OpenAsset

Avantages

I have worked in AEC marketing for nearly 15 years. Until about four months ago, I did so without a DAM tool. I was always so jealous of my peers at other firms who had OpenAsset, and when we decided to solicit DAM providers, I knew I wanted to be involved. Throughout the selection process, OpenAsset made their understanding of our unique industry very clear. They answered questions so well and gave us relevant examples. Additionally, they provided a number of references for similar firms that we were able to speak with.

The implementation team was great, and made the process as easy as it could be. While there was a lot of work on our end, they made navigating the process feel achievable and kept us on track. They were, and continue to be, very accessible and ready to find solutions.

Now that our implementation is complete, OpenAsset's customer support continues to be great. They are truly passionate about their product and continuing to make it better. While it's a great product, it's really the people behind it that make it sing.

I use OpenAsset almost constantly now, and my efficiency is so much better. I'm not struggling to find photos, and it's so customizable for each user with albums, rankings, and more. It's also made sharing images with other stakeholders so much easier.

Inconvénients

I wish OpenAsset had more AI capabilities, but I know they're working on that. Also, it would be nice to have a bit more of a true solution for video that isn't as costly, as we continue to have more video assets.

Avantages

The simplicity of finding project photos and overall organization.

Inconvénients

I personally have not experienced any negative attributes of OpenAsset.

Avantages

The ability to catalogue and divide projects & images with tags that relate to the individual projects. It's easy to use and allows you to keep a detailed record of your work. Additionally the option of downloading images at different qualities is really nice.

Inconvénients

The UI can be a little more user-friendly and more aesthetically pleasing. It can be a little time-consuming having to tag each image individually, when I'm sure AI can help with that task.

Avantages

This has been a game changer for using creative assets among various offices and multiple designers. OpenAsset is so simple to use and works seamlessly in InDesign and Illustrator. I use this every day and it makes searching for assets so easy. Cannot recommend it enough, I do not know how I have gone so long without having it my design toolbox.

Inconvénients

I do not see any downsides, it has been such a dream.

Avantages

I like using Open Asset for its efficient organization and tagging capabilities, seamless file-sharing functionality, and mainly the user-friendly search options that results a more productive workflow.

Inconvénients

I don't use some of the integrations Open Asset has such as templates for Power Point but that's just a personal preference and how our team decided to operate.

Avantages

I love the deliverable options - you can export a collection as a PowerPoint show, PDF contact-sheet, and more, as well as create custom one-sheets with company branding. I also love the ability to drag and drop assets right into programs like InDesign and PowerPoint.

Inconvénients

Our custom search feature was hard to learn although our internal team and the OA team continue to make improvements.

Avantages

Very straight forward and easy to use, I like the integration with Adobe.

Inconvénients

Search tool is a bit clunky. UX/UI could be a little better

Avantages

I love that I can have all my work files in one place on OppenAsset. It's very easy to use and easily integrates into my everyday work life. I use it every day because it fast and simple to navigate.

Inconvénients

The only real issue I have is that I have to close out my searches after every one. But even that isn't that big of a hurdle, I just have to make sure I zero out my searches every time.

Avantages

The deep searchability that is woven throughout the platform. All the content is easy to navigate and integrate into our daily work. The drag and drop feature alone is fantastic.

Inconvénients

My only wish-list item would be the ability to create multiple "project" style categories for additional organization.

Avantages

I love the templated InDesign options for project sheets and resumes. They are a huge timesaver in my workflow.

Inconvénients

I think that sometimes there are too many new features appearing that sometimes I can get a little overwhelmed with all there is to leverage and learn about the program.

Avantages

Seeing all of our projects in a visual format makes finding what you need easy. The integration into InDesign makes short work of creating proposals as well.

Inconvénients

None. The system works exactly as it was described to us.

Avantages

OpenAsset helps everyone connect with and have access to our photography so that we don't have to have a million files and file paths to get everyone what they need. It is all on there!

Inconvénients

Some of the searching capabilities are difficult, but I think that might just be an error on our side of people not tagging every photo correctly.

Avantages

It's easy to keep a catalog of our photography. Our employees like the convenience of having a one-stop shop for all our assets. I like the new tagging feature - it does a great job of accurately predicting the necessary tags for a photo, which has saved me a ton of time. I also really like the new homepage. Lastly, our customer success manager [sensitive content hidden] is wonderful! He's super helpful and always ensures we have the latest info about the platform.

Inconvénients

As an admin, I find the settings page clunky and difficult to navigate at times. I also wish you could copy and paste the settings of one group to another.

Avantages

Ease of use, integration with Adobe suite

Inconvénients

Lack of homepage customisation and some video compressing even when raw export

Avantages

Being able to keep our digital assets / images in the one place. InDesign integration is the most useful to me, it has been a game changer. Also for Microsoft apps too.

Inconvénients

I think some budget friendly template options would be good. Perhaps have different levels of Indesign template creation options as I feel the cost is quite high at the moment, so we're having problems getting the cost approved in our company.

Avantages

OpenAsset is a great tool for photo storage and project information. It has streamlined our marketing processes and allowed us to quickly produce marketing collateral.

Inconvénients

Templates need to be created by the OpenAsset team and cannot be done yourself.

Avantages

The ease of use, multiple search categories

Inconvénients

Having to click "clear search" when I need to do a new one, it's a minimal detail but I would love to just place the cursor and start typing

Avantages

Ease of use and implementation. Indexing and search are complete and usable

Inconvénients

User interface could use some upgrading and modernization

Avantages

OpenAsset is a great tool for our marketing department. We are able to quickly identify projects, which images are best, and search with filters to identify key images faster.

Inconvénients

When uploading new images to OpenAsset, if the image is a different size than the original then you will not be prompted to know that the specific image is already in the system.

Avantages

This product was easy to use and integrate into our regular routines. It is really nice to be able to access our digital assets from anywhere with internet available and not have to be on our network.

Inconvénients

I have not been able to see how/if this integrates with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

Avantages

the easiest way to navigate thru all the image library we have

Inconvénients

the server probably, because i'm located in middle so takes a little bit time to load up

Avantages

OpenAsset streamlines our digital asset management with intuitive organization and easy sharing, boosting our workflow efficiency.

Inconvénients

OpenAsset's pricing can be a concern for smaller teams, and it may lack some advanced features found in pricier alternatives, requiring consideration for budget-conscious users with specific needs.

Avantages

Allowing user to quickly find the images they need vs spending hours digging through folders in the server.

Inconvénients

Set up did take a while but considering I was entering ten years of images it probably wasn't that bad

Avantages

The cloud-based database is a game changer for our company, especially with so many employees working remotely.

Inconvénients

The interface and searching features are a bit intimidating for less-tech-savvy users. They require a bit of training to get the hang of it.

Avantages

I love the ease of use and customization. It's by far been the best DAM option for AEC industry. Our teams have been using it for over five years! Love the albums, storage organization with categories, and more.

Inconvénients

I would love to see more reporting options to help us better determine which assets are most useful, etc. Wish a full integration to Salesforce was easier.

Avantages

I love that we can store our digital assets in one place. It helps to breakdown the information silos in our company so we can cross-function efficiently.

Inconvénients

The few issues that we have come across were minor and the OpenAsset team worked with us to find a compromise or present a solution.

Avantages

I like how easy it is to find photos, it is easy to find folders.

Inconvénients

The tagging can be confusing but I am getting used to it!

Avantages

OA has been a great asset to us for connecting our image library across our offices globally. The sync to Deltek Vision is wonderful as it is a great way to look up project information without having to go through the slow and dated interface of Deltek. We love that you can upload different file types, have a variety of user settings, different categories, etc. The PDF, contact sheet generation and INDD plug-in features are extremely convenient and useful. We haven't gotten around to utilizing uploading our standard INDD templates for project page and resume generation yet but we are looking foward to doing so.

Inconvénients

I think the user interface has come a long way but I think there is still a lot of room for improvement. I don't think that all of the settings and features are intuitive to find; for example, the image tagging keywords aren't obvious to locate and that has been a bit of an issue as we roll out OA to firmwide employees who don't know what the keywords to search by are vs. marketing who does know because we chose and implemented them. I think the mapping feature is good but it would be better if it could auto link that from Deltek as well to avoid manual input into OA.

Avantages

What is there not to like?? You can create large buckets to sort all your photos, and specify keyword tags within each bucket. It's easy to create a process to follow with that sort of end system! You can search and save photos in your carousel, export samples of the photos, download them quickly into a PowerPoint, zipped folder, or drop them right into an Adobe product (no download required!!). You can easily share an album with anyone you've given permissions to, set user editing capabilities (want people to upload but not change anything? You can do that!) And the customer service is phenomenal. From making minor updates at your suggestions to customizing, to walking you through system changes, to being at your beck and call, the customer service does not disappoint.

Inconvénients

My only complaint is that sometimes the interface changes without notice and it can take a bit to find your tools. However, these interface updates have always been a great change, just sometimes slows me down a bit.

Avantages

How easy it is to connect OpenAsset to existing systems currently in place. It instantly adds value in that the moment we upload a new file, the system is porting over data from our Deltek Vision system making it easy and quickly usable.

Inconvénients

Certain functionalities have to be used in certain ways--that is, for instance, you can only drag and drop files into InDesign from the grid view, but say I'm previewing in full-screen; I can't just drag that active file right into InDesign from there. Some features seem to be layered in as opposed to integrated in a central way. Lastly, I think the limitation of the system which could vastly improve it is to break free from strict things like search terms, and instead allow for more open-ended search features that are smart and intuitive rather than restrictive.

Avantages

The customer service and upgrades are a great part of the Open Asset system. You can customize to your hearts desire with a steady stream of new features always on the horizon that improve things and get you excited about what's coming next. The cross platform functionality with the Adobe suite is also a lovely touch.

Inconvénients

Most of my concerns have been addressed by the Open Asset team and are already in development for future editions. Things like being able to upload and store power point presentations.

Avantages

I love that I can store an unlimited number of images on the cloud and share them anywhere with my company.

Inconvénients

I like least that 1. Albums default to private and 2. You cannot select the file type of an image when you download it at a size other than Original

Avantages

OpenAsset solved our issue of making project photography easily searchable and accessible by all of our staff across four offices. The InDesign plugin was especially helpful for our marketing team productivity.

Inconvénients

It took us many months to get the software customized to our liking and uploaded with content. Training for users is a must because OpenAsset has so much depth to it that even seasoned users might not be aware of all the features available.

Avantages

The software is very user-friendly, the interface is easy to navigate and the tagging is simple. I also felt like the set-up was straight-forward and OA was easy to work with. We have had great feedback firmwide on the platform and have been able to conduct training in 20 minutes - a testament to the ease of use!

Inconvénients

Two things I would love to see - the ability to sell photography through the site. Often architecture firms sell photography to partners, consultants, etc. and it would be great to be able to share photos and accept payment through this one-stop platform. I would also love the ability to further brand/customize the home page. Those are tiny in the scheme of things, but would be great adds!

Avantages

There is no comparable software for image use that I am aware of - it is a great product for our industry, and used throughout our business. It is incredibly user friendly (compared to some document management systems, for instance) and functionality is great.

Inconvénients

From our experience, some of the "improvements" in the last few years have actually hindered functionality for the way we work. Might consider more user-testing or research before implementation?

Avantages

I love how the file size structure eliminates the need for multiple copies of images on our server. The sizes we need (even custom sizes defined by us) are all in one place and can be generate on the fly.

Inconvénients

A few features that we would like to have are only available in the Cloud version... we use the on-premises version.

Avantages

OpenAsset provides BDP with a platform for all employees to access, whether images, PDFs or project information. Easy to manage and for employees to find their way around.

Inconvénients

Not a lot of negatives to find, but if any issues arise, customer support has always been prompt and helpful.

Avantages

Having all our catalog of imagery at our fingertips is a huge efficiency. The connection to Deltek Vision is also amazing to have all the information in one software program. The tagging is a fantastic feature and there are so many more things the software does that we haven't even implemented.

Inconvénients

Not a huge fan of the process of drag and drop into Indesign. Seems like there can be a better way of doing it but that's not a major issue. I also wish that it talked to Vision in addition to receiving information from Vision.

Avantages

The ability to share content instantaneously across a large company is crucial to the success of our marketing team. Open Asset is the perfect solution to this challenge.

Inconvénients

I feel that the current platform is limited to only sharing images/video currently. We have the growing need to have a solution to share other marketing content (presentations, written proposal narratives, client quotes, etc.). I see the potential of the tool and have a great experience working with the Open Asset team to solve our needs.

Avantages

We link all of the images with our vision data file, this makes it easy to know everything about the project that the image is tied to.

Inconvénients

There have been some recent changes to the layout, I preferred the buttons to access information prior to the change

Avantages

With open asset you can build a database of images and file and structure it however is best for your workflow. Assigning tags to pictures lets you search through images by description which is a terrific capability for anyone working with images a lot. Saving the same image at different file sizes and resolution that can be linked to many other programs is also a huge time saver.

Inconvénients

Open asset can feel like a clunky database while searching and filing images. The amount of capabilities it has makes it more complicated to use if you’re looking for a simple photo library.

Avantages

It is an online, use-created database tool that can help share content more easily and transparently in a large firm. Easy to setup and organize images, documents, resources. Great search functionality and ability to use asset links in other applications

Inconvénients

Can be a lot to setup and maintainenance, like any library or digital repository. Because you can have many authors uploading content, it can be a lot of work to enforce company standards.

Avantages

OpenAsset gives anyone the ability to work with thousands of images quickly and from virtually anywhere.

Inconvénients

Asset key-wording can be tricky to get it right for future searches.

Avantages

Open Asset has streamlined our work flow allowing our staff easy access to all our digital assets.

Inconvénients

The restrictions of our Open Asset are on us, we have yet to move to the cloud.

Avantages

The ability to drag and drop into InDesign.

Inconvénients

Sometimes it seems a little laggy but this may be due to our server.

Avantages

OpenAsset makes it easy for our marketing team to access files organization-wide. Our employees are scattered throughout the US, Canada, UK and Ireland.

Inconvénients

Some of the editing features like adding keywords are codes to photos and projects can be tricky if you aren't paying close attention to select or deselect multiple files.

Avantages

Is specifically designed to work with AEC companies

Inconvénients

Not user intuitive ( a lot of our users had difficulties with it), and a lot of the features to enhance the use came at an added cost.

Avantages

It's user friendly, intuitive, and powerful.

Inconvénients

No complaints, really. Does what it's supposed to.

Avantages

Good and personalised support available, relatively customisable interface, reliable connection. Updated relatively frequently

Inconvénients

AI recognition not launched yet, however product seems to be fragmented between traditional 'on premises' version and the cloud solution.

Avantages

It's the best out there for companies in architecture and property.

Inconvénients

Takes a little training to know how to use it properly.