Cloud digital asset management (DAM) is a solution that allows companies to store, organize, and manage their assets in a cloud-hosted environment. Because it is hosted on virtual servers, it is becoming an increasingly popular form of DAM for brands as they grow and need a scalable assets system. This type of digital assets manager is typically hosted in a secure cloud infrastructure and is delivered in the form of software-as-a-service (SaaS). SaaS is typically offered with a monthly payment plan and is an alternative option to on-premise digital management, which is hosted on-site in an internal infrastructure. While the best deployment method is different for each enterprise and their needs, there are many benefits of a cloud DAM.
Faster Deployment. DAM systems that are hosted in the cloud are usually quicker to deploy since they don't need to be installed on-site or integrated with current information technology (IT) infrastructure. This can be beneficial to companies who need to get their DAM up and running as soon as possible.
IT Time Savings. Cloud DAM is a good solution for organizations that have a smaller IT team, or an IT team that doesn’t have the capacity to manage additional projects. A knowledgeable platform operations team from MediaBeacon manages the hardware and network connections, leaving your IT team the time to address other important company needs.
No Licenses To Manage. Since you are not hosting the software internally, you do not need to manage licensing for the software when using a SaaS offering. Instead, the pricing is subscription-based so the payment model is structured with recurring monthly payments.
Support Accessibility. The support team for your DAM will be able to pinpoint any bugs and identify fixes more easily with cloud DAM since it is easier to reproduce issues in order to find and implement the fix. This can be a more difficult process for on-premise solutions since the support team will not have access to your internal systems.
Increased Agility. Because you have your assets stored and managed in one place, you have more agility to act with quick responsiveness to consumer demand. Your marketing and creative teams can quickly collaborate to meet customer needs as they arise.
Faster Upgrades. It is easier to upgrade to new versions of the software when using cloud DAM because the upgrades can be accessed through an internet connection, rather than needing to be installed on an internal hard drive.
Easier For Users. Since it is web-based, a DAM that is in the cloud is easier to access remotely from multiple devices. Users can access the DAM using an internet connection rather than always having to be connected to a LAN or VPN, making it easier for your team to work on projects with assets while on-the-go and from multiple locations and devices.
Easier For Users. Since it is web-based, a DAM that is in the cloud is easier to access remotely from multiple devices. Users can access the DAM using an internet connection rather than always having to be connected to a LAN or VPN, making it easier for your team to work on projects with assets while on-the-go and from multiple locations and devices.
Faster Speed To Market. With all of your assets in a single cloud solution, you have greater access to allow your marketing team to bring designs to market faster. Rather than pulling assets and information from different systems, your team can access all the correct files in one place, saving time and pushing projects along faster. Through MediaBeacon analytics, your team can identify and correct any perceived bottlenecks in the process
Quality Security Standards. There are standards for security when it comes to cloud DAM. MediaBeacon holds ISO 27001 Certification for a highly secure software environment, data management, storage, and backups
A cloud DAM is beneficial to any company that uses assets for packaging, marketing, advertising, or any other business-related operation. An asset storage system is used by companies in most industries, including media and entertainment, hospitality, retail and apparel, consumer packaged goods (CPG), government, financial, health, and universities.
There are a variety of users who are likely to regularly access the cloud DAM for marketing, creative, and other asset-related projects.
Administrator. This type of role will typically be responsible for the upkeep of the DAM, and will ensure the appropriate metadata fields, user access permissions, and proper ingestion of assets is adhered to. Having a dedicated administrator for the DAM is essential to ensuring the best implementation and profitability of the DAM.
Creative Designer. With MediaBeacon, creatives can open assets that automatically sync to their desktop and open in Adobe programs for a seamless transition into design work. As the design is worked on, it automatically gets saved to MediaBeacon.
Marketing Coordinator. Marketing coordinators can approve and share assets from the DAM to printers and publishers for distribution. They can also analyze the success of assets to determine what type of photoshoots to conduct in the future based on performance.
Project Manager. If the DAM is equipped with project management capabilities, a project manager can assign, reject or approve, distribute, and report on assets in the DAM. With analytics, the project manager can see which assets have performed the best and see the status of projects to identify any bottlenecks that need correction.
Brand Manager. Brand managers can use the cloud DAM to make sure strong, consistent imaging is used throughout campaigns in order to achieve and maintain brand consistency and strength.
Photographer. Photographers can upload their images into the DAM for approval from creative directors and then make edits to the selects. The seamless process of MediaBeacon allows photographers to use the drag-and-drop functionality to submit all of their images with the metadata automatically captured, into a folder in the DAM, right from their desktop.
Cloud DAM systems can help brands achieve secure, strategic asset management to ensure they are using their assets in an efficient, profitable way. The best cloud DAM solutions include sophisticated, customizable workflow options to support project management and work-in-progress capabilities in addition to the ability to search, retrieve, and share assets. Your team can use a digital asset manager to seamlessly implement an effective marketing campaign from concept to consumer. It can and should be the foundation of your omnichannel marketing strategy.
With cloud DAM, each asset can:
Using a cloud DAM is highly beneficial for brands, but it takes the right set-up process for it to work to your advantage. It requires high-quality discovery, installation, data migration, user acceptance testing, training, technical support, and continued upgrades to fully equip the team that will be using the system.
A SaaS model DAM solution can provide your company with all the benefits of a secure system and the convenience of a cloud-based program. If you're looking for a DAM solution that is easily accessible, intuitively searchable, and able to meet your asset and marketing management needs, a cloud DAM from MediaBeacon is worth checking out. Still unsure about which is the best DAM software for you? We have a team of experts that want to learn more and help you make the right decision.
