In an age where consumers’ attention spans grow shorter and shorter, you need a Digital Asset Management system that can keep up with that pace. Being able to swap out images on your landing page or other projects should be as simple as it sounds. Without a reliable Digital Asset Management system (or DAM system) at the helm, you’ll find this one task more of a hassle.
The right image for any given project might be buried under millions of mislabeled files. Your marketing and design teams will take much longer to complete a simple edit than necessary. A reliable DAM system will effortlessly streamline this process and improve workflow overall.
Then comes the question of what type of DAM system your company should use. Using a pre-existing system does provide its pros and cons. So too does create your own DAM system from scratch.
What are the benefits of using a pre-existing DAM system versus a custom system your company attempts to create on its own? How does implementing such a system impact your company in the long run?
Let’s take a closer look into the pros and cons of each option below!
Pros of Implementing a DAM System
Using an existing DAM system can consolidate all your existing images into one accessible space. Your graphic design team will no longer struggle to grab the right asset. With one search of a keyword, they can pull up hundreds of applicable images to use for any of your company’s projects.
Here’s a quick rundown on how a DAM system can help your company:
- Improve Work Flow
Using a DAM system is as easy as inputting a keyword and garnering a veritable wealth of digital assets in any file format you want. You can finish up design or marketing campaigns in a snap. Your company will work smarter, not harder!
This not only improves employees’ experience but your clients’ experience, too! Being able to share organized collections of data assets with others quickly streamlines your workflow like never before.
- Consolidate Digital Assets
Unifying all your company’s digital assets together gives you easier access to every bit of data you own. With thousands of assets neatly tagged, organized, and filed away, you’ll be able to find anything you need with ease.
- Manage Copyright
Not all images are fair use. Accidentally selecting a copyrighted image to use for an ad campaign can prove legally disastrous. A DAM system can notify you whenever a license to an asset expires to help your company avoid such a costly mistake.
Cons of Implementing a DAM System
Of course, no one solution is perfect.
- Time
Implementing any new system to your business’s infrastructure will take some getting used to. Parsing out which systems work best for your business might take quite a bit of time as well.
- Limited Features In Low-Cost Packages
You will also have to pay attention to the cost of these systems. Small systems might be more affordable, but they also offer limited image space and features. Mid-range systems offer a middling range of storage and pricing. However, you will also have to take a more thorough look at all the options each system can offer you.
- Up-Front Costs
High-end systems offer the ultimate package with unlimited storage space and plenty of features for you to use. Unfortunately, their price range might be far too much for smaller businesses to handle. Choosing the right system for you can be a slippery slope. This might be the point where your company decides to create its own DAM system instead.
Pros of Creating Your Own Storage System
The main draw of creating your own file storage and management system is customization. You can tweak or change this system any way you like, whenever you like. It can be made to exactly your marketing and design teams’ tastes as well.
Indeed, your very own storage system will stand out from others in its field. With a company-created storage system, your company will be the only one with any access to it at all times.
Cons of Creating Your Own Storage System
Creating your own storage system is extremely time-consuming and expensive. Hours that could be spent running your business will instead be delegated to creating a single organizational system. Not to mention the production costs will range in the six-figure range or more.
A high-end DAM system will often cost just as much if not less to implement than one your company constructs on its own. Indeed, some businesses might find that creating their own storage system from scratch isn’t worth the time nor effort to produce. This is where a pre-existing system can fill in the gaps. Daminion, Cloudinary, systems are perfectly viable options for your company to use.
