Marketing software applications have become mission-critical technologies for most global enterprises. The proliferation of marketing communication channels, the growing need to customize marketing messages and materials, and the emerging need to provide prospective customers detailed, interactive product/service information on a real-time basis have made it all but impossible for large organizations to manage marketing effectively without technology.
Choosing the right marketing software tools is, therefore, a major strategic decision, and one important aspect of the decision is whether to opt for software that is installed on in-house servers or software that is hosted by the software provider and accessed via the Internet. While the use of “cloud-based” applications is clearly growing, both delivery models have advantages and disadvantages. The choice ultimately depends on which model is the best fit for your business.
A new white paper by Ralph Windsor and Nick Brookes is a valuable resource for making this important decision. Ralph Windsor is a senior partner at Daydream, a UK-based digital asset management consulting firm, and Nick Brookes is an independent DAM technology and media delivery infrastructure consultant based in London. Both Windsor and Brookes are also members of the editorial staff at Digital Asset Management News.
As the title indicates, Digital Asset Management Hosting: Making The Right Decision for Your Organization focuses on digital asset management software. Windsor and Brookes argue that twelve major factors should guide your choice of a hosting model. Those twelve factors are:
- The sensitivity of the assets that will be managed in the DAM system
- The impacts on your organization if the assets in the DAM system are unavailable
- The proportion of internal vs. external users of the DAM system
- The typical size of the assets managed in the DAM system
- The availability and scalability of internal IT capabilities
- The capabilities of, and the technology choices made by, the DAM software provider
- How easy it is to provide the software vendor access to an internally-hosted system (for maintenance, etc.)
- Licensing restrictions relating to third-party system components
- Issues relating to the integration of the DAM software with enterprise authentication systems
- Bandwidth (both internal and Internet-related)
- Your enterprise’s IT policies regarding the hosting of applications provided by external vendors
- Cost and budget considerations
I believe that all of these factors are important when choosing a hosting model for your digital asset management system. I would like to have seen Windsor and Brookes devote more attention to the integration of DAM software with other marketing software applications and other enterprise IT systems. Today, DAM software is increasingly a foundational component of a larger marketing technology ecosystem. Therefore, the ability to integrate your DAM system with other applications will be critical to your success.
When you’re evaluating on-premises vs. SaaS solutions, make sure you understand what systems you need to integrate with, and how the integration will work.
