Digital asset management hosting options

4th March 2020

Digital asset management (DAM) software is a game-changing investment for any business. To get the most out of your DAM, you need to choose a platform that meets your needs-and hosting is a big part of that.

There are cloud based DAMs, those that are hosted on-premise (i.e. with you), and a hybrid of the two. Start by identifying the problems you're trying to solve.

To help you choose the most suitable DAM, we've looked at the benefits of the three most popular hosting options.

Software as a Service (SaaS) DAM

Thanks to a combination of falling digital storage costs and increased internet speeds, cloud solutions have become popular with businesses of all sizes looking to reduce overheads and benefit from the flexibility they offer.

The days of having to install all software on the company’s servers or local machines are long gone. Instead, organisations are using the cloud not just for hosting their critical business applications, but also storing much of their sensitive data and digital assets.

It means you don't have to worry about investing in on-site servers. You also don't have to worry about maintaining or repairing them when something goes wrong. Usually you won't need to take care of back-ups either.

A cloud-based DAM is scalable too, allowing you to add or reduce storage whenever you need to.

A SaaS DAM is right for:

• Businesses that don't want to make an infrastructural commitment.
• Organisations looking for quick implementation.
• Growing businesses who need the option to scale.
• Businesses without IT and support teams.
• Businesses that want to take advantage of low start-up and maintenance costs.

READ MORE: The Digital Asset Management Comparison Checklist

Self-hosted DAM

An on-premise solution is when the DAM is hosted on servers that you own. It needs a reliable network, as well as an in-house team to maintain it.

If you've got a dedicated development team and your DAM is open source, you can even modify the system and introduce new functionality.

Another benefit of an on-premise DAM is that it doesn't rely on an internet connection. This can help reduce downtime and avoids issues with slower connections.

A hosted DAM is right for:

• Companies that want to manage their own DAM.
• Organisations that handle sensitive, confidential, or patented information and have specific security requirements.
• Businesses that have infrastructural considerations which might be complicated by a migration.
• Companies with dedicated resources for IT management.

Why cloud hosted DAM is NOT less secure than on-premise

Thanks to a combination of falling digital storage costs and increased internet speeds, cloud solutions have become popular with businesses of all sizes looking to reduce overheads and benefit from the flexibility they offer.

The days of having to install all software on the company’s servers or local machines are long gone. Instead, organisations are using the cloud not just for hosting their critical business applications, but also storing much of their sensitive data and digital assets.

However, not every organisation is comfortable with this migration into ‘the cloud’. Indeed, there have been a number of high profile cloud hacks in recent years, most notably Facebook in 2019, LinkedIn and Accenture in 2021, and Toyota in 2023.

These news stories, combined with uncertainty about the security of any single cloud solution, has led many to believe on-premise software is more secure than cloud hosted software—but this is not necessarily true.

What’s the difference between cloud hosted and on-premise DAM?

First of all, let’s define what the differences between cloud hosted and on-premise DAM (or any other software) actually are.

Deployment

Unsurprisingly given the original meaning, the word ‘cloud’ makes us think of something  intangible. However, cloud software is hosted on physical servers just like on-premise—the key difference between the two is where those servers are located.

On-premise installations are deployed in-house, typically on servers within the organisation’s existing IT infrastructure and often in the same building as the organisation. The data and applications might be accessed via the internet, or a secure local area network (LAN).

By contrast, cloud software is hosted on servers owned and maintained by the software vendor, and accessed via the internet.

Control

The second key difference between cloud hosted and on-premise DAM is the level of control the organisation has over their data.

Although the business might retain ‘ownership’ of data in a cloud environment and can access it at any time, they don’t have complete control over it. For example, if your cloud software provider is hacked, suffers a power cut or there’s a natural disaster wherever it’s hosted, there’s nothing you can do about that. However, hosting providers will have processes in place to deal with these unexpected scenarios—something an in-house IT team won’t necessarily have, should the same things happen to your own servers or buildings.

With on-premise you could say you have absolute control of your data and what happens to it—or rather, what happens to it is entirely your responsibility. However, that’s not necessarily a good thing…

Control doesn’t mean security

Many organisations do not invest as heavily into security infrastructure as cloud software vendors do, making the risk of attack greater than it would be with a cloud setup. There’s also a cybersecurity professional skills gap that makes building a capable in-house team difficult at the moment.

What’s more, cloud providers often offer a wide range of security features, including firewalls, encryption, identity and access management and monitoring. Is your business in a position to invest in high level cybersecurity resources? And do you have the internal expertise to manage and maintain it?

The cloud is no more vulnerable to data breaches than an on-premise infrastructure—it all comes down to the quality of the security technology and processes that are in place. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t do your due diligence when considering cloud software vendors, and ask them to show proof of their software’s security credentials. They’ll typically be able to provide certifications that show they meet cybersecurity best practices.

On-premise DAM is more resource intensive

Managing and maintaining an on-premise DAM is significantly more resource intensive. You have to manage and maintain the servers—scaling up the storage capacity as and when required—while also investing in an internal IT team to secure it. You’ll need a disaster recovery and backup system in place too, and there are also direct overhead costs to consider when running your own servers.

This makes on-premise the more expensive solution, but it also has implications for cybersecurity.

If your IT team is already overstretched managing the security of the organisation’s entire IT infrastructure, an on-premise DAM is another huge task to add to their plate. Will they have time to maintain the system effectively, or will potential vulnerabilities get missed? ‘Alert fatigue’ is a common problem for internal IT teams, where the burden of monitoring a large network and the alerts and notifications that need to be dealt with lead to an inefficient and ineffective security team.

You also have to consider what happens when IT staff leave the business. You can replace them, but the cybersecurity skills shortage won’t make that simple and, of course, they’ll need training on your systems. This could leave your IT infrastructure less secure and overstretched.

You might not benefit from DAM software security updates as quickly

A cloud hosted DAM system—or any cloud software—is updated frequently by the vendor, whether that’s introducing new functionality, fixing bugs or resolving security vulnerabilities.

If you’ve invested in a custom-built DAM with no ongoing support from a vendor then you’re left to improve the DAM yourself, but even if you pay for ongoing support for your on-premise system, you may not receive those updates as fast as your cloud hosted counterparts - and it may be your responsibility to perform the upgrades too.

But what if your industry demands that your data is hosted locally?

If your organisation handles highly sensitive data, for example if you’re in healthcare or finance, you might be required to comply with data sovereignty rules.

Data sovereignty applies to certain digital data, and states that the data is subject to the laws of the country where it is collected. This has implications for international data transfers that can happen with cloud software solutions.

An example of this can be found in the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), where transfer of data outside of the EU is restricted. In these specific cases, organisations may wish to house their data on-premise so they are assured of compliance with data sovereignty rules. 

However, this fear is often misplaced. Cloud software vendors will often be able to work with an organisation to accommodate data security compliance requirements. 

Hybrid DAM

There is a third option, a hybrid DAM, which combines the functions of a cloud and on-premise DAM which means you can rely on its SaaS capabilities to share files from the cloud, while sensitive data remains secured with extra protection on your in-house server.

Here are some important points to consider ahead of choosing a Hybrid DAM, though:

1. Hybrid DAMs are much less common than on-premise or cloud, which might limit your vendor choice.
2. Hybrids are often more expensive as you're paying to maintain the DAM yourself, while also paying a subscription for the software itself.

A Hybrid DAM is perfect for:

• Companies looking for simple deployment.
• Start-ups with modest budgets.
• Organisations handling sensitive data.

Still not sure which solution is right for your business?

Digital asset management (DAM) software is an important tool for your business, but deciding whether to host your DAM in the cloud, or back down on earth with an in-house installation can leave you feeling up in the air.

To help with the confusion, we've got a white paper you should take a look at, 'Should you be hosting your DAM software on-premise or in the cloud?'

The white paper is free to download, and covers the many reasons why cloud hosting your DAM may be the option for you, including:

• Doesn't require expensive IT infrastructure and dedicated staff
• No need to perform maintenance or schedule downtime
• Can be accessed remotely from anywhere in the world
• Get up and running straight away without involvement of an IT team
• Technical variables are the responsibility of the DAM vendor, not you

If you're deciding between cloud hosting or on-premise, our white paper will give you plenty to think about.

At ResourceSpace we cater for small organisations with just a few employees, to enterprise-level clients with offices all over the world. Whether you're looking for an on-premise or a cloud solution, our pricing packages include onboarding, training and ongoing support.

Try our platform with a free trial and explore the benefits for yourself. We're always available to offer any extra information or technical support too.

See what our industry-leading DAM can do for your business.