State of DAM in AEC Why You Can No Longer Afford to Ignore Your Photo Management Problem

November 2015

State of DAM in AECBrief history of DAM

DAM research overview

The image problem executives don’t know they have

How a DAM can help

Who’s looking at DAM?

Getting started with DAM: 5 steps to help kick-start your DAM project

Daniel EmmersonCo-Founder & Joint CEO

Digital Asset ManagementA Brief History

PHOTO MANAGEMENT

IN THE PAST

PHOTO MANAGEMENT

TODAY

PHOTO MANAGEMENT

TREND

State of DAM in AECResearch Overview

What did we want to learn

Size of image libraries and growth rate

Adoption rate of DAM in AEC

Benefits gained after DAM implementation

We went straight to the sourceWe surveyed executives, marketers, business development

professionals, IT experts from 154 AEC companies

Research firmographics

55%28%

8%

9%

Firm Type

Architecture or AE Engineering or EAConstruction Other

29%

28%

18%

13%

6%6%

Firm Size (employees)

51 - 200 201 - 500 1,001 - 5,000501 - 1,000 <50 5,001+

48%

41%

11%

DAMFolder-Based Image StorageSharePoint or "Other"

How do you currently store images?

The image problem that Executives don’t know they haveExecutives are often out of touch with their firms’ digital asset landscape—and what it takes to manage it.

< 500 500 - 1,000 More than 1,0009%

64%

27%20%

28%

52%

How many images were added last year?

Leadership Marketing

You likely have more digital assets than you think

Less than 5k Images More than 50k Images

20%18%

3%

28%

How large is your image library?

Leadership Marketing

Photo libraries are growing exponentially

More devices =More photos

Brochure quality proposals

Social media content Websites

56%

say their firms will create more or a lot more images this year than last year

of AEC Marketers

It takes time to manage those assets

66% Say that marketing employees spend less than 4 hours/week managing photos

of Engineering Executives

Say that marketing employees spend two or more days/week managing photos

of Engineering Marketers11%

What you don’t know could hurt you

How a DAM can helpImprove marketing productivity and operational processes for AEC companies

Top benefits of DAM

47%46%

4%

3%

Improved operational process

Improved marketing productivity

Increased utilization of billable staff

Speed to RFP

Improved access to imagesHow many people have access to

images?

More than 25 people More than 250 people

80%

58%65%

26%

DAM Users Non-DAM Users

How many images can actually be found & used?

Non DAM usersDAM users

More than 75% of images

Less than 50% of images

Time to RFP development

Less than 8 hours 8 - 16 hours 17 - 40 hours 41 - 80 hours 81+ hours4%

10%

32%

42%

11%

3%

20%

50%

15%12%

DAM Users Non-DAM Users

Time to RFP development

Subject Matter Experts’ Contribution

80 Hours (2 weeks)

DAM Users

Non DAM Users

9 – 16 hours

0 – 8 hours

40 Hours (1 week)

8 Hours (1 day)

16 Hours (2 days)

Subject Matter Experts’ Contribution

Better brand image control across channels

Marketing focus on brand management

How often do you or someone on your team take active steps to manage the company’s brand

Monthly or Weekly

54%

35%

DAM Users Non-DAM Users

Who’s Looking at DAM?

Research Findings

48%

41%

11%

DAM Folder-Based Image StorageSharePoint or "Other"

48% of companies surveyed are already using DAM

How do you currently store images?

48%

41%

11%

DAM Folder-Based Image StorageSharePoint or "Other"

32%

16%

52%

Do you have plans to look into DAM?

Looking at DAM solutions nowHave plans to look into a DAM in the near futureNo current plans

Who’s looking into DAM?How do you currently store

images?

Larger firms are even more likely to be considering DAM

Of Larger engineering companies not using DAM are looking into DAM now or plan to look into DAM in the near future.

(200+employees)64%

48% Of AEC companies not using DAM are looking into DAM now, or plan to look into DAM in the near future.

Of Larger architecture companies not using DAM are looking into DAM now or plan to look into DAM in the near future.

(100+employees)55%

Ove

rall

Larg

e C

ompa

nies

Getting Started with DAM

5 Steps to Kick-Start Your DAM Project

Assess your business needsAlign leadership and marketing

Step #1

Interview internal teams

Interview questions… What kind of images do you and your

team own? How many of these images do you have? What file types are they? Where are these images stored? Who has access to them? What are your top concerns?

Project photography and videos

Event photos

Renderings

Logos

Reference & precedent images

Staff headshotsSite photos

Stock images

It takes time (and money)Im

age

Sea

rch • Searching through folders

• Asking a colleague where to find an image

• Asking a colleague to send you an image

• Looking for copyright info

Imag

e M

anag

emen

t an

d U

tiliz

atio

n • Adding images to folders • Creating duplicate image sizes for

different purposes• Downloading and resizing images for

InDesign or PowerPoint• Uploading images to Dropbox to send

to clients or to press• Emailing images to collaborate on

documents

Assess your IT requirementsConsider how to deploy your DAM,

Current trend is strong interest in SaaS / Cloud

Step #2

Cloud v. On-Premise

Global access and mobility

Less burden on IT resources

Usage-based storage costs

Totally worry-free data backup

Control upgrade schedule

LAN access

Single office, poor internet connection

Total control over data security

Reasons to consider Cloud… Reasons to consider On-Premise…

Gather requirements & research your DAM options

Talk to internal teams and peers

Step #3

Talk to vendors Deployment: Is this installed on-premise or is it available in the cloud? Access: Is the system accessible via mobile devices like iPads, etc.? Costs: What are your annual and one-time costs? Will future updates cost extra? References: Who are some of your clients like us and can you provide references? Support: What kind of support do you offer and what are the costs? Timing: Can you explain what a typical implementation timeline looks like? Development: Can you describe your product roadmap and development methodology?

Populate your DAMConsult with your vendor

Step #4

Pre-launch project planningAssign Roles Set Goals

Roll out to core users

Upload files Launch firm-wide

Conduct training

100% User adoptionUpload

Tag

Admin

Manage

OpenAsset ResourceSample DAM implementation timelines on help.openasset.com

Populate your DAM

OR

Data Migration ServiceMany DAM vendors offer services to map your existing file folder

structure to the new DAM.

In-HouseSelect a team member to be responsible for

uploading content

OpenAsset ResourceData migration details on help.openasset.com

Keyword strategy: Less is more

An overcomplicated keyword structure means more time spent tagging

OpenAsset ResourceProject v. File keywords in OpenAsset

Tips for creating an optimized DAM keyword structure

Sofa

Person

Coffee

TableMagazine

CarpetChair

Glass

Conference

RoomSink

%#!

Open your DAM firm-wideConduct training and consider assigning a DAM ‘owner’

Step #5

OpenAsset ResourceGeneral User Training Cheat Sheet

Launch to core users

Marketing

Business Development

Project Managers

Designers

HR and Executives

OpenAsset ResourceGeneral User Training Cheat Sheet

Launch firm-wide

Marketing

Business Development

Project Managers

Designers

HR and Executives

Don’t maintain 2 librariesEmpower users to adopt the DAM through hands-on training.

Keep your content current

NEWProject!

A process for uploading new content will keep the tumbleweeds out.

Publicize successOnce implemented, make sure everyone knows how DAM amazing you are.

37,799Images

783Users

1,285Projects

410KeywordsShare Usage Stats

They’re wicked impressive.

State of DAM in AEC Why You Can No Longer Afford to Ignore Your Photo Management Problem

OpenAsset is the leading DAM for AEC Companies Visit openasset.com for more information & to start a free trial