GENERAL INFO:

Why Digital Asset Management Makes Sense

Digital asset management can bring immediate and lasting benefits to virtually all organizations.

The core benefits of digital asset management (DAM) include: Maximize the benefits and ROI you get from your organizations digital files. Increase production efficiency by minimizing downtime and delays. Save time and money by avoiding the recreation or re-licensing of lost files.
Avoid cost mistakes using DAM.
Many organizations seek digital asset management systems only after enduring significant time and money losses through digital asset mismanagement. The fact is, without control over the files that pass through your workflows, problems are unavoidable: Your layout artist uses Logo-Final when she should have used Logo-Final2. Employees waste time trying to find files. With no success, the file must be re-licensed or recreated, wasting even more time and money. Your sales guy stores a proposal on a laptop he forgets in the backseat of a cab. You rely on employees to make regular backups of their files. (Enough said about that one.) Someone performs updates on the wrong version of a file because there are too many versions floating around. Youve likely experienced some of these issues, and you might even have some workarounds in place. But how reliable are those workarounds? Do freelancers understand how to name files? Do employees know where to store or backup files? Does everyone know to edit only file copies, keeping the originals safe? A DAM system like Cumulus helps ensure the answer to these questions is always the same: It doesnt matter. It doesn't matter because Cumulus keeps things organized and easy to find, no matter how crazy your workflow might get. (Or your co-workers might be.) With Cumulus, manual image requests have dropped more than 95%. Everything is now available from anywhere in the world24/7 and that was our goal.

ROI Indisputable and significant.

ROI for DAM is generally measured by: Improved operational efficiency/productivity. Reduced distribution time and costs. Improved return on marketing investments. The following chart shows average DAM ROI after the first year.
With DAM Marketing investments return Customer satisfaction Customer churn rate Time to market Cost of content creation Shipping costs Production costs + 22% + 11% - 6% - 4% - 6% - 7% - 7% Without DAM + 11% + 6% - 1% 0% + 5% + 2% + 2%

Organize. Find. Share. Any File, Anywhere.

Benefits
1. Access files from anywhereeasily, quickly, securely 2. Maximize digital asset acquisition ROI 3. Increase efficiency and time savings 4. Decrease production delays and costs

Research shows
82% of best-in-class organizations add systems to manage digital assets Companies optimizing marketing investments by analyzing past performance are more successful than those who do not Employee productivity and time savings are tangible benefits that can be used to justify a return on DAM investments
Research source: Aberdeen Group, 2009

Source: Aberdeen Group (Ian Michiels): Marketing Digital Asset Management: Capturing, Storing, and Retrieving Digital Media to Deliver Strategic Value.

These numbers are impressive, but keep in mind that the value of a DAM system multiplies over years, as an organizations collections grow. So, performance like this during year one is only the beginning.

After just a few months using Cumulus, we had distributed more images to the media than we had the entire previous year.

Prevent dangerous employee mistakes.

You rely on your IT pros to keep intruders out of your networks, but what about security threats that come from inside your firewalls? Simple miscommunications can result in files getting shared that shouldnt be sharedit happens all the

Canto, the Canto logo and Cumulus are registered trademarks of Canto. Other company and product names might be trademarks of their respective owners. Some product claims and features are not included in all versions of the software and/or might require additional Cumulus Add-ons or Plug-ins. GEN/mkWhyDAM/2011.04 Copyright 2011 Canto GmbH. All rights reserved. www.canto.com Page 1 of 2

GENERAL INFO: Why Digital Asset Management Makes Sense

A world of Cumulus expertise.

Stage 1 Canto Web Applications Stage 2 Web Apps Server
TCP/IP 9287

Stage 3 Cumulus Server

Stage 4 Asset File Server

EXTERNAL PROTECTION File

sharing via the Web can be a risky proposition. This is why IT departments appreciate the multi-level Web security Cumulus provides. Your original assets are never made available outside your network, yet Web visitors have instant access to everything they needall within permissions you define.

The worldwide Canto partner network means Cumulus experts are in all corners of the globe, speaking scores of languages, and providing a wealth of Cumulus add-ons and services. Your Cumulus investment buys you into this global resource of professionals who, along with Canto, can help ensure your system always suits your needs, without compromise.

FIREWALL

Powerful parcel service.

time. The problem is that files stored on file servers dont wave dont share me! flags to warn users. But controls like this are basic in Cumulus, and theyre easy to set and easy to understand. Purple, orange and brown are great when it comes to shipping physical assets, but physically distributing digital assets no longer makes sense. Customers want things now, and when it comes to getting approvals from clients, so do you. Distributing files via Cumulus can be as easy as a checkbox click to start the flow, or another click to turn it off. Add watermarks to images that havent been paid for, and embed your copyright, contact info and more into every image.

Cumulus is about getting our intellectual property into the hands of the people who need it.

Your next steps.

Ask your Canto representative about case studies, white papers, product tours and other materials Canto offers to help you make a more informed DAM system purchase. To get you started, click on any of the customer logos in this document to download their success storiesdirectly from Cumulus, of course!

Cumulus can watermark previews and downloads on the fly, so easy protection comes at no additional workload for you.

Cumulus users can instantly see if a file has been approved, so communications are clear.

Even better, Cumulus can even automatically hide files from those who shouldnt use themin real timebased on rules you define in advance, or options you choose while editing a record.

A best seller for 20 years.

For more than 20 years, Canto customers have enjoyed a level of file finding, managing and manipulation that has far exceeded options available from operating systems. Using Cumulus to expedite the production activities of our creative teams, we've cut one week out of a three week process.

For more information on how Canto Cumulus can benefit your organization, contact your local Canto partner, or contact Canto directly. United States +1 (415) 495-6545 Europe +49 (0) 30 390 485 0 Everywhere info@canto.com

Cumulus has just the essential features we need to get traction with our clients, and to succeed in the marketplace.

About Canto & Cumulus

Canto has been dedicated to helping customers fully utilize their digital assets since 1990. Canto Cumulus is a cross-platform solution that enables companies to easily organize, find, share and track their ever-increasing numbers of digital files, in any format. Cantos worldwide network of certified developers offers an impressive assortment of plug-ins that enhance the Cumulus product line further. Learn more: www.canto.com

Canto, the Canto logo and Cumulus are registered trademarks of Canto. Other company and product names might be trademarks of their respective owners. Some product claims and features are not included in all versions of the software and/or might require additional Cumulus Add-ons or Plug-ins. GEN/mkWhyDAM/2011.04 Copyright 2011 Canto GmbH. All rights reserved. www.canto.com Page 2 of 2