Files are needed for countless processes in companies. But the challenge is finding the files you need. Digital management systems – DAM systems for short – help companies to put an end to file clutter and to centrally store, enrich and play out digital assets. In our market overview, we have compared 17 digital asset management software providers based on 146 criteria. This article gives you an overview of the various DAM providers.
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Digital Asset Management Software: Manage content in digital assets centrally
In many companies, a more complex file search has been an everyday occurrence up to now. Too many files, combined in one digital asset, meet rudimentary storage and management. In the worst case, digital content is lost in the file chaos. Or it can only be found through a highly resource-intensive search. Regardless of whether in marketing with content such as images, videos, brand logos, etc. or in other departments: Such a search inhibits productivity in any company. This makes it all the more important for companies to store digital assets centrally, enrich them with metadata for better search and play them out.
A DAM or digital asset management system takes care of precisely this management of data and media, which are combined into digital assets. Digital asset management software takes care of this and other tasks. In addition to centralized storage, DAM software enriches the digital content in assets with metadata, converts content such as images and videos, tags digital assets, and much more.
Categories of the market overview:
- General information
- User interface languages
- Industry expertise of the DAM solution
- General functions of the DAM solution
- Scope of assets that can be managed
- Additional functions of the DAM solution
- Interfaces of the DAM solution to store systems
- Interfaces of the DAM solution to ERP systems
- Interfaces of the DAM solution to CMS systems
- Further interfaces of the DAM solution
- Legal criteria
- Additional services of the DAM provider
- Price approach of the DAM software
We compared these digital asset management software providers:
4ALLPORTAL
The DAM software 4ALLPORTAL comes from the eponymous 4ALLPORTAL GmbH, based in Gütersloh. According to the company, it employs 40 people. 100 customers use the DAM solution 4ALLPORTAL, which has been on the market since 2001. Last year, the company generated sales of four million euros.
USP (according to its own statement): “Sustainable & future-proof data model for value preservation and highest compatibility of your data, optimal scalability & expandability through modular design, DAM and PIM in one system, flexible hosting: on-premise or cloud (servers in Germany), full control over access and highest protection of your data through unlimited, multi-layered role and rights management.”
AdmiralCloud
AdmiralCloud AG has been providing the AdmiralCloud DAM solution since 2010. According to its own information, the Berlin-based company has 20 employees.
USP (according to its own statement): “Agile adaptations of the product to customer needs, outstanding performance in video management, multilingual media libraries, tags in 30 languages, own video player, automatic image recognition and AI-driven tagging, headless REST API, open-source connect.”
AtroDAM
AtroDAM originates from AtroCore UG, which has been on the market since 2020. The company is headquartered in Regensburg, Germany.
USP (according to their own statement): “A configurable data model and the possibility to implement arbitrary workflows.”
Bynder
Digital asset management Bynder has been marketed since 2013 by Bynder b.v., based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company employs 400 people:inside. According to the company, 2,100 customers manage their digital assets with its in-house DAM solution.
USP (according to their own statement): “Bynder is a recognized leader in DAM user experience and excels in continuous innovation as well as operational excellence.”
DAMbrain
Marienmünster-based fabbrain Software GmbH has been offering the digital asset management software DAMbrain since 2020.
USP (according to their own statement): “(1) Automated generation of videos from data/files and (2) fast extensibility using low-code.”
eyebase
eyebase is the digital asset management software of CMB Informationssysteme GmbH from Anger, Germany. With 10 employees, the company has been selling the DAM solution since 1995, which 150 customers use, according to the company. Last year, CMB Informationssysteme generated revenues of one million euros.
USP (according to its own statement): “Easy to use on the surface, immeasurable configuration options and modules”
footage.one
The DAM system footage.one comes from the eponymous footage.one UG from Bochum. The young company with two employees and 10 customers (company information) has been on the market since 2020 and made 10,000 euros in sales last year.
USP (according to its own statement): “Modern technology, artificial intelligence, modular structure, special functions for film”
Frontify
The Frontify DAM solution from St. Gallen, Switzerland-based Frontify AG is used by 4,000 customers, according to the company. The digital asset management software, which has been available on the market since 2013, is supported and further developed by 200 employees.
USP (according to their own statement): “1. All-In-One: Frontify is a holitic hub that brings all teams closer to the brand on one platform, 2. Made for Anyone: With our “plug-and-play” approach, our setup is done within minutes. Our platform is for everyone – regardless of technical skills, 3. Soft Skills Software: our development is driven by customer feedback and needs.”
InterRed
InterRed GmbH, with corporate offices in Siegen (operational branch) and Haiger (Germany, headquarters), offers the digital asset management software of the same name, InterRed. The company has been on the market since 1996 and says it employs 60 people. According to the company, the DAM solution is used by 10,000 customers.
USP (according to the company): “ContentHub solution – one DAM for all channels: Online, social, print, app.”
Keepeek
Keepeek is the DAM solution from the Paris-based French company of the same name. The digital asset management software has been on the market since 2009. According to the company, 320 customers currently use the DAM solution. According to the company, Keepseek employs 65 people and generated sales of four million euros last year.
USP (according to its own statement): “simplicity, collaborative tools and integrations with other solutions”
Manja Digital | Digital Asset Management
The digital asset management Manja Digital by IT-Service Robert Frunzke is distributed since 2008 by the German company based in Schöneiche near Berlin. The company has 3 employees and, according to its own information, serves 40 customers.
USP (according to their own statement): “Flexible, performant & powerful”
medialoopster
The medialoopster software comes from the German nachtblau GmbH from Hamburg. The DAM system has been on the market since 2016. nachtblau says it has 40 employees:inside.
USP (according to its own statement): “medialoopster is a media asset management system with which video files and associated metadata in particular can be optimally managed and used. By using AI technologies, medialoopster offers powerful possibilities to automate production processes such as speech recognition, subtitles, face- logo and object recognition.”
MomaPIX
The company MomaSoft has developed the DAM solution MomaPIX and has been on the market since 2006. MomaSoft is based in Italy and, according to its own information, serves 120 customers with MomaPIX.
USP (according to their own statement): “Software customizations in order to fit with specific workflows”
Picturepark
Picturepark is the DAM software of the Swiss company of the same name. With 30 employees, Picturepark says it serves 200 customers who use its digital asset management software. The company has been on the market since 1997.
USP (according to their own statement): “Picturepark is an API-first system with a strictly-structured content approach – assets are classified, tagged and delivered using automation (configurable business rules) unlike in other systems – the risk of inconsistent data is reduced and content is immediately available to users and systems (REST).”
VAM2 Visual Asset Management
VAM2 Visual Asset Management is the DAM system of Weiss AG, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany. According to the company, 300 customers use VAM2 Visual Asset Management. Weiss AG employs 10 people and has been active on the market since 2015.
USP (according to its own statement): “Upload manage, share and deliver all file formats and display more than 400 different file formats in your browser without the need to plug in on all platforms and all devices. Flexibility due to operation in a SaaS or internet intranet self hosted setup or even standalone. Most important, visually link every asset to every asset with visual hotspots, to build digital twins.”
Wedia Digital Asset Management
Wedia Digital Asset Management is the DAM solution of the Paris-based Wedia Group. Last year, the Wedia Group reported revenues of 15.7 million euros. Since 2001, 250 customers have been using Wedia Digital Asset Management. The Wedia Group employs 120 people.
USP (according to its own statement): “Wedia is the leading digital asset management solution in the area of video and distributed marketing management as well as the specialist for a comprehensive, digital customer experience. Wedia enables global players to deliver personalized visual marketing content across all channels and at unlimited scale, and transform it into sales.”
Yapoli Digital Asset Management
Yapoli Digital Asset Management comes from São Paulo, Brazil-based provider of the same name, which has been in the market since 2018. Last year, Yapoli said it generated 121,000 euros in revenue and employs 12 people. The DAM solution is currently used by seven customers, according to the company.
USP (according to its own statement): “Besides bringing digital maturity to the company’s culture, the company gains efficiency and practicality on a daily basis by optimizing time searching for materials in the cloud, sharing, downloading, and distributing in a secure and audited way.”
German and English standard languages
Companies that operate in multiple language regions need DAM systems that provide employees with different languages for the user interface. Only in this way can employees efficiently create and manage digital assets regardless of their location. Our comparison shows that almost all digital asset management software providers offer their user interfaces in German and English. Six DAM solutions also offer a variety of other languages for global teams.
DAM solutions for the most part equally suitable for many industries
Those who work in special industries often need tools and systems that offer functions specifically for the needs of an industry. Digital assets, for example, can be quite different in the construction industry – keyword CAD files – than in other business sectors. When looking at the industry specialization of vendors, we can see that the majority of vendors provide digital asset management software that is used equally often in almost all industries. Only a few providers have a clear specialization in a few of the economic sectors surveyed.
Solid basic functions with all digital asset management software providers
Can digital assets be easily imported and exported? Can assets be classified and can keywords be assigned to digital assets? Can existing metadata be read out? Is there a user authorization system for different teams? And: Which files and assets can be managed via the DAM software? We considered these and more fundamental questions in the basic functions. Almost all vendors provide almost all features in terms of basic functions. The coverage of file types is also very well positioned. Only 5 out of 17 DAM solutions do not indicate support for specific file types.
Advanced functions vary more
Managing digital assets also means being able to optimize and convert files and content such as videos and images, depending on requirements. For example, when content is delivered to different media. Advanced features such as an image or video editing tool can therefore be extremely relevant for organizations. The same applies to workflow management. But the programming language can also play a role, for example, if users want to be able to link the DAM system with other systems or make adjustments themselves. We have considered all these possibilities and more in the advanced functions for digital asset management. Our comparison shows that the advanced functions vary greatly from vendor to vendor. While 12 of the providers have integrated more than half of the functions we asked about into their solution, other providers offer significantly fewer.
Extensive interface coverage provided by most DAM providers
Just as essential as the basic functions are interfaces to other common systems for users. Only in this way can DAM systems fulfill their task of fully managing digital content. In our DAM comparison, we have taken into account common store systems, ERP systems, CMS software and some other relevant tools such as image databases. The majority of DAM providers provide interfaces for almost all of the tools and systems queried, so that teams in marketing and sales can easily manage content from common systems via the DAM software. Only four providers only provide information on a few interfaces.
Legal criteria among the providers
There is traditionally more skepticism about legal stories such as server location and data processing. Mostly, a server location in Germany is desired. In addition, compliance with the DSGVO is mandatory. In addition, there are questions about the order data agreement, documentation and protection against cybercrime. Users naturally want to be sure that their (often critical) files are managed securely and in compliance with the law. The majority of the providers compared have their servers located in Germany. Most of them also have a standard contract for the order data agreement. Sometimes even five providers have certifications.
Additional services are offered extensively by almost all providers
Companies also tend to be more sensitive when it comes to additional services. This is understandable, especially when it comes to support and familiarization with new systems. After all, employees should be able to use the tool or system properly. And in the event of a problem, someone should be available quickly so that business processes are not severely disrupted. The majority of the DAM providers in our comparison therefore provide companies with extensive additional services. From classroom or online training for users to 24-hour support and more. Particularly noteworthy: The response time is less than four hours for almost all providers.
Price approach: From a few hundred euros to the five-digit range.
Last but not least, there is always the question of costs. Here, the providers vary greatly. The price range extends from a few hundred euros to five figures per month. The costs depend, among other things, on the number of users, the number of assets, the modules and additional functions, and many other components. Fortunately, some providers offer free test versions. On average, the integration of DAM systems takes between three and twelve weeks before marketing and sales can take over the management of digital content.
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