Many users approach digital asset management with Adobe Bridge. And while Bridge is a great tool for viewing and editing metadata, there are distinct drawbacks. So, let us examine the differences between a full feature DAM, like Daminion, and Adobe Bridge.
What is Adobe Bridge?
From Adobe: organise personal digital assets, batch edit with ease, add watermarks, set centralised colour preferences, etc. Bridge simplifies your workflow and keeps you organised and now with Libraries.
Adobe Bridge is a stock standard. We all have it installed with our Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions. As soon as you start thinking of working in a team, you can expect a headache!
What is Daminion Server?
Daminion Server is a fully realized digital asset management system in use in production environments in a multitude of different industries. The client-server architecture of Daminion Server ensures concurrent operation between a team of users.
Get access to all your digital assets with Daminion searches. Use either quick search, filter by tags search or build your own custom search and save it for later. Daminion Server is Adobe Bridge for teams of users!
When is Adobe Bridge better to use?
1. You are a solo user
You are the lone ranger. At any given time you have only user working on your files. Your files are on your machine, and you do not share access to them. It does not matter if you use Adobe Bridge or Daminion
2. You want to manually manage your shared cache
With the 2019 CC release of Adobe Bridge, you can share your Bridge cache between users. However, managing a shared cache is a bit like coordinating a G7 summit. A lot of overhead managing lies ahead! All export, import and purge operations on the cache need co-ordination. So to ensure concurrency and consistency between users you have to coordinate your team.
3. You need integration with Adobe services
About the only functionality in Bridge that Daminion does not feature is native integration with Adobe services like Adobe Stock. Daminion does, however, feature drag and drop functionality
When is Daminion Server better to use?
1. You are working in a team
Unlike Adobe Bridge, Daminion Server is built especially for teams and teamwork. Your server will manage all connections to your digital asset store. There is no need to coordinate between different users. Daminion Server maintains a queue of database operations, so you can not overwrite or accidentally lose data.
Your team requires functionality like: version control, web access
2. You do not want to deal with the shared cache
We know, you are busy. Who has the time to deal with managing access to your files? And, speaking of time, every time that cache needs rebuilding… Daminion builds its database on import and it’s cache the first time you browse a file. You can set your Daminion Server’s cache size and forget about it.
3. You need to track and control access
Moreover, Daminion Server features built-in version and access control. So, you have the assurance that your digital assets are in the right hands. Also, that you have a history to fall back on. That is to say, all those accidental overwrites during the editing process won’t be an issue. You can recall any version of your assets that were checked out from
And the key difference….
Stand-alone programs like Adobe Bridge work like file servers. There are many disadvantages to this approach. Daminion Server, on the other hand, is a full-featured client-server solution.
Disadvantages to using Bridge
- When multiple users are accessing the same files, you run the risk of corrupting data.
- Mistakes are costly.
- No audit trail.
- Access control via laborious manual, individual file permission configuration.
Advantages to using Daminion Server
- No accidental data loss.
- Control access through user roles.
- Track changes and creators with version control
- Lock, track and prevent editing of assets.
- Resource heavy operations happen server-side, so operations are fast and responsive in the client.
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