Ok, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Still, DAM is an important topic to businesses here and abroad, and there’s a good reason for that: DAM systems free up time from doing daunting tasks and allow for an organized structure, freeing users to be more efficient and creative. As competition increases within industry, organizational efficiency is becoming more and more critical.

Can a DAM system really give you the best bang for your buck? Read on to discover why you’re actually wasting precious time and money without a DAM.

Save Time

In business, time is money. That age-old wisdom is applicable as much to the folks running a general store in the Old West as it is today. With digital assets organized in a centralized repository, searchable with metadata, locating your desired asset is as simple as typing a keyword and clicking search.  Once you easily find that digital asset, you can focus more of your time on that all-important creativity.

Avoid Hardware Costs

DAMs are fantastic systems, and they’re even better when you don’t have to worry about server space, hardware, or updates that create a hassle and drain your pocketbook. When your digital asset management software is in the cloud, you get all of that and more. A reputable cloud DAM provider will handle all of the behind the scenes details – including security – while allowing for easy scalability with almost no maintenance. In the cloud, your DAM is maintained for you, so all you have to worry about is managing your digital assets.

Repurpose, Don’t Recreate

A wise corporate blogger once said “In business, time is money.” That can apply to many different areas, but any smart businessperson knows that you don’t start from scratch when something good already exists. For DAM systems, that means having quick access to your media catalog to repurpose past brilliance rather than creating new ones, streamlining work flows and reducing deadline headaches. Don’t let your digital assets be one-hit wonders; with a DAM system, everything is available and ready to use. Money spent recreating assets is money wasted; think green and re-use, recycle, and re-purpose your digital assets.

Prevent Copyright Fees

Picture this: under a tight deadline, you’ve finally located the perfect image and stuck it into a brochure for an email marketing campaign. All is right in the world…until you discover the photo’s usage rights have expired. This opens up an avalanche of problems. First, the rightsholder may threaten to press charges or even worse, file a lawsuit.  The whole campaign needs to be recalled – if the brochures were already printed, sealed, and prepped for mailing, they can’t leave the building.  Then the whole campaign has to be redone, costing more than twice the amount it was originally, plus all of the legal fees involved. And on top of that, the legal department will hate you (or at the very least, talk about you behind your back). Violating copyright laws is not an easy fix, but a good DAM system can monitor rights to keep track of copyrights, permission usages, and more for each asset.

Improve Workflows

Digital workflow can be facilitated by digital asset management.  Centralized assets allow universal access – people throughout the world can work together to produce, approve and share creative collateral.  With a DAM, production times are reduced and teams can iterate faster and more efficiently.  It just might be time to buy a new comfy couch for the office because you’ll finally be able to relax and really let your creativity flow.

Save money and increase team efficiency. Dedicate more time to quality work, sidestep costs and fees from hardware and legal, and don’t settle for a “doable” version of an amazing vision.  Your team will finally have the time and resources to be limitless, all thanks to the simple idea of using a DAM system.

Myth 1: My information is not secure in the cloud.
Fact 1: Cloud storage is just as secure – if not more – than traditional data storage.
Information security has developed and evolved alongside cloud-computing technology. In fact, they now share a common security model. Clouds house the hardware such as servers and hard drives where user data resides with an industry standard back-up/security scheme – redundant back-up and constant monitoring in a guarded facility for safe data storage. In some ways, companies offering cloud services are actually more secure because of this focus and implement access controls and stronger physical security.

Myth 2: I won’t have full ownership of my cloud-based data.
Fact 2: Your data ownership should be explicitly stated in the contract.
It’s important to be thorough when reviewing contracts prior to signing; this simple rule applies to everything, and cloud providers are no different. Contract terms vary amongst providers, but the ownership of information or data should be explicitly stated. Reliable and proven cloud providers have a handle on this to provide a problem-free cloud experience in regards to ownership.

Myth 3: Being in the cloud could increase the risk of downtime if one server crashes.
Fact 3: Thanks to redundant design, a single server crash shouldn’t create interruption.
With a well thought out and designed architecture, when one server crashes, a redundant one assumes control with no downtime nor impact to the end user. Workflows won’t change because this redundant design creates multiple resources as a safety net – and usually multiple redundancies are used for absolute protection. Even with shared physical resources, strategic placement of redundant servers and ease of rapid deployment to handle spikes in usage actually lowers the risk of downtime and increases stability.

Myth 4: The cloud is not ready for the enterprise.
Fact 4: Enterprise-level scalability is available by major cloud providers right now.
Of course, every cloud provider is different, but technology exists to provide the flexibility, scalability, and accessibility for a varied customer base ranging from a small start-up team to enterprise-level organizations. It’s important to verify with your cloud provider that they can support your short-term and long-term needs, but reputable cloud providers are able to support this level of scalability and customization without any problem.

Myth 5: The ROI is too low and the cost to implement is too high.
Fact 5: Costs are relatively low and ROI is usually very high.
This is one of the biggest misconceptions about cloud services! The reality is that the ROI for cloud computing is very high. Consider this: cloud applications don’t require the licenses, IT support, hardware, or troubleshooting usually associated with local installations. Combine that with greater stability, higher availability, improved hardware utilization, and fewer resource requirements, and the math becomes pretty plain to see.

When choosing a cloud provider, keep in mind that it’s just like shopping for anything else – there are good providers and bad providers, new kids on the block and long-time stalwarts. If your IT staff was researching the merits of competing applications, they’d do their due diligence before selecting one for mass installation. Cloud computing should be treated the same way; a reputable and proven cloud computing provider can give you all of the benefits mentioned above, from stability to access to ROI. An unreliable cloud provider can quickly reinforce those misconceptions.

If you’d like more information on any of these misconceptions and the facts behind them, feel free to contact us at WebDAM. We’re happy to explain why cloud computing is here to stay – and will only get better.

Upon first glance, the “build” option seems to be a better way to go. After all, it’s a tailor-made solution developed and maintained by a company’s internal staff for total control. But upon closer inspection, choosing to “build” doesn’t quite seem as practical. Here’s a look at the key differences involved between “buy” and “build”:

Upfront development cost

Build: Building any type of software means an upfront investment in hardware requirements and software development – especially internally developed software designed to meet company specifications. It can be very difficult to estimate the total costs involved in development of a sophisticated software application, such as a DAM, especially when you consider the logistical side, such as facilities and personnel (project managers, engineers, testers, etc.).
Buy: Purchasing DAM software involves licensing fees or subscription costs (SaaS) and often a setup or installation fee. The costs are well-defined and known upfront.

Upfront development time

Build: Many companies quickly recognize the downside of development time. After all, it’s not just about writing the application’s code and testing it. There are meetings upon meetings for planning and design, proof-of-concept development, hardware/software coordination – all of that before the application goes into its first round of testing. Each stage could take anywhere from weeks to months, and the launch version could be several iterations away depending on the number of critical bugs discovered.
Buy: When you buy a DAM solution, the product is ready and the only requires a time investment for training.

Ongoing software maintenance

Build: A software application becomes outdated the moment it is released. That’s why updates and patches are released – not just to fix bugs, but to improve functionality and update features. For internally developed software, that means overhead cost for development, testing, and design as software becomes stale, systems evolve, or hardware demands grow. If a company doesn’t invest in this, it could lead to further problems down the line, just like a car that’s gone years without maintenance or oil changes.
Buy: When you buy DAM software, updates and maintenance are the responsibility of the provider. SaaS solutions often have the added benefit of rolling out new releases without additional licensing fees.

Software maturity

Build: Software takes time to reach a stable level, especially internally developed software. The term “mature” software applies when the application has a minimal amount of bugs, but this can take years of development and maintenance to achieve. It’s a continuously moving target that requires the effort of many engineers to overcome.
Buy: When you buy a DAM solution, it should arrive with a mature level of quality (assuming it is published by an established, reputable vendor).

Real-world issues

Build: Companies reorganize. Budgets get cut. Software engineers move or change jobs. When only a handful of people hold the keys to your internally developed DAM solution, any of these changes can represent a seismic shift in your application. How will you make the appropriate updates when budgets don’t allow for it or the lead developer leaves the company? These situations are impossible to predict and almost as difficult to adapt to.
Buy: When you buy a DAM solution, the provider’s business focuses on that product. It’s not merely an internally developed tool, it’s their source of revenue. Thus, significant resources will continue to be devoted to it regardless of personnel moves or organizational structure.

When you put it all side by side, the benefits of buying over building become clear. Of course, the built solution is totally customized, meaning that it is tailor-made for your internal workflows (assuming IT delivers upon expectations); there’s no need to shift or augment the way things are done. Bought solutions may require a company workflow to slightly adapt, and while this might provide an initial hump to overcome, staff members often prove more than capable of integrating a bought solution into their everyday tasks. Thus, when you lay out all the pros and cons, purchasing a DAM system can save time, money, and resources when compared to the effort required to build an in-house system.

Deployment Time – SaaS solutions are often times turn-key. Since the vendor is providing the setup and hosting for the service, there is usually a minimal amount of time needed to deploy your DAM solution. After all, your SaaS vendor is an expert in working within their IT environment and with their own software. In the licensed model, you will need to install the DAM system on your own servers which means you first need to identify and purchase your servers, configure them, and then finally install a complex database-driven application. You may opt to hire your vendor to install the application onsite, but this premium service is certain to include a premium price tag. The entire process can take months or even years to implement versus a few weeks for the SaaS solution.

Scalability – Scalability refers to the ability for your system to handle growing numbers of assets, users, and bandwidth usage. SaaS companies maintain complex and expensive architectures specifically designed with scalability in mind. However, when implementing an in-house system, scalability often depends on your own server and hardware investment. This means you run the risk of outgrowing your system over time.

Upgrades and Support – A huge benefit of a Software-as-a-Service, such as a hosted DAM system, is that they almost always include such perks as ongoing support and regular system and feature upgrades. Since the DAM system is hosted by the vendor, upgrades are usually seamless and transparent for you (ie- very little if any downtime). In the case of licensed software, your license may or may not include upgrades. Often times, you will have to purchase a new license for the latest version of the software only to be tasked with the difficult job of installing the update. In addition, support plans are usually expensive add-ons to licensed software.

Security – Security and data protection are top priorities for SaaS companies. In order to provide an excellent service level, they usually have round-the-clock monitoring of your data, regular security scans, and 24/7 onsite surveillance. To implement a similar environment onsite would be a costly and complicated undertaking.

Reliability – SaaS often includes a Service Level Guarantee which specifies an uptime assurance among other things. Implementing a system architecture onsite that can provide the same level of uptime is extremely expensive and a difficult task.

Overhead – There is a huge overhead with adopting and installing an in-house DAM system due to two, often times overlooked, requirements – hardware and IT. The cost of the server requirements alone often times far exceeds the price of a SaaS subscription, not to mention the enormous IT expense in order to install, maintain, upgrade, and support the system. Even in the case when your company already has an IT team to handle this work, it is often times not a high priority and can be difficult to get things done in a timely manner.

Total Cost of Ownership – After reading through the above points, it should be very apparent that SaaS is a much more affordable approach. SaaS costs are usually bundled into a comprehensive subscription price whereas the costs for in-house implementations include a number of factors such as licensing and upgrading the software, ongoing support, servers and hardware, and IT resources.

Don’t let the low costs fool you though. SaaS systems are packed with just as many features and functionalities for managing your digital asset workflows as licensed software. And since SaaS is based entirely on web technologies, it is far easier for users to navigate and use.

At WebDAM, we are seeing more and more companies and institutions of all sizes adopting SaaS solutions over in-house implementations due to its ease-of-implementation, use, and ongoing support.  But before you choose a SaaS vendor, be sure they are a true SaaS provider.  In an upcoming post, we will explore the differences between hosted software and SaaS.