Does Digital Asset Management Belong On Your Server or in the Cloud?

By Edward Smith (@DAMGeek) Nov 23, 2011

Digital asset management has traditionally been a premise-based solution, meaning the IT department is responsible for setting up and maintaining the hardware inside of their server room or data center. While the buzzword cloud is relatively new, the idea of letting someone else host parts of your company’s IT infrastructure is not. Hosted services have been around before the dot-com bubble, which almost everyone uses to run their websites or other IT applications. Cloud services typically differ from hosting services by using multiple computers instead of one to provide a specific service or application — in this case, Digital Asset Management.

Disclaimer

I work for a digital asset management software company that sells premise-based solutions. You might think I’m biased towards premise-based solutions, but I’m actually more interested in helping people choose the right technology for the job. I’m better off in the long run when people use the right technology and are successful. Read on for some issues to consider when evaluating cloud or premise solutions for the right fit, and let me know in the comments section if you disagree or have other points of view.

Implementation

An advantage of cloud solutions is that someone else (the vendor) is responsible for setting up and babysitting the servers running the DAM. This means your IT team doesn’t need to worry about setting up hardware and installing software. However, both types of solutions will require decisions about workflow as well as configuring the DAM to support those workflow decisions. Also keep in mind that setting up a cloud solution may take several days if all existing files will be uploaded at the beginning of the implementation.

Accessibility

An advantage of premise solutions is speed when transferring large amounts of data. Most commercial Internet connections to the cloud are not going to be faster than the local gigabit Ethernet between computers on your network and an on-premise DAM server. Slower internet connections can mean longer file transfers as well as higher latency — how responsive the DAM interface will be to commands. Some cloud-based DAM solutions have addressed the bandwidth issue using caching software or network appliances that temporarily save commonly accessed files on local servers for faster access.

Remote Access

Regardless of the user’s physical location, both types of systems can usually be accessed from anywhere in the world. Premise-based solutions typically require another level of security like requiring users to connect to a VPN before accessing the DAM. Content delivery networks (CDN) can speed things up when multiple users around the globe need to access files. A CDN works by automatically synchronizing files between different servers in different geographic locations. When someone needs a file they can download it from the closest server, which is usually faster.

Migration

Premise-based DAM can work with your existing file servers and applications, while cloud may require “moving” everything into the cloud and changes to existing workflow. In either case, be sure to ask about tools for uploading files and migrating data from existing sources. Also consider how data could be migrated to or integrated with a different solution in the future if the need arises.

Security

Some argue that cloud solutions are more secure because of vendor specialization and economies of scale, while others claim that premise-solutions are a safer bet because you have more control and the underlying infrastructure is less exposed. Unlike cloud solutions, premise solutions can be configured as completely internal system with firewalls preventing any type of outside access. Cloud solutions are more exposed because they are almost always accessible via the Internet and shared by multiple users and companies. A hacker posing as a legitimate user could potentially use their account or exploit bugs in the system to gain access to the data of companies using the cloud service.