Why Digital Asset Management is So Important in an Era of Remote Work

By Community Team

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work was emerging as a popular option for companies and employees. With advances in computers, Internet, smartphones, and more, it’s now possible for teams to coordinate over vast distances. However, while remote work is increasingly popular, many challenges remain, including sharing, accessing, editing, and downloading files.

Remote work offers opportunities, but also challenges. One major headache is keeping all of your digital assets organized and under proper control. That’s where a digital asset management (DAM) system comes in. 

Jesper Faurby Co-founder, Filecamp

That’s also why we’re going to hear from Jesper Faurby, CEO and Co-Founder of Filecamp AG, a leading DAM solution provider. Jesper worked in marketing, graphic design, and IT for nearly 30 years and realized how much of a pain it was to keep files organized and to share assets with internal and external stakeholders. Jesper launched Filecamp to make digital asset management easy for teams big and small.

Filecamp, a powerful but affordable DAM solution, is now used by Stanford University, HBO, Yamaha, and other major brands. Let’s see how a DAM can help teams in an era of remote work.

Q. So What is a DAM Anyway?

Good question. DAM stands for Digital Asset Management, and the name illustrates the purpose of a DAM. Companies can use a Digital Asset Management solution to store, organize, manage, repurpose, and share their digital assets. DAM solutions also make it easy to find and sort said assets.

The easiest way to think of a DAM system might be to first think about the file system on your computer. You can create folders, place files in them, then open the files and modify them. A DAM allows you to do this as well, but the folders and files exist on or are connected to the web. This way, you can share files and folders with others. You can also access the assets from any computer, not just your own, so long as you have the proper login credentials. You don’t need to turn on your computer, then download the file to a flash drive or attach it to an email.

Filecamp is famous for its intuitive user interface.

Q: What’s the story behind Filecamp?

Before launching the Filecamp Digital Asset Management, I worked as a graphic designer and did IT work for various marketing and advertising agencies in and around Copenhagen, Denmark. This was before Dropbox, Google Drive, and other simple file sharing solutions.

Sharing files and receiving feedback on artwork, for example, was a pain, especially if you worked with a lot of stakeholders. You might have to send a new graphic to the marketing executive at one company for approval, a poster design to a print shop, and brochures over to the compliance department. If something needed to be updated, say new images or a few text edits, it was a huge pain. Often the files were too large for email, so you had to rely on FTP servers to send files back and forth. Even now, Gmail only allows you to send files 25 MB or smaller. 

Back around 2010, I started chatting with an old friend about how complicated sharing files was. There were some expensive enterprise Digital Asset Management systems at the time, and emerging low-cost sharing solutions were starting to hit the market. Google Drive and the like made file sharing easier and kept costs low, but these simple DAM solutions were aimed for consumers, not businesses.

We decided to create an intuitive and easy-to-use digital asset management solution that catered to enterprise clients, from freelancers to large international publishers, and anyone in between. We set out to build a software solution that met the needs of businesses big and small, while also being affordable no matter your budget. Thus, Filecamp was born.

A lot of clients, including major international brands, quickly saw the value we offered and signed up. Many of our early customers are still with us today. Filecamp’s software has been regularly updated over the years, and we continue to add new features.

As we add new features and tools, we still continue to focus on making file sharing easier and more secure.

Q. How is Filecamp Different From Other DAMs?

Early on, a few software companies developed Digital Asset Management systems. These systems made it easier to store, share, modify, control, and secure digital files, such as images, vector files, videos, documents, and more. 

Many enterprise clients quickly saw the benefits of DAM systems. Yet for small businesses, freelancers, and the like, these enterprise solutions were simply too expensive and complicated.

On the other hand, some companies provided free file management solutions. However, these solutions often offered limited space and features, and the user interface could be difficult to navigate.

Filecamp hits the sweet spot in digital asset management. We offer many of the same features as enterprise DAM systems, along with tight security and an intuitive user interface. Yet unlike some enterprise solutions, we’re also affordable. And while some DAM systems offer an affordable starting price, as you add users, costs can skyrocket. Filecamp offers unlimited users with every plan at no extra cost.

Q. How Do DAMs Help Remote Workers and Teams?

Thirty years ago, just as the World Wide Web started to emerge, many people still shared digital files physically. You might download an image file onto a floppy disk or burn it onto a CD. Then you might drop the disk in the physical mail and send it to a client or another stakeholder. Sharing files was often slow and cumbersome.

As the Internet became more popular, people began sending files digitally, through email for example. As digital assets proliferated, it became increasingly difficult to keep them organized. Security became a concern as well. With people passing files around, the risks of assets falling into the wrong hands increased.

DAMs make sharing digital assets easier and more secure. You can share files with people no matter where they are. So long as they can access the Internet, you can grant them access. At the same time, you allow only those you select the ability to access files.

Q. What DAM features should teams working remotely look for?

There are a few things to look for. First, you want to ensure easy, secure access 24/7. You want a DAM system that offers high uptime and granular access control. This way, you can both access the files you need when you need them, and also ensure that access is restricted only to approved parties. The above is especially important in an era of remote work.

At Filecamp, we have chosen Google Cloud Platform as our hosting partner. So all our clients’ data is hosted at a Google-run data center in a region near to where the customer is based. Google gives us a future-proofed and scalable infrastructure, which is important.

A DAM will also reduce bottlenecks. If your graphic designer has to wait around for you to email them a logo, they’re wasting time. With a DAM, they can log on and find the file they need right away. Over the course of weeks and months, DAMs can save countless labor hours.

Another feature, one that some overlook, is whitelabelling. Some consumer-oriented solutions don’t offer a professional look and feel, and that can reflect poorly on your company. If you want to impress clients, employees, and contractors, it’s best to use a professional DAM system that puts your brand front and center.

See how Filecamp’s DAM software can help you take advantage of your brand’s full potential. 

Q. Why do companies need a DAM?

A digital asset management system supplements other tools companies and teams already use. It doesn’t replace email, Slack, Google Drive, OneDrive, or other tools. Companies often use their DAM system to store final copies of files, such as an updated logo, or the approved images for the spring campaign. Everyone can find the official, most up-to-date asset.

The right DAM is also great for sharing work with others and instituting sound version control. Email and chat programs get messy, especially when it comes to organizing files. With Filecamp, you can enable sharing while also maintaining tight version and access control. We also offer white label features, something a lot of our clients appreciate. This means you can keep your brand front and center.

Ultimately, the right digital asset management software brings order to chaos. e.g. you can add tags and keywords to files to make them “searchable”. And you can have 100% control over who can access your files. 

We generate more data now than ever before. Even a small team will struggle to maintain version control and to organize final versions. You can leave files lying around in Dropbox, Google Drive, or email. Or you can use a professional DAM to organize them.

Without a DAM, you’ll waste a lot of time trying to keep files organized. You may end up using the wrong version of a graphic, or your assets may fall into the wrong hands (i.e. a contractor you stopped working with). Ultimately, DAMs increase security, reduce headaches, and allow for easy sharing and coordination.

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