IFRA

Responding for Extensis Europe is Claire Taylor, Marketing Manager.

WAN-IFRA: Why is digital asset management important for news publishers?

Claire Taylor: One of the initial benefits an organisation realises when they implement a digital asset management (DAM) system is the positive impact on their time-to-market. In our experience, some of the organisations that realise this benefit most rapidly are those in fast-turn environments, such as daily news publishers and media outlets.

WAN-IFRA: What benefits do users get from DAM?

Taylor: Digital asset management systems benefit both administrators and end users:

The bottom line for end users is that they save a considerable amount time and frustration. All team members have a centralised way to share projects. From one single location they can also publish files to a web portal, making for seamless sharing of files with outside partners, clients, etc. One data source takes you from proof-to-delivery.

Administrator’s benefits from controlled access as a result of the centralised database. If there are any worries regarding security, Portfolio Server has several ways to answer that concern. An intuitive interface also means easier adoption and fewer helpdesk calls.

WAN-IFRA: What are the strengths of your solution?

Taylor: Portfolio has two primary strengths:

a) Simplicity: Our history building desktop applications has translated into Portfolio being the most usable, easy-to-learn DAM application. We do not overcomplicate things.

b) Fast Implementation: An IT professional can set up Portfolio Server on their own, in under a week. If necessary, installation time can be sped up further through our professional services. Most DAM solutions on the market- along with being more expensive- require professional services to get them effectively set up. This is costly and very time consuming. If the solution is intended to save time and resources, shouldn’t it do that from day one?

WAN-IFRA: Once the contract has been signed, approximately how long does it take for a publishing client to begin working with your solution?

Taylor: Portfolio Server can be installed and set up, in less than a week. Time should also be factored in for minimal end user training. Typically, in less than two weeks, clients should be transitioning nicely to a Portfolio-based system.

WAN-IFRA: How much training is required for a publication's staff to start using your solution?

Taylor: One day of initial training is typically sufficient.

WAN-IFRA: How many titles are using your solution globally? What are a few of the titles using your solution?

Taylor: Dozens of large news group organisations have standardised on Portfolio. Here are a few:

• The Seattle times
• Hartford Courant
• National Journal
• Washingtonian
• Lexington Herald
• Der Spiegel

Hundreds of magazine/other publishers are leveraging Portfolio:

• Hallmark Cards
• The World Bank Publishing
• Yale University Press
• Hachette Group
• Hearst Publishing
• Groupe France Agricole (GFA)

WAN-IFRA: What developments are you working on in this area now - any planned updates for the near future?

Taylor: Yes, always. Unfortunately, we cannot talk directly about future product development, however, several trends are becoming clear in the industry: on-the-fly file conversions and DAM for video are both increasingly in demand. No surprises here.

Interview conducted by Brian Veseling, senior editor for Publishing, Editorial and General Management and WAN-IFRA Magazine.