Success Bank - $270M in Assets
How a clear framework and trusted partnership gave a community bank confidence in its technology foundation.
For Dan Thompson, CEO of Success Bank in southeast Iowa, choosing a technology partner was not about features or marketing promises. It was about trust.
Thompson has spent more than four decades in community banking. Early in his career, he worked as a computer programmer — experience that continues to shape how he evaluates technology decisions today. Rather than focusing on sales presentations or feature lists, he looks closely at how systems are designed, supported, and secured.
As cybersecurity threats increased and regulatory expectations evolved, Thompson recognized that maintaining the bank’s technology infrastructure internally was becoming more difficult for a community bank—a challenge many institutions share today.
A Three-Legged Framework for Decision-Making
Instead of starting with vendors, he started with a framework—a clear, non-negotiable set of requirements he believed any technology partner had to meet.
The first element was access: a U.S.-based help desk his team could easily connect with whenever issues arise, day or night. Just as important was control. The provider needed to own and operate its own data centers rather than leasing infrastructure from third-party cloud platforms. And finally, Thompson wanted assurance that the company used proprietary management agents, rather than widely used off-the-shelf tools that have increasingly become targets for cyberattacks.
When Success Bank evaluated potential providers against those criteria, Thompson says the list quickly narrowed, but Navanta (formerly BankOnIT) stood out.
“I had three requirements, what I call a three-legged stool. If a company couldn’t meet all three, we weren’t interested.” Dan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer
Confidence Built on Purpose-Designed Support
Today, Thompson says the partnership with Navanta gives Success Bank something every community banker values: confidence that its technology environment is secure, stable, and supported by people who understand the realities of community banking.
For Thompson, the decision ultimately came down to confidence. Community banks operate in an environment where reliability and security are non-negotiable, and he wanted a partner built specifically for that responsibility.
Knowing the bank’s systems are supported by a team focused entirely on community banking allows Success Bank to move forward without second-guessing its technology foundation.
“That three-legged stool was mandatory. When we looked at the options, there was really only one company that checked every box.” Dan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer
