If you’re in advertising, publishing, retail or prepress, odds are your business has tons of digital assets. Logos. Artwork. Photos. Videos. PDFs. Page layout files. So what’s the best way to manage it all? Doing a little homework now can save you a lot of time, money and headaches later.

Why you need it

Just think about all the time your creative users waste searching for assets, or recreating ones they can't find. By centralizing assets and making them easily accessible to clients and suppliers, you not only increase productivity, but greatly streamline workflow processes and generate new revenue opportunities.

What you should look for

Before you choose an asset management system, make sure it meets some important criteria:

	Searchability. Does it offer metatags that let you search the way you want? Is it XMP compliant?
	Ease-of-use. Will you have to train people, including your clients, to get stuff in and out of the system?
	Automation. Does it provide real-time updating? On-the-fly conversion of files for different media? Seamless archiving? Faster printing and PDF generation?
	Browsable. Can you offer permission-controlled access to anyone with a Web browser?
	Image Libraries. Will you be able to distribute assets worldwide in a brandable portal?

Think of them as good-better-best. Of the three, a dynamic asset management system like Xinet offers the most, including benefits that catalog and repository systems simply can't match. These other systems have their place. But it may not be in your enterprise, at least not if you're looking for a highly flexible and automated real-time solution. Let's take a closer look.

Check any of the systems below, then click the "Compare" button.

Typically, a lower-cost solution for smaller workgroups with fewer assets. Catalog systems are static. Because they only point to source files in an external database, they are unaware of any changes to those files, making version control difficult. Proprietary client software is required. Who should use it: A small business that needs to create a CD library and include a searchable thumbnail contact sheet on each CD.

Source files are copied into a secure, central repository. Retrieving them from this static environment requires a check-in, check-out process, which can slow down workflow. Initial setup can be lengthy and challenging, and updating is labor-intensive. Proprietary software may be required. Who should use it: An e-commerce retailer that needs to host assets that customers will view for shopping and ordering. Customers need to be able to view thumbnails and search by various criteria.

The only system that provides a real-time, web-based view of live source files, ensuring version control and access for all who need it. Assets, archives and metadata exist in a single production environment, simplifying processes. Creative users work in their native application environment. Who should use it: Any large creative and/or production environment that needs to create, print and manage ongoing projects. Their clients want to view work in progress and access source files as they are completed.

Now that you know how these asset management systems stack up, it's time to build one that's customized to your needs. Tell us the capabilities you want and we'll generate a list of all the essentials you'll need.

Click here to build your model.