Smaller community banks, faced with the daunting challenge of keeping pace with technological advances, are the real beneficiaries of cloud-based solutions. Rather than investing in — and constantly replacing or upgrading — hardware and software maintained by an IT staff, banks now have the option of investing in subscription-based solutions that reside on cloud servers and, more important, offer expanded capabilities often with reduced overall cost. This translates into less money being spent on an IT infrastructure and more money being spent for business development.