Shankill, Ballybrack & District Credit Union Ltd. (SBCU)

"The Intralinks VIA iPad application’s ease of use has made it much simpler for our directors to access important documents quickly, securely, and efficiently. Many directors don't use high technology in their everyday lives. But now, by reviewing documents from wherever they may be, they can come to meetings already informed, which empowers them make a more effective use of our meeting time."

– Michael Byrne, CEO, Shankill, Ballybrack, & District Credit Union

Since 1965, Shankill, Ballybrack & District Credit Union Ltd. (SBCU) has been a core contributor to its community, offering its members a wide range of financial services. Unlike other kinds of financial institutions, SBCU focuses exclusively on its members, who are also its owners. SBCU’s board of directors and supervisory committee members are all volunteers, elected by the membership.  

The Situation

For SBCU’s daily operations, the CEO Michael Byrne shared sensitive customer data with the directors and the committees using traditional paper information packs. Creating and sharing these packs was a labor-intensive and time consuming process. In part this was because SBCU had to adhere to strict data protection regulations. Looking to improve collaboration, Michael Byrne began searching for an electronic-based data sharing platform that would securely accelerate communications.

“Often, businesses will select a collaboration solution that has security gaps just because it’s easier to deploy and more convenient to use,” says Michael Byrne. “But this can also lead to disastrous breaches that expose client data.” So, while Michael Byrne wanted ironclad protection, the platform needed intuitive controls and a streamlined interface that would support rapid end-user adoption.

The Solution

After a thorough search, SBCU selected Intralinks VIA. With one solution, SBCU had all the components it needed to support its collaboration needs. The application is also highly secure, and simple to administer.

The directors were able to adopt Intralinks VIA immediately, and the technology now supports SBCU’s core best practices. SBCU also uses Intralinks VIA as a data repository to house important documents and content, including process and training manuals and educational videos.

The Benefits

Deploying Intralinks VIA has delivered time savings all around. As Michael Byrne says: “Intralinks VIA saved me 50 percent of the time it took to gather, circulate, and manage data for the board.” Managers and directors also access and review electronic reports more quickly than was possible with the previous paper format. Instead, Michael Byrne and the other end users now devote more time to crucial daily business operations.

Creating Intralinks VIA workstreams can be done on the fly, so the directors can easily communicate with each other and the CEO. The users also leave a complete audit trail, which supports transparency. Whenever someone updates content or adds a document to a workstream, Intralinks VIA sends out an alert in minutes to all relevant end users. This enables the management to leverage a single source of truth.

Additionally, when working remotely, Michael Byrne uses the Intralinks VIA drive folder to access the files, and change and sync them. There is also a Microsoft Outlook plug-in that allows Michael Byrne to create a secure workstream directly from an email attachment. 

While the primary users are all SBCU members, third parties, including auditors and contract consultants, also leverage Intralinks VIA to access data. SBCU staff are able restrict access to the workstreams for external data-sharing and collaboration.

“With Intralinks VIA, I have control of all my content, with a complete audit trail for each document,” Michael Byrne explains. “This helps me manage risk across the entire organization.  Additionally, I do it without any drain on IT resources. I recommend Intralinks VIA, without hesitation.”