People First Federal Credit Union is inching toward a hybrid cloud strategy and does not expect to be 100% cloud-native.

The $930 million credit union has moved close to 85% of its operations to the Microsoft Azure cloud, improving efficiency and providing better products to customers, Howard Meller, president and chief executive, told Bank Automation News. 

“I don’t know if we could ever get to 100% because there’re always one or two pieces of the puzzle” that will be on-premises, Meller said. Some vendors have solutions that are on-premises, which usually stops the credit union from moving all operations to the cloud. 

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Moving operations to the cloud allows People First FCU to easily add vendors to its platform easily without concern for updates to vendor programs, Meller said. 

“When [vendors] need to do an upgrade, it’s easy because I don’t have to worry about having a resource on staff to work with their team in terms of getting the technology upgraded,” Meller said. 

The Allentown, Pa.-based credit union is undertaking due diligence to make sure that its data is protected on the cloud as it makes the transition, Meller said, adding that data concerns have prompted the organization’s decision to keep some sensitive data on premises.

Better use of AI 

By moving operations to the cloud, the credit union can better use new technology like AI, Meller said. The bank is using Microsoft’s AI-driven Co-Pilot for marketing and call summarization processes.

Being on the cloud also allows the credit union to cherry-pick AI-driven services rather than buying an entire suite of solutions, Meller said.

People First FCU will explore more AI services in 2025 to add customers and make operations more efficient, he said. 

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