Digital Asset Management: How Companies Choose The Right System

Republishing and adapting content requires little creativity but is often associated with a lot of effort. The question is, therefore, no longer whether but which solution companies need for digital asset management to support their employees in marketing and sales.

Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems are essential tools for any marketing, creative, or sales team today. The software helps to optimize the content processes and improves the flexibility of the groups in the long term. More and more companies are therefore opting for a DAM system to better support their employees. But you are faced with a difficult decision when choosing the suitable DAM model: on-premise or a SaaS solution.

Digital Asset Management: On-Premise Model

An on-premise DAM is an internal system usually available from third-party providers for a flat rate and is operated on the company’s hardware. It offers more control and is particularly interesting for companies that use digital asset management to manage data subject to very high-security requirements. While this is rarely the case, given the type of materials a marketing, creative, or sales team typically works with, it can happen.

In addition, on-premise systems offer more options for customization on average. This is particularly beneficial to companies that want to implement particular requirements and rather unusual functions in their DAM. However, this also means that onboarding and training in using the system must be organized and carried out internally. At the same time, there is only limited support from the provider, who is often limited to the essential functions of the software itself.

The initial costs of an on-premise solution are relatively high compared to SaaS solutions. In addition, in the long term, the working time that IT staff spend on the administration and maintenance of the system must also be taken into account. The need for additional data storage capacity can also result in additional costs. The system’s scalability is correspondingly inflexible, whereby scaling upwards can become expensive very quickly, depending on the size and storage medium.

Digital Asset Management: SaaS-Based System

A SaaS-based DAM, or called a cloud DAM, is managed by a third-party provider. Essential things such as onboarding, training, administration, updates, and the provision of support and flexible scaling options are often already integrated. Various package options allow users to book and pay for precisely the functions they need. The system is then pre configured based on these requirements and made available as a plug-and-play solution. Procedures can also be flexibly adapted to changing conditions, with the service provider offering additional support with its expertise and advice. This flexibility also extends to the scalability of the system.

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Comply With The Guidelines Of Digital Rights Management

Collective security measures to protect data help ensure that companies always follow the strict guidelines of Digital Rights Management (DRM). A media database software provides an overview of the user rights for all existing digital media and supports the introduction of efficient access rights for every user.

The fees for SaaS-DAM are usually charged monthly, sometimes quarterly, depending on the cost model or contract. The price depends on the services included and the scope of use. This allows companies to scale up and down quickly and easily, depending on the project situation. Conversely, this means that the costs can be reduced accordingly if there are fewer active projects.

Which DAM Model Suits Which Company

For whom, which model is best suited depends heavily on the requirements and the basic technical requirements. When choosing a solution, companies must ask themselves the following questions:

• What adjustments are required? How far do they differ from the standard options?
• Which compliance guidelines do users have to observe? Can the existing solutions cover the procedures?
• Who will need access from where?
• How flexible and scalable does the system have to be?
• What resources are available?
• How well is your own IT department set up?

Companies can use these questions as guidelines in the decision-making process. Based on these guidelines, it can generally be said that on-premise DAM is ideal for companies that, for example, require non-standard adjustments concerning product integrations and are bound by strict legal compliance standards concerning digital assets. In this way, access guidelines and authorizations can be managed and controlled independently, with the company can precisely regulate external access.

However, you need to understand that having a dedicated IT department is critical when choosing an on-premise DAM. This must have the appropriately trained staff and the time required to configure and manage a DAM system. Sufficient internal resources such as computing power and storage capacity must also be available to handle this resource-intensive system. Upward scaling is always associated with costs and time since additional resources usually have to be procured first.

Last but not least, on-premise DAM systems are physical systems. At the time of purchase, they are new and competitive. However, they rarely age with dignity in competition with new technological developments. As a result, companies will at some point have to grapple with the cost of replacing them – and the inconvenience, if not downtime, that this transition period will cause in their business.

SaaS-Based DAM Systems Meet Compliance Standards

In contrast, companies that do not have the necessary IT know-how for self-administration benefit from automated updates. On the one hand, this means less work for the company’s own IT teams, and on the other hand, the solution itself has a longer runtime. This is regularly brought up to date with the latest technology employing system updates from the providers. Sound SaaS-based DAM systems meet basic compliance standards such as GDPR and DPA and are certified for essential security standards. In this way, you guarantee continuous data protection in the DAM system and compliance with security requirements.

Especially in today’s world of remote work and home office, SaaS-DAM is particularly suitable for companies that have to guarantee continuous access to assets for their employees. Since it is a cloud-based solution, anyone inside or outside the company can access the holdings with permission, even external stakeholders. At the same time, thanks to its cloud properties, SaaS-DAM offers the ideal prerequisites for those who act in a highly flexible manner and want and need to scale efficiently.

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