BUSINESS CONNECTIONS

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1 VOLUME 5 ISSUE 3 BUSINESS CONNECTIONS Growing banks get customized Frontier Communications solutions Technology Trends in Banking 3 Spotlight on Franklin Security Bank 4 Our Solutions for Banking Challenges: Frontier Ethernet and Frontier AnyWare 6 Spotlight on City National Bank 5 frontier.com/businessedge

2 About Frontier Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) offers broadband, voice, satellite video, wireless Internet data access, data security solutions, bundled offerings, specialized bundles for residential customers, small businesses, home offices and advanced business communications. Frontier s approximately 17,000 employees are based entirely in the United States. More information is available at frontier.com/businessedge. Today s banks are undergoing major changes in how and where their customers interact with them. While in-person visits to branches are still the norm for some bank customers, particularly in smaller com-munities, the trend is definitely towards more online banking via laptops, tablets and smartphones. Customers now expect their banking services to be always on and always accessible, which means banks must have reliable communications solutions in place to support these 24/7 applications. The banking industry is our focus in this issue of Business Connections. It begins with a look at three of the top trends social media, cloud services and mobile banking. Next there are Business Spotlights on two Frontier customers; we feature Franklin Security Bank in Pennsylvania and City National Bank in Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. While Franklin Security Bank has just two branches and City National Bank has 82, they both receive the customized communications so-lutions they need from Frontier along with responsive local service. We are honored to partner with these banks to help them succeed in this highly competitive and ever-changing environment. Frontier Ethernet and Frontier AnyWare are among the costefficient solutions often chosen by banks to meet their data and voice needs. We share the highlights of these services in this issue; I encourage you to contact Frontier for more details. We understand that your bank must find ways to balance the expectations of your customers, employ-ees and stockholders when choosing communications solutions. Frontier stands ready to provide professional guidance during the planning stages and local technical assistance after the sale. You can bank on that. Sincerely, Business Connections is a publication of Frontier Communications. Main Office: Stamford, CT. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, electronic, photocopying, recording, mechanical or otherwise without the prior written permission of Frontier. All rights are reserved. Editorial and Circulation Contact: Grant Waldrop Senior Manager, Commercial Marketing 805 Central Expressway South Allen, TX grant.w.waldrop@ftr.com All brand names and product names used in this publication are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright 2015 by Frontier Communications and Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc. Cory Jones VP, Commercial Marketing Frontier Communications 2Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

3 Executive Summary Technology trends in banking BANKS ARE CHANGING HOW THEY INTERACT WITH CUSTOMERS AND STORE DATA What will it take for banks to be technologically capable to serve consumers tomorrow? There are many answers to this question, but use of social media and cloud services are frequently cited as key areas. International Data Corporation (IDC) includes social media and cloud services on its list of the top five technology investment trends. Banks are also investing heavily in technology to support mobile banking. Investments in new software, equipment, and mobile applications are required to support the growth in consumer and business use of smartphones, tablets, and laptops to handle financial transactions. Participation in social media The widespread consumer adoption of social media is hard to ignore. Already, one in ten of the world s population has a Facebook account and almost 500 million people log onto YouTube each month. But while most business sectors have embraced social media, many retail banks seem to be lagging behind. This reluctance of banks to use social media is at odds with the preference of customers, many of which now view social media as an important channel for communicating with their banks. Clearly, a major opportunity exists for banks to take full advantage of social media to help them better understand their customers. Move to cloud services The banking industry faces multiple challenges in managing IT and storage. They include data security, compliance with regulations around record retention, disaster recovery and continuous application availability, and scalability and manageability. To meet these and other challenges, banks are warming up to the idea of using the cloud for some critical computing needs. For banks, the cloud can offer far greater computing power and scalability. Migrating financial operations to the cloud is both a cost saving and increasingly safe business practice. While security was once an obstacle to cloud migration for critical operations, today s cloud services are more secure than ever and the cost savings are attractive to financial institutions regardless of size or number of branch locations. Rise in mobile banking There s been exponential growth in the use of mobile devices, which means banks need an integrated approach to mobility and the capability to receive and process these transactions. Customers increasingly expect banking services to be always on and always accessible. In March 2012, survey results were released by the Consumer Research Section of the Federal Reserve Board s Division of Consumer and Community Affairs (DCCA). According to this survey, one out of five American consumers used their mobile phone to access their bank account, credit card or other financial account between January 2011 and January The survey s findings suggest that the use of mobile banking is poised to expand further over the next year, with usage possibly increasing to one out of three mobile phone users by When your bank needs help moving forward with communications-related technology, visit frontier.com/businessedge. Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February 2015 frontier.com/businessedge 203

4 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Franklin Security Bank Addresses Growing Needs FRONTIER BACKUP & RECOVERY SOLUTION ENHANCES BANK S DATA SECURITY Franklin Security Bank (with locations in Wilkes Barre and Scranton, Pa.) has made significant changes in technology since James Lordi, Systems Administrator, began working there in Says Lordi, Our first change and one of the most important ones was going from tape backup to a Frontier Backup & Recovery solution that included offsite data storage in replicated data centers in Scranton, Pa. and Rochester, N.Y. This service has allowed us to have a secure way to backup our data over the WAN and also have a Disaster Recovery (DR) site. The technical support from Frontier has been great. And their sales team always goes above and beyond to answer our questions. JAMES LORDI, SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR, FRANKLIN SECURITY BANK Frontier staff is top notch. We get instantaneous help and support from them. T-1 upgrade, A+ solution Another recent change at Franklin Security Bank was an update of their T-1 from Frontier. We had to add more bandwidth due to growth. We d added a branch and about a dozen employees, and were using more Internet-based applications. Those applications were starting to run more slowly so we knew we needed a bigger pipe. Our Frontier Account Executive, Chuck Lipinski, was awesome to work with on this project and the T-1 installation and set up went off without any issues, says Lordi. In addition to Frontier Backup & Recovery and the T-1, Franklin Security Bank also uses Frontier services including DIDs, PRIs, Archive Storage and Long Distance. This suite of communications solutions helps the community bank provide the kind of individualized attention, personalized service and responsiveness that its customers expect. Lordi notes, Today s customer trends in banking include the popularity of Internet banking. Customers love the convenience of it. We also offer Remote Deposit Capture which allows our business customers to run checks from their desks instead of going to the bank. What does Franklin Security Bank appreciate most about Frontier? Lordi replies, The technical support from Frontier has been great. And their sales team always goes above and beyond to answer our questions and meet our needs without overselling us. Frontier has really been an A+ solution for our institution. Better security, more support The switch was primarily motivated by security concerns. Lordi explains, We used to back up nightly to a hard drive, which was then put in a case and taken offsite by the IT manager. Clearly this backup procedure had to be replaced for a couple of reasons. First, it was very difficult to restore just a single file. And most importantly, it didn t offer the level of security expected by our regulators. He adds, We looked into different backup options, but many of them would require Franklin Security Bank to host the hardware. Then I talked with Frontier and they suggested their Backup & Recovery solution. It s perfect for our backup and DR needs and is a secure, cost-efficient solution. Plus the James Lordi in the Franklin Security Bank data center 4Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

5 City National Bank Values the Complete Solution FRONTIER CHOSEN FOR COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES AND STRONG LOCAL RELATIONSHIPS City National Bank is one of the strongest and most financially sound banks in the nation. Headquartered in Charleston, W.Va., it s grown to include 82 branches throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio while maintaining its identity as a full-service community bank in tune with local needs. This combination of sizable strength and local commitment is what makes City National Bank thrive; it s also what City National Bank was seeking from a communications provider. Chris Martin, IT Director, explains: For many years, City National Bank got its voice and data services from another major carrier, but we started to experience problems. That carrier s infrastructure and hardware weren t being adequately updated, and they grew worse over time. City National Bank had to deal with service delays, resulting in many complaints. We knew we needed to make a change. Reliability is key After receiving and evaluating bids from many vendors, City National Bank selected Frontier largely because of its ability to provide the complete required solution. The solution includes Frontier Frame Relay, SIP Trunks and Metro Ethernet Data Circuits. Martin notes: It s easy for companies to try and win your business with a low price, but City National Bank needed a communications provider with the strength behind it to back up its promises and provide reliable services over the long term. We get that from Frontier. They have a solid national presence and have invested in many impressive infrastructure upgrades in our service area. A true local partner The advantages of working with a company with strong local ties also factored heavily into City National Bank s decision to choose Frontier. Says Martin: For me personally, I really want to know the people I work with. And I see Frontier employees all the time around town at retail stores and at our bank locations. From the technical staff to the senior leadership at Frontier, I know them and have built great relationships with them. They re easy to reach and extremely proactive. You hear people talk about partnerships a lot these days. But in this case, it s really true. Frontier truly wants to be City National Bank s partner and is dedicated to meeting all of our communications needs. Frontier truly wants to be City National Bank s partner and is dedicated to meeting all of our communications needs. CHRIS MARTIN, IT DIRECTOR, CITY NATIONAL BANK He adds: I know some businesses like working with multiple vendors so they can play them against each other, and that may work in certain situations. But for City National Bank, our relationship with Frontier is so successful that it just makes sense to work with Frontier across the board. The biggest thing for us is to make sure we maintain stable, reliable communications to support all of our bank locations. We don t want customers to be frustrated with downed communications since it affects teller processing, loan processing and voice services. Frontier keeps us connected. 5Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

6 Fronteir solutions for banking challenges Today s banks must meet the increasing expectations of consumers to have seamless and convenient access to their account information as well as respond to corporate pressure to control costs. Frontier offers a wealth of experience and specialized communications services to help its customers successfully address these challenges. Of particular note to the banking industry are the many advantages of Frontier Ethernet and Frontier AnyWare. FRONTIER ETHERNET: BANDWIDTH FOR YOUR MOST ADVANCED APPLICATIONS The demand for bandwidth continues to rise as a result of data-intensive applications, new business models that rely on the Internet and population growth. Metro Ethernet provides more bandwidth, the ability to provision bandwidth in flexible increments and better support for services, such as converged voice (VoIP), video and data services. Nate Dirickson, Director, Product Marketing, notes: The Frontier Ethernet solution delivers superior broadband performance. Frontier Ethernet provides customers access to the Internet through an Ethernet Private Line or Ethernet Internet Access, with port speeds all the way to 10 Gbps to support customers needs for network application and support. Frontier Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) is a point-to-point and/or point-to-multipoint service used to connect two or more customer sites and/or multiple LANs. It provides the same bandwidth performance for sending and receiving data and is ideal for transparent LAN interconnection, which are important for wire-speed performance and Virtual LAN transparency. EVPL benefits include: Easy integration with existing network infrastructure Private, dedicated connection that addresses security concerns High availability and performance supported by stringent SLAs Frontier Ethernet Internet Access (EIA) provides high-speed access from the enterprise LAN to the Frontier point of presence with excellent service reliability and performance. EIA can enable your bank to: Integrate Internet access solutions with a single point of contact for service needs Increase productivity due to higher-speed Internet access Share network resources (printers, fax machines and servers) and limit use of individual dial-access accounts Reduce WAN costs through support for VPN application Choose an option for integrating firewall functions with existing access solutions With one of these Frontier infrastructures in place, several powerful applications are available. They include VoIP over Ethernet, Managed IP, and SIP Trunking; video streaming over Ethernet; IP VPN connectivity to multiple locations; and site-to-site VPN with remote-access for teleworkers and mobile workers. 6Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

7 FRONTIER ANYWARE: CLOUD-BASED PHONE SOLUTIONS FOR BANKS BUSINESS Frontier AnyWare offers: Through the power of cloud-based Frontier AnyWare, employees will enjoy the capabilities of advanced phone solutions whether they re in a single location or working in offices around the country. Frontier AnyWare offers exceptional call quality, industry-leading reliability, increased mobility, and scalable, easy-to-manage communications. Frontier AnyWare also is highly flexible and able to meet the needs of any company anytime and anywhere. Kevin Bates, Director, Commercial Products, notes: Frontier AnyWare is a very good solution for regional banks or any bank that has multiple offices. It provides a consistent Voice Platform for all of a bank s locations. More Features, More Power Frontier AnyWare includes features like Mobile Twinning, Business Continuity Routing and a Webbased user portal to customize the solution for business users. A Complete Solution Unlike many hosted PBX providers that deliver only a portion of a business s communications system, Frontier includes phones, unified communications software, PC-based phones and even Internet access. Service Beyond the Dial Tone Frontier comes on site to install service and train users so a business can be up and running quickly. Once set up, a business can call Frontier toll free anytime. Never Miss a Call Frontier AnyWare is hosted in highly secure data centers. If an office using Frontier AnyWare loses power or goes offline, Auto Attendant will manage calls. With Mobile Twinning, a business can still receive calls through mobile phones. In addition, because Frontier AnyWare is hosted and remotely managed, customers can stay focused on what s really important providing high quality banking services and growing their business. Because Frontier AnyWare customers don t own the equipment, they protect themselves from technology obsolescence, reduce floor space needed for equipment, and lower power requirements. AnyWare cus-tomers also have the flexibility to handle system moves and expansions without costly hardware upgrades. CONTACT FRONTIER FOR CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS Frontier Business Edge Experts don t just talk about products. Mainly, they listen to their customers talk about their businesses. They get to know it inside and out what makes it unique, what challenges it faces, what goals it s trying to meet. That s how Frontier makes sure its customers receive all of the communications services they need and none they don t. What s more, customers can count on Frontier s 24/7 U.S.-based technical support, which is always right around the corner. To start a conversation about the best solutions for your bank, visit frontier.com/businessedge. 7Frontier Business Edge brand guidelines February

8 FRONTIER ETHERNET IS FAST AND FLEXIBLE Frontier Ethernet provides high bandwidth in flexible bandwidth increments that better supports converged VoIP, video and data services. Your business gets access to Internet speeds up to 40 Mbps for an economical cost since you pay only for the bandwidth you use. Easy to integrate with existing network infrastructure Enables increased productivity from higher-speed, network-wide Internet access Meets your changing needs with scalable bandwidth Private, dedicated connection that addresses security requirements Can connect branch offices to your Intranet Want to know more? Start a conversation about Wi-Fi with one of our U.S.-based representatives today. Visit frontier.com/businessedge Frontier Communications Corporation.