Local Bank Improves Customer Service and Competitive Advantage With Upgrade

American National Bank of Fremont has grown from U.S.$30 million in assets in 2000 to $150 million in 2007. To continue its growth, the bank chose to focus on personalized customer service to differentiate itself from the region's larger banks, many of which are becoming more impersonal as mergers consolidate the industry. That focus required a computer system that fulfilled two important functions. It had to be fast enough that employees could find information and answer questions quickly, and it had to be secure and reliable enough that the bank's one-man IT department could support it easily. To meet those goals, American National Bank decided to upgrade to the Windows Vista operating system.