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