30+ Years in Operation Finalist: Jack Henry & Associates Inc.

Monett-based Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY) is always on the move. The first six months of 2013 have extended a three-year string of successes which have included several major acquisitions, milestone revenues, billion-dollar client closings and three-year growth of nearly 23 percent.

From its humble two-man beginnings in a rented machine-shop in 1976, Jack Henry has expanded its foundational goal of supporting the data management needs of community banks.

Today, the company offers more than 300 financial software products across five distinct operating platforms. Three branded product lines – Jack Henry Banking, ProfitStars and Symitar– respectively support commercial banking operations, payment processing enterprises and credit union management. Of the 11,900 nationwide users of Jack Henry products, nearly 300 are Missouri banking institutions.

In its 2012 annual report, the company underscored a commitment to service and customer retention as key to its ongoing success, including a 99 percent customer retention rate among its Symitar line since its acquisition in 2000, as well as the seven-year-old diversified ProfitStars division that would further integrate payment functionality from 2010’s iPay Technologies acquisition.

To boot, one in five midtier banks – with assests up to $30 billion – are supported by Jack Henry technology and the firm claims more than 35 percent of U.S. credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets are now automated by its Episys platform. The company also was recognized by American Banker in 2012 as No. 18 on the annual FinTech 100, a global ranking of technology companies.

Most notably, Jack Henry announced its crossing of the $1 billion revenue threshold in fiscal 2012. Jack Henry addressed the milestone by recognizing the company’s entrepreneurial rags-to-riches story and emphasizing the individual community impact that each of its nearly 5,000 companywide staff can make.

Dubbed the 36-Hour Project, the year-long effort was conceived based on the 36 years it took the company to reach the billion-dollar benchmark. Each of Jack Henry’s 1,824 locally based employees and nationwide staff were challenged to give 36 personal hours during the course of the year to their charity of choice.

In this companywide benevolence endeavor, employees were encouraged to form teams, create contests, involve family members in support of worthwhile nonprofit organizations and causes making an impact in the communities where they live and work.

Moving forward, CEO Jack Prim says the company will continue to leverage the stability of its largely recurring revenue model while giving added focus to the emerging trend of cloud computing – a practice he likens to digital outsourcing.

Representing 90 percent of new business for banking institutions and 50 percent of all new credit union business, Prim says products and services surrounding wireless capabilities are a source of near and longterm opportunity for the company as it chases the next milestone. [[In-content Ad]]