Farm Bureau Bank

Farm Bureau Bank is a service-to-member institution which provides banking services including checking accounts, savings accounts, mortgages and credit cards. Founded in 1999, Farm Bureau Bank is focused on providing an exceptional banking experience to members in rural America and across the country. With tools for agents and direct member interactions the bank has grown to a 200-strong organization, surpassing a billion-dollar asset threshold.

Over the years, Farm Bureau Bank has maintained a small technical team. Initially, they handled traditional technical tasks including sole responsibility for backup and DR infrastructure and support.

The Challenge

For years, Farm Bureau Bank’s technical team primarily managed their main data center and a disaster recovery site, facing challenges due to limited staffing and the need to balance support tasks with project commitments. Despite having robust technology infrastructure, they struggled to address end-user needs while advancing IT projects.

Regulatory compliance also drives the bank’s strategic planning, with the OCC conducting an 18-month regulatory cycle. The threat of ransomware attacks emphasized the necessity of robust disaster recovery measures, leading to a comprehensive assessment. Acknowledging the need for change, the bank opted for third-party technical solutions, adopting an as-a-service model to relieve internal resource strain. This transition aimed to enable the team to prioritize supporting functional departments and enhancing customer-facing services. By outsourcing technical support, Farm Bureau Bank aimed to streamline operations, promote innovation, and effectively execute strategic initiatives.

The Solution

Upon stepping into the role of GVP Information Technology at Farm Bureau Bank, IT Manager Robert Rice diligently assessed the bank’s assets, with a keen focus on aligning contracts with their IT requirements. By January 2021, as they faced renewals for their DR site, aging equipment, and staffing changes, Farm Bureau Bank sought a comprehensive backup and DR solution. John engaged in discussions with Rubrik, leading to the introduction of Assured Data Protection.

Recognizing the reliability of Assured’s backup and DR management, Robert conducted a cost analysis, confirming the feasibility of this approach. Farm Bureau Bank swiftly transitioned to Rubrik as a Managed Service with Assured, streamlining operations and reducing expenses.

Assured offered a highly adaptable payment structure, which prompted Farm Bureau Bank to assess the advantages and disadvantages of Capex versus Opex. They chose an Opex model which enabled quick and easy access to scalable technology with minimal upfront investment.

The Results Robert is incredibly happy with Rubrik as a Service via Assured, and annual DR testing has proven time and time again that they are able to recover their data comfortably within their recovery objectives.

“We’re a national community bank with an online presence, so it is simply not an option for our systems to be down. With Assured Data Protection we are much more confident that in the event of a disaster or an attack, our data is safe.”

Not only that, as part of their ongoing regulatory compliance obligations, Farm Bureau Bank has been able to leverage Assured’s technology to satisfy their annual business continuity testing which was an area of focus during their examination process. The bank must also have cyber insurance as part of these obligations, and having Rubrik in place as a technology enables them to be able to comply with these requirements.

The Future

John McKendrick, VP of IT at Farm Bureau Bank, said: “We’ve been highly satisfied with the support from Assured. They promptly resolve issues and have been invaluable with all our requirements. They’ve even explored alternatives to navigate policy constraints, ensuring faster recovery in future DR scenarios. The partnership is truly authentic, and I foresee its longevity for many terms to come.”