Guide: Finding the Best Digital Asset Management Software
Before you take a look at digital asset management software and the various reviews we have listed below, it’s important for you to know exactly what a digital asset management system can do for you and your company.
Digital assets can be just about any valuable media or information that your company owns. Think things like…
- Photographs
- Logos
- Videos
- Music
- Confidential files
- Images
- Archives
Any kind of digitally stored media can be considered part of your digital assets. A digital asset management system helps you to systematically store all of these items and distribute them as needed among both coworkers and clients, all without worry of using up ridiculous amounts of space on a computer.
It’s also generally capable of being accessed remotely, so that with the correct password and username, you can access whatever you need from wherever you happen to be.
Generally, companies that need to use a digital asset management system most often are involved in such industries as publishing and media, meaning those that sell advertisements or need to distribute digital assets such as logos, company-specific fonts, images of various products, and other items.
Image source: Pexels
Additionally, any organization that is doing quite a lot of archiving, such as university or museum libraries, will find digital asset management useful, as it makes compiling large quantities of information, whether text or images, much easier and grants availability to students or faculty.
If you still find yourself asking, “What is a digital asset management system going to do for me?” keep reading.
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How to Pick the Best Digital Asset Management Software for Your Company
Before taking a look at some of our reviews for a few of the best digital asset management software available on the market today, you need to ask yourself a few questions to help you properly ascertain what kind of digital asset management system will work best with your individual needs.
You need to know what type of files you’ll be storing through digital asset management, as well as how many digital assets you have and how much space they will require. In addition, you want to have a general idea of how many more you’ll be adding to your collection. Then, you can pick a digital asset management system that can handle your load.
Also think about the systems your company already uses, and if you want those systems to have direct access to your digital assets.
Sometimes a digital asset management system will allow you to link the program with your software, so that you can pull photos, videos, and other digital assets as you need them, for example, pulling photos into a WordPress article for your website.
You’ll also want to speak with your IT team regarding your digital asset management. Discuss with them if they think it may be better to keep your digital asset management software cloud-based or site-based, meaning that the digital assets are either stored in a shared cloud system accessible from just about anywhere or stored at an actual physical place.
You might want to consider whether or not you would like your digital asset management software to come with mobile support.
This can be really great if you want to occasionally add items from a mobile device straight to your digital asset management system, or if you want to pull items from the system to a mobile device.
This can come in handy if you’re doing a lot of social media marketing and need to post photos from the digital asset management system or want someone working in the field to upload something directly before getting back to the office.
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Understanding Open Source Digital Asset Management Software
Before diving into some of the best digital asset management software available, we feel the need to debunk some of the myths associated with open source digital asset management software. Remember that open source digital asset management software…
- It is not always free
- Even when it is free, it has a copyright — so your developers can’t just change it however they please
- You can still usually get tech support from the company
- It is not always created by amateurs and can be very secure
Like all digital asset management options, it all depends on the type of digital asset management software you choose.
Digital Asset Management Software to Consider
Check out a few of our favorite digital asset management system solutions to consider for your next digital asset management decision.
WebDam is a highly trusted digital asset management solution that is used by some of the most well-known brands around the world, everyone from Starbucks to Crocs to Subway. This system helps you to not only store all of your digital assets, but also to maximize the way that you use them.
The clean interface means that you and your staff members can easily find whatever they need from any computer or mobile device, as well as link the software to their Dropbox account. An extra perk? You can also link it to Shutterstock!
Everything about this digital asset management system is simple, secure, and easy to use. It even comes in more than 10 languages, and companies can enjoy a free limited trial before making a final decision.
Libris is also a very popular choice and is the top pick as best digital asset management software for quite a few brands. From Delta Air Lines and Pandora to Chick-fil-A and PBS, you’ll be among a top tier group of corporations here. However, it seems that Libris primarily caters to users who want a digital asset management system to handle mostly their photo and video digital assets.
Regardless, you can categorize your many photos and videos with an easy uploading method that allows you to arrange digital assets via keywords, topics, etc. From there, you’re able to control who exactly has access to the digital assets, and you can also allow certain users to upload from everywhere.
Widen offers users cloud-based digital asset management software, allowing for not only distribution of digital assets, but also content creation and analysis, right on the system. It’s particularly created for marketing and creative teams, so the graphic designers, public relation directors, photographers, videographers, and digital marketers in your office can all work together in one, easy place.
Extra features include the ability to control which version of a certain image, logo, or other digital assets certain users have access to, track where and how assets are used, and print on-demand.
Brandfolder boasts that it’s the one digital asset management system to truly make digital asset management simple, using tools that make your workflow more efficient. They also promise that you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for every time that you conduct a search for any one of your digital assets. You’ll be joining top brands such as Under Armour and OpenTable.
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Then, instead of downloading a singular asset to your computer and then emailing it to a colleague or client, you can choose to send it straight through Brandfolder itself. It’s a great way to make digital asset management easy for even those who are less than tech savvy.
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Cumulus is an open source digital asset management software that manages to remain respected in its field, despite some of the myths about open source digital asset management software discussed above. It works with any device or mobile app and on any platform, perfect for those who prefer to use Windows or Linux. You can choose to go with an on-site digital asset management system, or you can choose to be cloud-based.
You can also link your Adobe programs with the Cumulus system so that you can work on digital assets that are located on the digital asset management software right within your favorite programs, such as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.
This is an entirely cloud-based digital asset management system. There’s no need for any of your staff or clients to download certain kinds of digital asset management software to work with you. It also works with just about any kind of web browser: Opera, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and even Internet Explorer.
In addition, all of your administrative staff will enjoy a reduced workload; ResourceSpace handles your digital asset management so that your clients and other interested parties can just go right onto the system and download what they need, without making a special request to your office. Don’t worry, though; for digital assets that you don’t want just anyone getting their hands on, you can easily create an approval process.
This digital asset management system may be trying to toot their own horn a bit. They’ll quickly let you know they’re the trusted digital asset management provider to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. MerlinOne has been around for more than a decade and offers many features, such as the ability to search for spoken words within video files.
You can choose between three versions of the digital asset management software. One is in-house, one is hosted on the MerlinOne cloud, and one is hosted on whatever cloud you and your company already use.
Intelligence Bank may be the best digital asset management software for small companies, as it’s both affordable and offers everything you need for proper digital asset management. It allows you to manage images, video, and artwork and is very well designed for any marketing needs.
You can upload files individually or all at once, and you can upload files as big as 2GB. You can then look at newer and older versions to decide which ones you want to pick, as well as make comments so that your coworkers know your thoughts! In addition, an added layer of security is available in the form of watermarks on all your files.
Go with this digital asset management system if you want a very user-friendly and simple way to control your digital asset management. Great features include the ability to edit right within the program, at least to a small degree, allowing you to crop, rotate, flip, and more. Other features include version control, ensuring no client ever accidentally downloads an old version of a file, and you can customize file groupings to fit what you want your staff members and clients to notice first.
Bynder also prides itself on ultimately helping you to brand your company further, and it assists you in developing an interface within your digital asset management system so that when clients go to download something off your system, they can get an even further great example of what it is your company does.
Image source: Pexels
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Wrap-Up: Can You Pick The Best Digital Asset Management Software?
Even if you’ve read all of the reviews of some of the best digital asset management software above, it can still be quite a lot of information to process. Each has its perks, so how do you prioritize what perks work best for your company
Before you sign any contracts or purchase any software or subscriptions, you want more than anything else to get a free trial of the digital asset management system you’re considering. Then, once you have the free trial, you want to really use it. Try out every feature, think about every option, and ask your colleagues to have a look as well, so that they can give you input on whether or not they think it’s the best digital asset management software for your company.
There are, though, a few things you can look out for during your digital asset management shopping experience.
- A simple user interface and simple tools, which will allow every member of your staff and every member of your client list to use it with ease.
- The ability to work with any type of computer operating system or web browser, so that you never inconvenience your clients by forcing them to download new software.
- Great service from the company when you need assistance or have troubleshooting issues. This is something you’ll want to test out during your free trial; if you have any problems, go straight to the program’s help desk for assistance from a real representative, so you can see how they respond.
- Your needs and wants from a proper digital asset management solution. Make sure that the software representative from the digital asset management software company you’re considering knows exactly what you need and your goals for implementing the tool.
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Don’t let complex terms and fear of the unknown keep you from making a fantastic business decision for your company.
A digital asset management system can streamline your working process, build better relationships with your clients, and lighten the workload for your team members. To get from “What is a digital asset management in the first place?” to “This could be great for my business,” all you have to do is spend the time researching the companies we’ve outlined and considering your digital asset management needs.
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