a report of matches and near matches.

Mower County Employees CU of Austin, MN, Minnesota Catholic CU of Spring Lake Park, MN , and Ziegler Federal CU of Bloomington, MN all use Harland's CUserv product. 

Minnesota Ore Operations Employees CU of Hibbing, MN uses the Integrasys CUBICS system.
 
12/5/2006 TC American Moneral Selects Email Defense

TC American Moneral has entered into an agreement with Par3/IT and MXLogic to implement the MX Ultimate Defense service.

The MX Ultimate Defense service provides real-time anti-spam/anti-virus scanning of both in-bound and out-bound emails. In addition, MX Ultimate Defense provides stand-by protection in case the Smith Trucking internal email server is unavailable.
 
10/3/2006 Smith Trucking to Implement Email Defense

Smith Trucking of Worthington, MN has entered into an agreement with Par3/IT and MXLogic to implement the MX Ultimate Defense service.

The MX Ultimate Defense service provides real-time anti-spam/anti-virus scanning of both in-bound and out-bound emails. In addition, MX Ultimate Defense provides stand-by protection in case the Smith Trucking internal email server is unavailable.

Smith Trucking began with local deliveries in 1946. Since 1978,  they have been hauling general commodities in 48 states.
 
8/1/2006 Hacker-King-Sherry Agency to Implement Email Defense

Hacker-King-Sherry Agency of East Lansing, MI has entered into an agreement with Par3/IT and MXLogic to implement the MX Ultimate Defense service.

The MX Ultimate Defense service provides real-time anti-spam/anti-virus scanning of both in-bound and out-bound emails. In addition, MX Ultimate Defense provides stand-by protection in case the Hacker-King-Sherry internal email server is unavailable.

Since 1919, the Hacker-King-Sherry Agency has provided auto, life, and homeowners insurance as well as commercial insurance products and financial services.
 
7/12/2006 Retail Employees Credit Union Selects Par3/IT for DP Consulting Project

Retail Employees Credit Union of Hopkins, MN has chosen Par3/IT to provide consulting services for the purposes of selecting a new data processing system. Under terms of the agreement, Par3/IT will issue a Request for Proposal, prepare a gap analysis of the responses, analyze costs, and negotiate terms of a final agreement.

The $165M credit union has two branch offices in addition to their administrative office. They currently use account processing software from Sharetec.
 
6/1/2006 Par3/IT and MXLogic form Strategic Alliance

Par3/IT and MXLogic of Englewood, CO have entered into a marketing agreement which allows Par3/IT to resell the Email Defense service to Par3/IT clients.

MX Logic specializes in eMail services such as Anti-Spam, Anti-Virus, and Message Archiving. Par3/IT will provide its experience as a systems integrator in order to migrate clients quickly and accurately to the Email Defense Service. Par3/IT has eliminated the manual setup steps by developing middleware that transfers email account information from Microsoft Exchange directly into the Email Defense database.

MX Logic is a leading provider of managed email and Web security services that deliver enterprise-grade performance without enterprise-level complexity and cost. The easy-to-use, award-winning services reduce risk and liability, lower overall IT costs, and increase productivity. 
 
5/28/2006 Rheem Arkansas CU Selects Par3/IT for OFAC Compliance

Rheem Arkansas CU has selected Par3/IT to provide OFAC compliance tools including access to the Par3/IT OFAC Lookup website. On a regular basis, Par3/IT will also run a compare of the credit union's member database to the US Treasury department's list of Specially Designated Nationals and provide a report of potential matches.

The Rheem Arkansas Credit Union serves over 1,200 members and is located in Fort Smith, AR and currently uses Harland CUserv data processing software.
 
4/19/2006 ASSOCIATED Healthcare CU Chooses Par3/IT for Digital Surveillance System

ASSOCIATED Healthcare CU has chosen Par3/IT for implementation of a digital surveillance system. The credit union has four offices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. After the system is installed, the main office will be able to view live images from any of the branch offices. Par3/IT will provide a custom developed application which will allow access to real-time video thru a standard web browser. This substantially reduces the cost of implementation, since no special client software is necessary to view video.

Mike Ferderer, senior partner of Par3/IT, stated that the proposal for a digital surveillance system cost thousands less than competing bids for analog systems. This is because digital camera equipment is less expensive, and uses standard CAT5 cabling. Cameras can be powered via the CAT5 cabling eliminating special electrical cabling. Also, digital images are saved to hard drives instead of video tape, reducing the task of swapping tapes. Images can be retrieved quickly by time-of-day and retention is virtually limitless.
 
2/24/2006 Par3/IT Adds Two New Clients

In two separate deals this month, Par3/IT has finalized agreements with McDonald Community CU of McDonald, OH and Sturgis Community FCU  of Sturgis, SD to provide OFAC Compliance tools.

Each new client will have access to the Par3/IT OFAC Lookup website where they can check new accounts and wire transfers against the US Treasury Department's list of known terrorists and drug traffickers. Also, on a regular basis, Par3/IT will compare their entire entire member database against the OFAC database and provide a report of matches and near matches.