Item: OpenAsset
Rating: 8
Author: Les Thomas

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I used OpenAsset at my last company and helped implement solutions that were not being utilized. These included setting up a PowerPoint template to automate the generation of slide presentations and setting up data sheet templates to automate the creation of project data sheets. I have served as an OpenAsset user, administrator, and instructor. One of the best use cases for OpenAsset has been integrating it with Deltek Vantagepoint so that the information from Vantagepoint automatically copies over to OpenAsset on a set schedule. In this way, both OpenAsset and Vantagepoint maintain the same project information and this information is, in turn, used to populate project information on the company website.

Pros and Cons

Automated PowerPoint presentations
Automated data sheet generation
Searching for digital assets based on keywords, project types, location, and personnel
Maintaining albums for quick access to the most used project digital assets.

You can create an album to share with those outside of your firm, but the only way to do this is to download files into a zip file. This is antiquated thinking. It would be much better if you could create an album that would generate a temporary web page that anyone outside of the organization could view by clicking on a link.
There are a number of legacy items that are no longer functional. OpenAsset needs to either make these functional or remove the options.

Return on Investment

Made the creation of PowerPoint presentations and data sheets much quicker and easier
Allows for customization of keywords for different user groups.
Doesn't offer any useful reporting. We wanted it to tell us things like how often a particular image or project was referenced. It can't do that.
Easy uploading and tagging system.
Using the DAM as a liaison for populate the website with information from our CRM helped maintain consistency across channels.

Alternatives Considered

MediaValet

I have evaluated MediaValet on a couple of occasions. It is a much more budget-friendly system that is not necessarily project-specific in its architecture. It is much more general in nature in the industries it can target. OpenAsset's integration with Deltek Vantagepoint is a big selling point if you have both of those applications. If you don't have Vantagepoint, MediaValet might be a good alternative to consider.

Key Insights

Do you think OpenAsset delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with OpenAsset's feature set?

Yes

Did OpenAsset live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of OpenAsset go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy OpenAsset again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

If you tag your items with keywords correctly, it is a great resource for quickly finding the digital assets you want. I had meticulously gone through all of our digital assets adding keywords for several categories which made searching for specific items very quick and easy, as well as relevant. OpenAsset is also great for automating the creation of PowerPoint presentations and data sheets. It is a project-based software meaning it works best for those in the AEC industry that sort and store digital assets based on the projects to which they are associated. If you are in a marketing firm or other non-project-based business model then another DAM system would likely work better for you.

OpenAsset it tailored to the AEC industry, offering integration with Vantagepoint unlike most other options.

Overall Satisfaction with OpenAsset