One of the first steps to implementing a digital asset management solution (DAM), is to research possible vendors to find the best fit for you. As you start evaluating DAM vendors, it’s important to come prepared with your desired outcomes, and talk about more than just the individual features of the system. After all, you’re investing in a DAM to provide long-term solutions for specific challenges that your organization is facing, so you need to make sure the DAM you choose can contribute and deliver on your overall goals.

Here are five questions to ask yourself, so you can better align with vendors on long-term strategy, as well as features and capabilities, in order to choose the right solution for your team.

1. How many users & user groups will you need?

Prior to meeting with a vendor, it’s important to understand how many different departments will be using the system and how many people from each department will have access.

• Do you currently have a large employee count?
• Do you plan on growing your team in the near future?
• Do you plan on opening up the DAM for your entire organization?

A DAM can act as the foundation of your assets – not only for the internal marketing department, but for your entire organization. The DAM can break down communication silos between departments and keep the entire organization on-brand and fluid if everyone is using it, plus, you can give permissions for external partners to access the DAM whenever it’s needed.

Why does it matter?

Users and user groups are a tool that can be used to collaborate easily with other departments, agencies, vendors, contractors, graphic designers, and other stakeholders. The level of user group permissions available, as well as the user pricing structure can have a huge impact on the scalability of your DAM.

2. How much training & support will you need?

Before choosing a DAM vendor, you need to understand how much you will depend on them for support and training.

• Are you looking for all support to come from from the vendor, or do you plan to handle some of it in-house?
• If you’re taking on the support role internally, what does that look like for your organization?
• How will you encourage system adoption?
• Is your internal IT department able to take on another application?
• Will you be training users in phases? How will that impact roll-out?

These are all questions to answer well in advance of putting a DAM in place—your choice needs to be sustainable for your team.

Why does it matter?

DAM features – no matter how advanced – are only useful if people know they exist (and understand how to use them). Getting users trained in the DAM is a huge portion of implementation. For many organizations, having support and training provided by the vendor itself is a critical factor for both growth and adoption, something that should be highly valued.

Want to get a feel for a MediaValet DAM Demo? Take our free guided tour here!

3. What are your objectives and goals with the DAM?

You should always arrive to a demo prepared with notes on what’s important to you, your team, and your overall business in the context of a DAM. Additionally, you should ask questions that help to truly reveal the alignment (or lack thereof) between the vendor and your objectives:

• What are the pain points you’re experiencing today?
• What SMART goals are you trying to achieve with the DAM project?
• How does the DAM fit in with your overall business strategy?

Be prepared with specific examples and business outcomes that you’re trying to achieve, not just a list of features you like. One example of a challenge and outcome could be:

Our company is growing significantly and the number of people looking for brand assets has also grown. Within the first year, we want to reduce the number of asset requests that our creative team receives by 50%, so they can focus on their top priority work.

Why does it matter?

Not all vendors will follow the same path for solving a problem. Communicating your business’ challenges and desired outcomes, in addition to ideal features, will give you a better picture of if the DAM will truly help to mitigate the issues your team is facing. It also allows you to compare apples to apples, and not just be sold on the first DAM you demo.

4. How will you measure success?

Digital asset management projects can sometimes be put at risk (either during the initial purchase or down the road), if the right people aren’t involved early on, or if there’s a misalignment in goals. Prior to meeting with vendors, ensure stakeholders are aligned on the following:

• Who will be the decision makers on the purchase?
• What does DAM success look like to you and your organization?
• How will return-on-investment (ROI) for the DAM project be measured?
• Are there potential roadblocks that you foresee?

Bringing success criteria with you to the demo can enable the vendor to equip you with the battle cards needed to get the project pushed through and prioritized within your organization.

Why does it matter?

A DAM is an investment, and you need to be prepared to defend it. When asking for funding for a DAM, there’s a higher chance the spend will be approved if both management and executive-level roles understand how the system is aligned with your overall business objectives. Here are some specific questions to address with your c-suite.

5. What’s your future vision for the DAM?

When you have a long-term vision for your DAM, it’s important to understand both the current solution, as well as the direction it’s headed. Each DAM vendor has its own roadmap to growth, so it’s important you feel aligned and headed down the same path in terms of new features and improvements. When deciding on a vendor, you should consider:

• How innovative do you want the vendor to be?
• What system improvements are most important to your organization?
• Do you want to be involved in the decision-making process for new features?

Addressing these questions can help uncover how aligned the vendor is with your future goals. It can also determine how much the DAM vendor will value your input and prioritize client feedback.

Why does it matter?

The right DAM vendor can be a long-term partner, not just a platform. Finding a vendor that will value your input as a customer, will enable you to grow and improve together long-term.

Why are These Questions Important?

Preparing for your DAM demo with these questions will ensure a better representation of the system and how it will work for you in the long run. Setting yourself up to have the most informed and clear picture of how your company will benefit from each vendor, will empower you to make the best decision possible.

If you need some ideas for what to ask on your demo, here are 24 questions to get you started.

Think about the last time you bought a computer.

The experience was more or less straightforward, wasn’t it? You narrowed down your choices based on your needs and budget, checked out a few reviews and, ultimately, made your purchase within a week. It was easy.

But, if you’ve ever purchased marketing technology for your team, I’m sure you can relate, the process is rarely that easy. There are choices and competing priorities for which technology to invest in; there are multiple stakeholders involved, all with different business cases; and there are approval timelines that are constantly shifting.

It’s a complex process that can be hard to manage.

That’s why we’ve compiled insights from seven of our customers for anyone looking into buying a DAM system. Here’s what they have to say:

1. Do Your Research

“If I had to give advice to another business thinking of adopting a DAM solution, I would say be sure to do your research. Know exactly what you need in a DAM solution and have a good sense of the range of vendors that can meet those needs.”
Tiffany Dodson, ATOMIC Design

It’s important to take the time to clearly understand and outline your unique internal needs and start your vendor research with a clear plan. When you enter a discovery call or demo prepared with questions and key use-cases, you make the most of your time and have a more clear outlook on which vendors match up with your “must-haves” the best. Going into a DAM project armed with your needs and wants will allow you to better find a vendor that’s suitable for your long-term growth.

2. Find a DAM That’s Easy to Use

“We were able to bring our assets from a Google Drive folder (read: an unorganized mess) to an amazingly organized, well-structured system that everyone can use. Users have adapted [to] the tool quickly and love that they can find the assets they need when they need them. Our senior management team also loves it too because they can see reports of [who’s] using the tool and which assets are being download the most, in order to make more informed decisions.”
Devin Littlefield, Nomad Hill

When implementing any new technology, user adoption is a huge concern to organizations, especially when there are multiple departments and teams involved. There’s no point in even getting a new system if no one understands how to use it, so you want to find a digital asset management system that’s simple and easy-to-use. The quicker your users can understand how the system works, the quicker they’ll adopt it as part of their day-to-day life. It also helps to find a vendor that offers inexpensive (or free) training to all users – that way you can offer additional training to anyone that needs it without worrying about racking up your bills.

3. Understand Total Cost of Ownership of the System

“Some [other systems] we did like, but there would have to be equipment that was brought in to hold the assets and such, which would be ok, but then we would have to maintain the equipment. And then if there [was] an equipment issue we would likely have to wait for a representative to come fix it and hope it works. Just too much hassle for something we basically wanted to put assets on and keep them there for distribution.”
Thor Villagomez, Hard Rock Hotels

When selecting a DAM there are multiple decisions to be made, such as on-premise vs. software-as-a-service, availability of add-on services, and maintenance & support costs. When comparing vendors, make sure you understand the total combined costs of the platform and how they will evolve over time, as you grow and adjust your use cases.

4. Avoid Unnecessary Add-Ons

“After running trials with other DAMS with more “add-ons” I was running into issues with the site actually working. With MediaValet it was consistent, [with] no down time [or] errors, and as an admin, uploading more than half a TB onto their cloud has been smooth. Best DAM system out there.”
Adele Kozlowski, All Inclusive Collection

Additional integrations and features can be great, but only if they add value to your system and, of course, if they work. It’s easy to get distracted by flashy add-ons and cool features, but your first priority with a digital asset management project is to make sure that its core functions meet your needs. Start with the basics, and wait until after you narrow down your vendors to start considering integrations that work for your team.

5. Choose a Vendor That Communicates

“One of the first things you’ll notice about MediaValet is that they actually communicate internally with one another, something that seems to be lacking with other DAMS companies. So, the entire team knows what’s going on. Also, unlike other DAMS, we found that MediaValet fit our taxonomy! We didn’t have to squeeze into their box and make it fit their system, which was refreshing.”
John Noyner, Almond Board of California

It’s important to find a vendor that communicates efficiently, not only with you but also across their own departments. Vendors that have open communication across their teams have a much easier time finding solutions to unique use-cases, and are usually faster at solving any issues that a customer might have. A good sign of an open vendor is their ability to get different departments, such as development, marketing or customer success onto a sales call to address any questions or concerns you may have in their particular area of expertise.

6. Find a Vendor with a Customer-Centric Roadmap

“MediaValet has been very open to receiving feedback on the system and to adding new features – which is so refreshing! Very happy with both system functionality and customer service. I highly recommend MediaValet for anyone who wants to manage videos, photos, and other brand materials on the cloud.”
Jodi Westbury, Grouse Mountain

When you take on a longer-term project, like a DAM, you want to make sure your vendor is invested into your future, not just making the immediate sale. Do some research into how they decide on future integrations and upgrades. Are customers involved in decision making? A vendor that can regularly take customer feedback and apply it to the development road map is essential to ensuring you’re set for the long-run, not just for the next year.

7. Implementing a DAM is Worth It

“Now that we have MediaValet, we love our DAMS because we have easy and instant access to our assets. We get to sit back and be on the receiving end of this innovative product as it evolves and increasingly raises the bar for digital asset management. This is a very different position for us to be in. I don’t know why we waited so long to adopt a DAMS! It is so much better now, I can’t even believe we waited.”
Virgina Gaffney, Canadian Blood Services

Taking on a DAM project can be a long process. You need to research multiple vendors, create a shortlist, get approval from various stakeholders – the works! But it’s all worth it when the return is ten-fold, on both time and money saved. It’s easy to wait until you’re drowning in your own assets, but being pro-active and implementing a cloud DAM before it becomes a desperate need sets up your company for success in the long run.

Ready to start comparing digital asset management systems? Check out this vendor comparison guide.

Effectively managing digital assets is crucial for businesses of all sizes. A Digital Asset Management (DAM) system plays a pivotal role in organizing, storing, and distributing digital assets. But some organizations are already working with a DAM vendor and aren’t necessarily happy with their service. That’s why we’re building out the steps organizations need to take for a DAM system migration.

As businesses grow and DAM technology evolves, organizations may find that their current solution just isn’t doing what they need it to anymore. The need to migrate to a new DAM platform may arise, but it doesn’t need to be complicated.

This blog post will outline the essential steps to successfully migrate DAM platform, ensuring a seamless transition with minimal disruption to the organization’s workflows.

We break down how to:

• Assess your current system
• Define your migration goals and requirements
• Prepare your data for migration
• Select your new DAM vendor
• Plan and execute the DAM vendor migration process
• Train your users
• Evaluate your new DAM solution

If you’d rather listen to a webinar on this topic, check out A Strategic Approach to Planning your DAM Migration here!

7 Steps to a Successful DAM System Migration

If you’re here, you probably already know that your current DAM vendor isn’t working out. Maybe it’s not evolving fast enough, maybe it hasn’t scaled as your organization has, or maybe you’re just not happy with your existing service.

Whatever your reasoning, you need to evaluate how to move forward, and how to find a better solution. These 7 steps will make a DAM system migration a little bit easier!

1. Assess your Current DAM System

It’s time to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing DAM system.

Interested in learning more about DAM Vendors? Check out the G2 DAM Vendor Comparison Report here!

• Can you add all the new users and employees in your organization?
• Is there ongoing training to ensure new features are adopted?
• Is the DAM able to not only store new asset formats?
• How do your existing users feel about the platform?
• Would a migration to a new DAM vendor alleviate your problems?

2. Define Migration Goals and Requirements

If you’ve decided it’s time to migrate DAM vendors and you need to find a new, more long-term DAM solution, you need to define what the goals of a migration look like. Remember, getting stakeholders on board to switch isn’t always the easiest thing.

You should clearly outline the goals and expected outcomes of the migration process.

Identify the features and functionalities required in the new DAM system.

• Does the new DAM vendor need to be scalable?
• Will the new vendor meet security requirements?
• What integration capabilities are non-negotiables?

3. Prepare Data for Migration

Once you’ve decided on the necessaries for your new DAM vendor, you need to put some time into preparing the data that needs to be migrated. Like when you initially prepared to move your assets to a digital asset management solution, you need to conduct a comprehensive audit of existing digital assets.

Take the time to clean up and organize your digital assets library.

• Conduct a thorough asset audit and eliminate duplicates or irrelevant content.
• Ensure metadata is accurate, consistent, and standardized to facilitate easy migration.
• Review your category structure and be sure it’s clean and relevant.

4. Select a New DAM Vendor

You’ve done it before, but now the industry has grown, and your options have expanded massively. Digital asset management vendors have evolved way beyond simple asset management. Vendors like MediaValet have expanded AI capabilities and technology to truly serve customers.

Don’t take our word for it though, check out the G2 Crowd DAM Vendor Comparison Report here.

Carry out some thorough research on DAM vendors to ensure your choice aligns with your requirements.

• Check out third party review sites like G2.
• Evaluate case studies and success stories.
• Request demos and trials to test the usability and functionality of the platform.

5. Plan and Execute the Migration Process

Once you’ve chosen the right vendor, you need to thoroughly plan how to migrate your library over to the new DAM platform. You should work with your DAM vendor and internal teams to detail each step.

Create a detailed process with clear stakeholder involvement, deadlines, and responsibilities.

• Assign a dedicated team to oversee the migration process.
• Define backup and data recovery strategies to prevent data loss during migration.
• Schedule the migration during off-peak hours to minimize disruptions.

6. Train Users and Provide Support

When you undertake a DAM system migration, it’s crucial that you get stakeholders on board ASAP to ensure widespread adoption and use. Your new vendor should offer comprehensive training to users on the new DAM system to ensure fast time-to-value, and prolonged success on their platform.

• Provide stakeholders with access to documentation and resources for future reference.
• Ensure your stakeholders have access to continuous support during and after implementation.
• Involve key stakeholders to provide feedback and identify any issues or shortcomings they find on the new DAM platform.

7. Post-Migration Evaluation

Congratulations! You’ve come to the last phase of a successful DAM system migration. Your work isn’t done though, now, you need to conduct a post DAM migration evaluation to measure the success of the process, and ensure continued success going forward.

• Seek feedback from users and address any lingering concerns with your vendor.
• Request any features you feel are crucial to your success.

Migrating DAM systems can be a complex endeavor, but with proper preparation, goal-setting, and vendor selection, it becomes a manageable task. By following these 7 steps, businesses can ensure a smooth and successful DAM migration, empowering them to optimize their digital asset management, enhance productivity, and drive better results in the long run.

Purchasing a digital asset management system has never been more important. The expanding need for content across multiple channels requires a level of digital asset organization many organizations simply aren’t prepared for.

But buying a DAM, or any new software is meeting new challenges with in the current, uncertain economy.

The tech landscape has been experiencing a significant shift in how businesses purchase tech solutions.

The sales cycle, which has traditionally been predictable, has taken an unexpected turn, impacting not only tech companies but also the customers.

This change means that selecting the right DAM vendor for your organization is even more important. It’s crucial to have a clear plan in place to prove how a digital asset management system can provide value to all stakeholders.

Whether the world is experiencing an economic downturn or not, organizations are almost always aiming to reduce or maintain costs. The result is constant competition for available funds and resources.

Buyers are almost always facing tightened budgets and intense scrutiny on the security, value, and costs of software. Every solution under consideration is now subject to extra scrutiny, and further demand to prove its worth.

In this blog post, we’ll briefly explore:

• the evolving purchase cycle,
• articulating the value of a digital asset management (DAM) system, and
• the importance of selecting the right DAM vendor.

Why is the Sales Cycle Changing?

One of the most noticeable trends in the tech industry has been the prolonged sales cycle. This change has affected startups and enterprise companies alike, with startups experiencing a 24% increase and enterprises facing a whopping 36% increase in their sales cycles.

The primary driver behind this transformation is the looming financial uncertainty that seems to lurk around every corner. Tech companies are feeling the pinch and are looking to do more with less. As a result, every software solution under consideration is subject to extra scrutiny, demanding proof of its worth.

This means that on identifying a DAM platform or solution provider, those leading the project will have to come prepared with a long-term impact plan.

To ensure your projects stay on track and your team’s achievements are not delayed, you need to navigate the involvement of all stakeholders effectively.

Consider the following questions:

• Who is Going to Be Involved? Identify all key stakeholders, including C-Suite executives.
• How to Navigate Their Involvement? Develop strategies to engage and educate all stakeholders in the decision-making process.
• Proving Value to Executives: For C-Suite executives who may not have been involved in the buying process before, it’s essential to demonstrate the value of the digital asset management system, and how it aligns with long-term organizational and financial goals.

How a Digital Asset Management (DAM) System can impact your whole organization

In this era of economic uncertainty, it’s crucial to build an exceptional core tech stack. A DAM system is a crucial component that can help you manage and optimize your digital assets, such as images, videos, documents, and creative content.

In times when resources are tight, efficiently managing your digital assets becomes a critical aspect of your tech stack.

Digital asset management systems ensure that your organization can:

• Streamline Content Access: Enable quick and easy access to digital assets for all stakeholders.
• Enhance Collaboration: Facilitate collaboration on digital assets across departments and teams.
• Maintain Brand Consistency: Ensure that branding elements and assets are consistently used across various channels.
• Improve Compliance: Meet regulatory and compliance requirements for asset management.
• Boost Productivity: Save time and effort in searching for and repurposing digital assets.

Choosing the Right DAM Vendor

A robust and well-developed or best-of-breed DAM system like MediaValet can positively impact an entire organization.

Effective, central asset organization with easy yet secure access to the correct assets, whether that be images, videos, logos, documents, or other files, ensures all stakeholders within an organization can benefit transformative.

The 2024 DAM Trends Report provided some excellent insight into the tangible benefits MediaValet customers experience with their DAM.

The benefits include:

• Increase marketing efficiencies to speed up time-to-market
• Improve sales enablement to expedite sales cycles
• Optimize creative resources to save time
• Enhance customer success and support to improve customer satisfaction
• Enable secure access to external or remote teams to promote better brand consistency
• Seamlessly integrate with existing tech stacks to protect company and customer data

MediaValet offers customers a partnership to ensure that growth and success are supported. Built on Microsoft Azure, MediaValet customers benefit from unmatched accessibility, scalability, and security for their valuable digital assets.

Though it may take longer to complete, by having your ducks in a row, your DAM journey can be successful! Having a thorough understanding of your options, how to navigate the buying journey and each stakeholder, and how best to communicate value can help streamline your project and push it over the line!

Not sure where to start your market research? Read the G2 DAM Vendor Comparison Guide to see how a MediaValet DAM measures up against our competitors.

Implementing a digital asset management (DAM) system is vital for organizations that handle large volumes of digital assets.

The growing need for content creations and distribution across multiple channels means that organization and centralization of, and secure access to digital assets is crucial.

As the need for DAM grows and the market matures, the array of available DAM system options can be difficult to keep up with.

Organizations that are comparing DAM systems must make one very important distinction: do they need a full suite DAM or a best-of-breed (BoB) DAM?

In this post, we explain:

• What is a Best-of-Breed DAM?
• What is a Full-Suite DAM?
• Why is a Best-of-Breed DAM the superior choice?

Let’s delve deeper to understand the differences, the most important considerations, and help you decide which DAM might be the best fit for your organization.

If you’re already sure you want a pure-play DAM, check out the best DAM options on the market with a free copy of the G2 DAM Comparison Guide.

What is a pure-play or best-of-breed DAM?

A pure-play or best-of-breed (BoB) DAM is a system that specializes exclusively in digital asset management. It is tailor-made for this function, ensuring that every feature and function is designed with asset management in mind. MediaValet is a prime example of a pure-play DAM. Such systems are often regarded as having higher specialization, offering a comprehensive set of features that cater specifically to the needs of DAM.

Key Features of a BoB DAM:

• Specialized functionalities.
• Scalability and customization.
• Rapid adaptation to new technological trends, like DAM AI.
• Focused user experience tailored to asset management tasks.

What is a full-suite DAM platform?

A full-suite DAM platform, such as Adobe, is a comprehensive system that offers digital asset management as one of its many integrated modules. Unlike a pure-play DAM, a full-suite system provides a range of tools and functionalities beyond just asset management, often developing tools like content management, design software, analytics, and more.

Key Features of a Full Suite DAM:

• Integrated solutions for various digital tasks.
• One platform for multiple operations, from designing to asset management.
• Consistent user interface across various modules.
• Offers the convenience of a single-vendor relationship.

Why is a best-of-breed DAM a superior choice?

There are several reasons why many industry experts view a best-of-breed DAM as a superior choice. There are many reasons a pure-play DAM is a better choice for organizations looking to implement a digital asset management system.

A critical point brought up by Gartner is the risk associated with full-suite platforms. Gartner mentions:

“Although platform vendors offer numerous enterprise applications and claim that their integrated system is a superior solution, all modules in a platform system are rarely best-of-breed [and also not best-in-class].”

But it’s not just capabilities, there are other downsides that might not seem apparent upfront.

“These [full-suite] platforms often require long-term contracts, which compounds the ultimate cost to your organization to use these tools, and require you to change the way you work in order to get the value from the platform… Finally, you run the risk of putting all your eggs in one basket, creating an often-overlooked continuity risk.”

This points out that while integrated systems might seem appealing, they often present hidden costs, slower adaptation rates, and potential continuity risks that can adversely affect businesses in the long run.

Best-of-breed DAMs offer users long-term benefits and the option to pick and choose the features that work for them.

1. Depth Over Breadth:

A BoB DAM like MediaValet focuses entirely on delivering the best digital asset management system. This concentration ensures that all resources and research go into creating a cutting-edge DAM, often resulting in a product that outpaces full-suite platforms in terms of functionality and efficiency.

2. Rapid Evolution and Adaptability:

A key benefit of digital asset management systems that are best-of-breed is their ability to quickly adapt. Their specialized nature often allows them to implement new technologies, such as AI, faster than broader platforms.

3. Flexibility and Scalability:

With a best-of-breed cloud-based digital asset management system, organizations can often tailor the system more effectively to their specific needs. This ensures that as a business grows, the DAM can grow and adapt with them.

Choosing the right solution for you

Choosing between a full-suite DAM and a best-of-breed DAM boils down to the specific needs of an organization. If a business is looking for a platform offering multiple functionalities under one roof, a full-suite DAM might be suitable. However, for those seeking something more specialized, adaptable, and scalable, a best-of-breed DAM, like MediaValet, is often the superior choice. Whatever the choice, understanding the benefits and potential drawbacks of each is crucial to making an informed decision.

Interested in moving forward with a best-of-breed DAM? Download our free guide: How to Buy a DAM, and implement the right DAM for your organization in just 7 steps.

Getting new software can be hard but choosing a digital asset management system can be even more difficult. From researching and evaluating vendors to onboarding your employees, the list of tasks can leave you feeling overwhelmed and confused.

That’s why we’re here to help.

Once you’ve recognized your need for a DAM, it’s time for the challenging part – deciding which vendor to partner with. Selecting the right digital asset management software is a crucial business decision and it takes effort to find the right one. Ensuring the DAM fits your needs can be a lengthy and complex process.

We’ve broken down the 8 essential steps to help you understand your needs and choose a DAM system. These digital asset management tips are crucial for making the right decision for your business.

1. Determine your stakeholders first,
2. Understand what you want to allow (and restrict),
3. Think of your existing tools,
4. Set realistic timelines,
5. Include IT early on,
6. Leverage review sites,
7. Do discovery calls, and
8. Choose a partner, not a vendor.

Let’s dive into more detail below.

8 Steps to Choosing a Digital Asset Management System

1. Determine your stakeholders first

It’s important to know what internal and external partners will be impacted during your DAM implementation. You need to on board from the start. What functionality do they need? How can you help them be successful? Make sure you’re communicating with them over the course of your DAM journey and that they understand how the system will benefit them (especially if their budget is involved).

A key part of having digital asset management success is getting buy-in right from the start. It won’t matter how great the system is if people aren’t using it, or are using it incorrectly.

Here is a list of 3 types of users to consider in your DAM buying process.

2. Understand what you want to allow (and restrict)

Once you have a clear understanding of who’s going to be using the system, it’s time to start thinking about what each group needs access to – and just as importantly: what they don’t. One of the great benefits of a DAM is the ability to segregate. You can segregate each group or user into various permission groups to dictate what they can do and see. While it can be easier to allow everyone to have access to everything, this approach doesn’t realize the full control benefits of a DAM.

Take your marketing agency, for example. You want them to have access to categories containing your brand logos, some stock imagery, and maybe a few headshots, but it would be unnecessary and potentially harmful for them to have access to any other assets.

When choosing a digital asset management system, ensure you understand the vendor’s approach to category and user permissions. This will impact how granular you can get with access levels. MediaValet offers unlimited categories and custom user groups, allowing you to create different permission levels without restrictions.

3. Think of your existing tools

Something to consider when trying to get buy-in from stakeholders is to leverage existing systems that your stakeholders are already used to. Would your social media team benefit from a Hootsuite integration? Can your creative team improve processes with an Adobe Creative Suite connector? Research DAM systems that have integrations into your existing tools to maximize buy-in and happiness for your users.

Not sure where to get started? Here are the top 6 DAM integrations to consider.

4. Set realistic timelines

Setting a realistic timeline can be tricky – especially when you have multiple departments that all want the DAM system up and running ASAP! This kind of pressure can make it tempting to try to pick a vendor, onboard, and integrate with your tools within the next month, but it’s important to take the time to ensure you do it right.

Separating your implementation into phases can mitigate some of these pressures because stakeholders can see the project moving along and boxes being ticked, rather than just wondering when the project will be completed.

MediaValet’s DAM maturity model can help you identify where you are in your DAM maturity and where you’d like to be.

5. Include IT early on

Leaving IT in the dark until the last minute can be tempting – they can be frustrating, demanding, and slow projects down. But, the reality is that IT has more knowledge and experience in implementing technology and can quickly tell you which DAM systems don’t meet your needs. Forming these relationships early can speed up the selection process and help eliminate vendors from the selection process right off the bat. It can also be helpful to map DAM benefits to IT priorities, to help get your IT decision-makers on your side.

6. Leverage review sites

A quick way to narrow down your digital asset management search is to use the many technology review sites out there, such as G2Crowd. This is where each vendor’s existing customers are talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly of their digital asset management systems and where you’ll get unbiased insight into which will work for you.

Here are 4 of the top vendor review sites you can leverage today.

7. Do the discovery call

When searching for a DAM, we often see people wanting to skip the discovery process and jump right into a demo. Of course, we can do a demo without the discovery call, but this call is where the vendors can discover your needs and tailor the demo specifically to your use case. While it can be a pain to have 15-minute calls with each of your short-listed vendors, it ends up benefiting you in the long run.

8. Choose a partner, not a vendor

As you narrow your search down to the final few vendors who can meet your functional requirements, it’s important to look at them as a company, not just a product. Does their direction align with your future goals? How are they with support after onboarding?

When thinking about how to choose a DAM, it’s crucial to select a partner that’s going to pursue an ongoing relationship, not just someone who will onboard you and forget you. Remember that the people component is just as important.

MediaValet offers unlimited platform training and support to ensure that all customers are set up for success. For more complex projects, you can take advantage of our professional services program.

Choosing a Digital Asset Management System for the Long-Haul

If you’re still wondering how to select the right software to manage your digital assets, our eBook, How to Buy a DAM, provides an in-depth guide to choosing the right DAM vendor.

MediaValet is a leader in cloud-based digital asset management that helps organizations manage, organize and share their digital assets, improving productivity and increasing ROI.

It’s true that comparing digital asset management (DAM) vendors is a time-consuming task that can become a little overwhelming—especially if it’s your first time researching a DAM. Luckily, there are multiple third-party websites out there dedicated to providing in-depth information on different DAM systems, helping you to better compare them. These unbiased third-party websites help you to compare DAM vendors by outlining the features of different DAM providers, write DAM software reviews, and make apples-to-apples comparisons that are extremely helpful to anyone looking to invest in a DAM solution.

In this post, we share some of the best practices when comparing DAM vendors and put together our own list of the top sites you should consider before making a final decision.

Why DAM Reviews are Important

There are many reasons to use third-party system review websites while you compare DAM vendors. Here are three reasons we feel make using review sites valuable:

1. They Offer Unbiased Opinions: There are plenty of resources out there on DAM solutions, however, it should be taken into consideration that many are written by the DAM providers themselves, or by websites that are paid to review them. It’s important to look for completely unbiased third-party review websites that have no affiliation whatsoever with the DAM companies in order to get the clearest picture.
2. They Present Similar Use Cases: Websites that can outline use cases for DAM solutions are extremely helpful when comparing systems. Reading about how DAM works for other organizations that have similar pain points and user needs is a great way to better understand how a DAM can work for your team and what kinds of features or models would be the best solution.
3. They Help Identify Advantages and Disadvantages: Only third-party websites will deep dive into the advantages and disadvantages of each DAM system out there and it’s important to compare both for the solutions you’re considering. It’s likely no one DAM solution will be a perfect fit, but this is an important step in finding the one that is the best fit for your team.

Only unbiased reviews will provide the information you need to make the most informed decision. Remember to look for use cases that seem similar to your situation and weigh the pros and cons of each DAM solution in context to how your team will use it.

How to Properly Analyze Reviews

While overall scores can be important, you should also make sure you consider how vendors rank for your specific needs and use cases. There’s no need to get hung up on capabilities or features that you’ve identified your team won’t even use. Instead, take a more pragmatic approach and look at the overall user experience with DAM vendors and consider how it would impact the short and long-term success of your team using a DAM system.

To truly understand if a vendor could be the right fit, we recommend evaluating both high and low-ranking reviews. By doing so, you’ll be able to compare users’ best and worst experiences and understand a vendor’s strengths and weaknesses.

3 Review Sites to Compare DAM Vendors

When selecting a digital asset management vendor, it’s important to choose one that will best meet your organization’s needs. And, with so many potential vendors out there and the various solutions available, it can become a little overwhelming. To help you get a head start on your DAM research, we’ve put together a list of the top three sites to use when comparing digital asset management vendors.

1. Capterra
2. G2
3. GetApp

Let’s take a closer look at what each website has to offer when exploring your DAM options.

1. Capterra

Capterra provides a fully comprehensive list of software and services for multiple industries, including digital asset management. This platform is very user-friendly, offering a simple search bar in addition to a number of search filters. Easily narrow down digital asset management vendors based on top-rated, pricing tiers, popular features, number of users, and more.

For a more straightforward comparison, Capterra also groups and sorts vendors based on the highest rating and number of reviews. Users also have the option to compare up to four vendors at once with Capterra’s “Add to Compare” feature. These comparisons can also be conveniently shared via email.

Individual vendor profiles also include pricing information, helpful resources like eBooks and case studies, product videos, and links to demos and free trials.

Compare vendors on Capterra

2. G2

With more than 650,000 independent and authenticated user reviews, G2 is a very transparent resource, guaranteeing honest and unbiased reviews.

Specializing in digital asset management reviews, G2 compares DAM vendors through their G2 Grid, which rates vendors by market presence, customer satisfaction, overall performance, industry leadership, and any niche offerings. Users have the option to sort vendors by alphabetical order, customer satisfaction, popularity, and star rating. If you’re looking for a vendor that offers specific features, G2 also has you covered, as they can filter vendors based on your feature selection.

To make comparing vendors easier, G2 allows users to directly review vendors side-by-side, providing a general overview of each, their ratings, user-friendliness, and features. For those who are just beginning their DAM journey, G2 also has plenty of resources to provide a full overview of digital asset management.

Compare vendors on G2

3. GetApp

GetApp offers reviews for over 7000 apps in multiple software categories. For digital asset management, GetApp allows users to filter their search preferences by pricing, support, organization type, and more. Users also have the option to sort by average customer review, number of reviews, and geography.

To make comparing DAM systems easier, GetApp uses a simple interface that provides an overview of support options, reviews, pricing, integrations, features, and more— easily highlighting differences between vendors. If you’re still not sure about a specific vendor, GetApp also provides a list of alternative vendor options.

Compare vendors on GetApp

Find the DAM Solution That Works for You

Relying on trusted, third-party websites during the research stage of your DAM journey is a helpful way to gather unbiased reviews and opinions. When sifting through the mountains of information out there on DAM vendors it’s easy to become lost. Just remember your focus should be to find the most relevant use cases possible, read about best and worst experiences, look into the advantages and disadvantages of the DAM options, and try to learn about what can potentially go wrong. Once you’ve carefully considered all of this information, you’ll likely end up with the DAM vendor who is the best fit for your organization, plus have realistic expectations on what the DAM can do for you.

Ready for the Next Step on your DAM Journey?

Your DAM vendor should be a partner along your journey to success. Once you’ve done your due diligence and selected a DAM solution, make sure they are with you 100% of the way to ensure a successful transition, onboarding, training, and support for your ongoing needs.

To learn more about what comes after selecting your DAM vendor, read our blog on understanding DAM pricing.

Preparing to attend a digital asset management demo can help you lead the conversation and truly understand how each vendor can meet your needs. As part of your preparation, it’s important to have a list of questions that you want to be answered over the course of the demo. These questions should reflect your must-haves and what you hope to achieve with your new digital asset management (DAM) system.

In this post, we introduce 24 questions to ask that will help you find your perfect DAM vendor. We highlight questions about:

• Platforms,
• Core Features,
• Accessibility,
• Integrations,
• Security, and
• Support.

In order to ensure your questions are answered, it might be a good idea to send these to your vendor ahead of time, so they can tailor your demo to suit your specific needs.

Platform

1. What platform does the DAM reside on? (Microsoft Azure, AWS, Private Servers, etc.)

2. Can I select a data center in my area?

3. What operating systems are supported? (PC, Mac, etc.)

Core Features

4. What types of files do I need to store (videos, photos, 3D files, etc.)? Does the DAM manage and support them?

5. What types of search and filter options are available?

6. What files can I preview in full-screen?

7. What files can I edit within the system?

8. What types of metadata can I tag my assets with?

9. Am I able to control asset versions?

10. How intuitive is the system? Will all necessary users be able to use it easily?

11. What asset sharing and transforming options are available (can you change file types and sizes)?

Accessibility

12. How many users do I get with my subscription? What’s the cost per user?

13. How many permission groups are available? Are they customizable?

14. Am I able to restrict specific folders or assets?

Integrations

15. What integrations are available? Can the vendor’s integrations meet my needs?

16. Do I have access to an Open API?

17. Is there a mobile app available?

Security

18. Does the vendor meet the level of asset security and IT standards my organization requires?

19. What backup/disaster recovery systems are in place? Are my assets stored anywhere else geographically?

20. What relevant compliance and certifications does the vendor have?

Support

21. How often can I reach support? Are there any additional costs?

22. What’s the process for onboarding? How much does it cost?

23. How do I get additional training? What’s the cost per training session?

24. Do I get a dedicated customer success rep?

Time for Your DAM Demo

These questions are just a starting point toward having a successful DAM journey. To maximize the impact of your DAM system by ensuring you select a vendor that can address your unique use case and needs.

For a print version of these questions, here is the PDF to find it. If you want to learn more about what MediaValet has to offer, check out our DAM demo, here.

Picture this: it’s the start of the workday. You make a coffee. You get settled in your home office, glance at today’s to-do list, quickly check for any urgent emails. Before starting your first task, you take a few minutes to properly file away your digital assets from the day before. Every file and folder is perfectly organized, obsolete assets are put in the trash, and files your colleagues need for the day are uploaded to the shared drive, properly tagged and labeled. Everything is exactly where it should be.

Sound realistic?

Not really… because who has time to be their own file management system?

What is File Management?

While many of us think we’re handling our digital files effectively on our own—we know that when work gets busy, the day starts off in a rush, or something unexpected pops up and disrupts our workflow, those ambitions of having perfectly organized files quickly fall by the wayside. Here is where file management comes in.

File management, as defined by the American Society of Media Photographers, “describes the fundamental methods for naming, storing and handling files.” It’s the act of setting guidelines around how to label, categorize and store files to ensure the files are easily discoverable – even as your library of files grows. When done well, file management

Who Needs File Management?

Anyone who works with digital files could benefit from using some form of file management program. Even for personal-use computers, having a consistent folder and file-naming convention can do wonders in preventing being overwhelmed by years of files, images and videos. Looking at it from a business perspective, this sentiment becomes even more strong. There’s just no way a company of any size can – or should – keep track of all their team files without ensuring they’re being organized, named and tagged consistently.

Where Should My Files be Managed?

Even with the best-laid plans and methods, at the organizational level, it’s near-impossible to single-handedly stay on top of all our digital assets. That’s okay – and it’s also where a proper file management system is a huge help. With multiple users needing access to hundreds, maybe thousands of digital assets, why not let a system do the grunt work?

Depending on your use case, there are a number of file management solutions to consider. For individuals, or teams looking to manage documents, like PDFs, spreadsheets and presentations, a file management solution, like Google Drive, may be sufficient. But, for content-driven teams who produce a high volume of visual files such as images, videos, brand assets, marketing materials and other design files, a digital asset management system is usually the best solution.

File Management Best Practices

When dealing with file management systems as an entire organization or team, it’s important to have a governance plan. Through a governance plan, team leaders can set guidelines for which user groups need access to specific files, what types of files should be managed and how a file should be tagged and named.

Set User Permissions

It’s rarely ever to anyone’s advantage to provide everyone with the same level of access to all files. Not everyone on the team needs accessibility to upload, tag, download or even view everything – in fact, it often leads to a poorer experience for everyone. Take the time to understand what each group actually needs and set relevant permissions to match their use case. Some questions to ask include:

• How will we determine the level of access and permissions each user requires?
• Who will be responsible for creating, deleting, and suspending users?
• Who will be responsible for ensuring new users are trained for use?
• Do we want to provide access to external users, such as partners, vendors, agencies?

Establish What’s Considered an “Asset”

To get the most out of a file management system, it’s important to define what’s considered a “digital asset” that needs to be stored and managed, and what should be deleted or kept on a personal drive. This works to keep your file management solution clean, while also keeping storage costs low. With this in mind, there should also be a process put in place for removing redundant or outdated files. Some questions to ask include:

• What files are important for us to store? Do we need to store work-in-progress files?
• Will users be able to upload freely or will they require approval? Who will be responsible for approving?
• Who will be responsible for auditing and deleting outdated files?

Create Metadata Guidelines

Providing guidelines around metadata, such as file names and tags, will enhance asset discoverability, remove user uncertainty, and improve asset ROI. The idea here is to create a fool-proof plan to ensure users can easily and consistently find what they need. Are acronyms allowed? What format should be followed for file names? Are spaces or hyphens being used? Some questions to ask include:

• Do we have an existing file naming convention? If not, what format suits our business?
• What types of values and information need to be maintained?
• Are there any commonly-used acronyms that we should keep?
• Who will be permitted to add and edit tagged metadata?

Is it Time to Consider a DAM?

If you’re having challenges with digital file management across your organization, it’s time to research DAM. For a quick and easy way to evaluate your need for a DAM, take our DAM Need Assessment Quiz.

MediaValet is a leader in cloud-based digital asset management that helps organizations manage, organize and share their digital assets, improving productivity and increasing ROI.

Digital photo organizing today, unlike with printed film photo albums of the past, is a huge undertaking due to the sheer amount of digital photographs that any one person (thanks, smartphones!) or organization has stored at any given moment. Who has the time to manually organize that many photos? If you’re reading this post—we’re guessing not you. That’s where photo-organizing software comes into play.

While it’s possible to organize photos using desktop solutions, such as hard drives, servers, and computer folders, the best way to organize photos is using a form of cloud-based photo organizing software, such as digital asset management. When researching the one that’s right for you, you’ll find photo-organizing software solutions that offer different features, price points, and specialties, but they all serve a similar purpose: to manage photos.

In this post we will answer the following;

• What is photo organizing software?
• What’s the best photo-organizing software?
• What is the best way to organize photos?

What is photo organizing software?

Photo organizing software is designed not only to safely store photos in a centralized location but also to make them easier to find and share. Photo organizing software is widely available for a range of users, whether you’re a massive creative team, a small business looking to keep photos on file, a professional photographer storing client work, or an everyday smartphone user who regularly takes snaps of family and friends.

What are the benefits of photo-organizing software?

The list of benefits of using photo organizing software is long, what makes photo organizing software a must-have for anyone is the central location and accessibility from all locations and devices. Some other important considerations for everyday users and businesses include:

• Accessibility from all locations and devices,
• Advanced search and tagging features,
• Easy sharing capabilities, and
• Enhanced backup and security.

What’s the best photo-organizing software?

There are a number of photo-organizing software options on the market, ranging from basic storage to enterprise digital asset management solutions. Finding the software that’s “best” for you primarily depends on how you’ll use it and who needs access. To make things easier, we’ve hand-selected the best photo-organizing software for:

1. Content-focused teams,
2. Document-focused teams,
3. Professional photographers, and
4. Personal use.

Below, we take a deeper look at the various options and recommend specific platforms.

1. Content-Focused Teams: MediaValet

Large teams who produce and distribute a high volume of content need a platform that’s immensely sophisticated and feature-rich. A cloud-based digital asset management (DAM) system, like MediaValet, allows users who are working with large volumes of photos from multiple events and projects to stay organized and on-task. MediaValet offers custom permission settings, advanced search capabilities, keyword tagging, and custom metadata. With sharing capabilities like branded online galleries, zipped files, and custom renditions (i.e. turning a JPG into a PNG), With many integration options, MediaValet is a powerful, highly functional photo organizing solution for content-focused teams, especially those who have team members working remotely. On top of all that, the pricing structure includes unlimited users, user groups, and training. Explore more MediaValet features.

2. Document-Focused Teams: DropBox

For small, operational teams who need to store a limited number of core photos, such as employee headshots and a few event photos, but have a deeper need for document storage, an online file management solution, like DropBox, can be sufficient. As with other cloud-based photo organizing solutions, content is accessible from anywhere, with prominent syncing, storage, and security features. DropBox is stronger with document management, so it’s often the preferred solution for those working primarily with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, with a secondary need to manage corporate photos. It also offers integrations with other business tools like Google, Slack, Zoom, and Adobe, which gives the program more appeal to collaborative teams. The team-based pricing and features make it ideal for organizations with a wide variety of users, and the top-tier packages offer basic metadata tagging for those looking to track additional asset information. Compare MediaValet and Dropbox.

3. Professional Photographers: Adobe Bridge

Companion software, like Adobe Bridge, is ideal for professional photographers who need photo organizing software that connects well with design tools and offers more sophisticated features. Adobe Bridge, in particular, actually integrates with the entire Adobe Creative Suite, which is incredibly convenient for creative professionals, like wedding and event photographers. As a photo-organizing solution, Bridge offers multiple functionalities such as file browsing, image review, rating, and labeling. Not only that, but you can also filter images and create custom collections, rename files in batches, and directly access Photoshop’s image editing plugin. Users can also send photos directly from their cameras into the program, making it ideal for professional photographers.

4. Personal Use: Google Photos

For an everyday user managing personal photo albums, an online photo library, like Google Photos, is the perfect platform. Google Photos is a free photo organizing software up to 15GB (followed by a small monthly fee) that’s accessible on your desktop or mobile devices (both Android and iOS) – even offline. With automatic sync and backup, and tiered storage plans, Google Photos offers a photo-organizing solution for pretty much everyone. Its artificial intelligence (AI) tagging and other search functions allow users to quickly find photos by location, date, and common terms like “beach”. Google Photos also makes it incredibly easy to share albums with quick links. It’s a great solution for individuals hoping to manage thousands of photos, without exhausting the storage on their phone.

What is the best way to organize photos?

While it may sound cliché, there truly is no single right or wrong way to organize your photos – it’s all about organizing in a way that makes sense to you (or your users). With this in mind, create a category and keyword structure that mirrors the types of photos you’re organizing and how you will search for them down the line. For example, if you’re storing event photos, it likely makes sense to organize them into folders based on the year, followed by the event name. Providing additional metadata, like meaningful file names and keywords, can also provide additional context that you can search for down the line. Here are some best practices to follow when creating keywords.

How do you manage thousands of photos?

Even with a photo organizing solution in place, when you start managing thousands (or even hundreds) of photos it becomes critical to enrich those photos with supplementary metadata and provide advanced search filters, in addition to organizing them into folders. Being able to search for a photo in multiple different ways – such as photographer name, associated campaigns, star rating, and more – significantly improves your ability to find those photos later, even as you grow to tens of thousands of photos. Most organizations will use a DAM to facilitate this, as it streamlines and operationalizes this enrichment process, and offers more advanced metadata and filtering options.

Get your photos organized today

Finding a photo-organizing solution that’s right for you doesn’t need to be difficult. By taking the time to better understand your own needs, as well as the functionality of the various solutions on the market today, you can more easily pinpoint the solution that will help alleviate your photo management woes.

Does a digital asset management system sound like the right fit for you? Book your free demo of MediaValet to see the platform live!