COCC and Open Solutions Expand Partnership

This expanded agreement will ensure that COCCs client institutions have the most advanced and broadest range of technology available from Open Solutions. Under terms of the agreement both companies will work more closely together to continue developing the next level of financial computing solutions. This partnership, which represents a considerable long-term economic commitment by COCC to resell Open Solutions product offerings, will allow both organizations to better address the growing demand for relational technology and service within the marketplace. The COCC/Open Solutions strategic partnership dates back to 1997 when COCC first partnered with Open Solutions to replace its legacy mainframe system with Open Solutions next generation open relational platform. COCC completed the migration of its entire outsourced client base to the Open Solutions core processing platform in 2003. COCC is the only financial data processing center in the United States to accomplish this feat. Todays agreement ensures that COCC has access to the latest products available from Open Solutions; an industry focused product line designed to integrate and leverage the power of the relational core data processing architecture including financial accounting tools, loan origination, imaging, Internet banking, cash management and particularly cView, a CRM/business intelligence suite which helps customer-contact personnel offer the most logical and profitable banking products to individual consumers. Additional Open Solutions products such as Relational Search/Teller Express further streamline teller operations and enhance the financial institutions ability to manage customer relationships. Trafton said that COCC will actively market the latest features of the Open Solutions system from this point forward. The agreement continues and enhances COCCs access to such applications as Open Solutions eCommerce Banker suite and allows these Internet banking functions to be more closely integrated with COCCs core processing platform. Internet Banking is an important growth channel for our client institutions, said Trafton. Being able to add functionality at market speed and to price it to promote channel growth is in our mutual interest. The Open Solutions technology is one of the few platforms that experienced significant client growth over the past few years. COCC increased its total number of clients by 31% last year alone, and continues to experience strong market interest in its advanced technology. Open Solutions has achieved impressive growth as well, highlighted by a 95% increase in the value of new client contracts in the third quarter, 2004 over the same quarter in 2003. Both companies see further opportunity as the availability of proven architectures that are open, flexible, and real-time are adopted by leading financial institutions. Open Solutions Chairman and CEO, Louis Hernandez, Jr., said, Rather than continue to bolt on middleware and front-end systems, more and more financial institutions are choosing to address and replace the heart of the problem, the underlying legacy core data processing platform, with newer relational technology at the core. We believe that we are at the early stages of this wholesale shift away from legacy technology and as a result, COCC and Open Solutions are positioned to take an active leadership role in this transformation within our industry.