From small businesses to full enterprises, digital transformation is on the radar for most organizations. In fact, even back in 2018, PTC shared that 89% of enterprises have adopted or are planning to adopt digital transformation. As organizations continue to embrace digital transformation, many are making the transition from on-premise solutions to the cloud, enabling employees to get work done from anywhere at any time.

These transitions have only been expedited, as leading organizations were pushed towards cloud-based solutions to address their work-from-home environment. In fact, it’s been reported that 40% of businesses accelerated their move to cloud-based systems during their huge shift to working from home. Although some will be returning to the office, it’s being estimated that by the end of 2021, 2 in 5 employees will still be working remotely. With this in mind, regardless of whether you work from home, in the office, or a hybrid of both, a cloud-based technology stack is critical to your business continuity. The foundation of this: digital asset management.

What is a Cloud-Based DAM?

Digital asset management (DAM) solutions help organizations securely manage, collaborate on, and distribute their high-value digital assets from within one centralized library. It helps teams improve productivity, increase asset ROI and drive revenue growth.

Unlike on-premise DAMs, which are stored on physical servers, cloud-based DAM solutions are hosted in the cloud by a service provider. It typically includes a set-up fee and a monthly or yearly subscription fee that corresponds to your storage and user requirements. The provider is responsible for storage, updates, and back-ups, meaning there are no internal hardware or software requirements for the buyer.

See a full comparison of on-premise and cloud-based DAMs.

What are the Benefits of a Cloud-Based DAM?

As more and more organizations find themselves overrun with assets to manage in a safe and secure way, a digital asset management system (DAM) has never been more important. With a cloud-based DAM, teams are able to:

1. Centralized all digital assets,
2. Find assets faster,
3. Enable content distribution,
4. Simplify repurposing content
5. Improve brand consistency, and
6. Preserve brand history.

Let’s dive into each benefit in more detail.

1. Centralize All Digital Assets

A DAM allows you to store and manage all your digital assets from within one single library, eliminating the need for multiple storage platforms or locations. Centralizing your digital assets helps to establish the organization and improve clarity throughout the entire company. Plus, custom user permissions ensure that everyone in the organization has access to the content relevant to their particular role or project, eliminating confusion and ensuring the proper assets are always used.

2. Find Assets Faster

The advanced search capabilities of a DAM eliminate the need to spend time sifting through hundreds or thousands of digital assets, allowing all users to find things quickly and easily. Using a combination of categories, keywords, attributes, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced search filters, a DAM enables you to find assets based on a wide range of identifiers. This reduces the time spent on manual and administrative tasks giving team members their time back to focus on high-value projects instead.

3. Enable Content Distribution

When assets are ready for distribution, a DAM streamlines this process ensuring the right team members get the right assets. With a DAM, you can easily share large, complex media files with various partners, stakeholders, agencies, vendors, or clients, using share options like web galleries and Branded Portals. Asset distribution can also be automated through integrations, allowing users to access the DAM from within other platforms that they already use and enjoy. Permission settings ensure that they can only access content approved for that specific channel.

4. Simplify Repurposing Content

A DAM provides easy access to all previously created media assets, including source files, work-in-progress (WIP), and final assets. This means that content can easily be re-used and repurposed into a variety of other formats, such as videos, advertisements, and more. Plus, categories and keywords ensure that assets are always discoverable down the road — even for team members who didn’t know they existed.

5. Improve Brand Consistency

When everyone across the organization has access to approved, up-to-date assets, it ensures that team members are empowered to represent your brand with confidence. Whether it’s for social media, print marketing, or events, every brand asset is always relevant and consistent. Strong brand consistency helps to better achieve brand recognition and loyalty.

6. Preserve Brand History

A DAM can store a company’s entire asset history, dating back hundreds of years. Decades of campaigns, logos, and more can be stored in one place, ready to be referenced or reused. Since the DAM stores source, work-in-progress (WIP), and final files, they can be easily looked back upon and referenced for future campaigns. This ensures the use of all your assets (which can be expensive to produce) are maximized and no asset is lost or misplaced.

Get Ahead with a Cloud-Based DAM

It’s clear that cloud-based DAM solutions offer several benefits to help organizations maximize their success as a company. If you’re ready to get started, you can learn more about why MediaValet is the preferred cloud-based DAM vendor for leading organizations in our latest report. Download your copy today.