Extensis Release Portfolio Server 11

One of our featured DAM vendors, Extensis released Portfolio Server 11 today.  The main new features are:

• A web client that can be re-branded
• Customisable interface
• Active Directory integration
• Support for AWS and VMWare installations
• Drag and drop support (via the desktop client)
• Support for Camera Raw files
• IPTC Extension and PLUS metadata support

“Boasting powerful new features such as a brand-able web client and Amazon Electric Compute Cloud™ (EC2) support, Portfolio Server 11 lets users adapt the solution to their specific needs and run-it-anywhere. Additionally, the industry-leading DAM server includes robust iPad and video capabilities, offering instant access to digital media with streaming HD video playback and video conversion for tablets, mobile devices and the web.” [Read More]

The AWS support appears to be Extensis seeking to defray some of the impact that the SaaS competitors have had and also follows an ongoing trend we have noted for IT departments to increasingly seek to retain responsibility for Digital Asset Management and DAM hosting – but on someone else’s infrastructure rather than their own.  It’s maybe a similar story for the brand-able web client too as more marketing managers demand the ability to modify the look and feel of DAM systems and move away from the desktop application presentation that used to be favoured in DAM a number of years ago.

The ‘boss quote’ from ‘Director of Strategy’ David Kluttz (wonder who is ‘Director of Actually Getting Things Done’ at Extensis?) has this line:

“On average, Portfolio Server users report saving two and a half hours per employee per week. That adds up to $3000 in savings per employee annually” [Read More]

I commented earlier this year about made up finger in the air numbers that software vendors come up with for calculating pricing – especially customisation tasks, I suspect it is a similar scenario for ROI calculations too.  Some of these might be significantly worse as vendors usually have to adhere to pricing commitments, whereas ROI figures rarely get properly checked post-implementation.

I’d like to see the workings for where they came up with these figures and how they were tested.  It’s undoubtedly true that DAM initiatives (when implemented properly) can enhance productivity and save organisations a lot of money but I’ve never seen any calculations that have stood up to scrutiny without some misconceptions or fakery being baked in by whoever needed to get a purchase approved.  Before long some hard-nosed FD or CFO is going to call the bluff of those who come up with these and ask them to actually prove the ROI they are claiming.

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