Over 700 million businesses worldwide turn to Dropbox. It’s one of the numerous cloud-based systems available for companies to store and manage their files.  

But as businesses grow, expand into multiple teams and start working remotely, you may need a more user-friendly, intelligent solution to manage your day-to-day digital assets.  

Enter digital asset management (DAM).  

In this article we’ll help you understand the difference between Dropbox and digital asset management, what they offer and dive into what’s right for your business.  

Dropbox Vs DAM: What’s The Difference?

Dropbox and DAM software share many similarities. They both offer a cloud-based solution to store, manage and share your business’s digital assets.  

The difference between the two is the different teams they serve and the type and size of files they host. 

Dropbox is popular for personal use or between internal teams. It offers a simple set of features and workflows to streamline basic file storage and sharing between colleagues. Dropbox also limits the size and types of files you can upload, which may not seem like a problem for your business now, but may seriously impact your creative potential later down the line.  

DAM software, on the other hand, offers an advanced set of features that serve both your internal teams and external stakeholders. This includes asset creation, reformatting, editing, reviewing, sharing and publishing. DAM is also easily scalable to meet your businesses’ storage needs as they change over time. It can handle an array of file sizes and types like raw images, 3D and audio files. 

Let’s look a little closer at each: 

What Are The Benefits of Dropbox? 

Dropbox is a major player in cloud file sharing market. It offers individuals and small-to-medium size businesses a secure solution to store, organise and share digital files like images, PDFs and Word documents. 

Dropbox integrates with Microsoft 365 apps like Teams and PowerPoint, allowing users to sync files between their day-to-day programs. It’s simple, easy to use and has offerings ranging from free, basic 2GB storage packages to more advanced paid solutions that scale with your storage needs. Here are some benefits:  

• Easy Sharing: Dropbox’s shareable links feature offers a fast, convenient and password protected file sharing solution. Users can also determine whether the recipient has permission to edit the file, or read-only access. 
• Effortless Syncing: Dropbox offers a selective sync functionality that lets users back up their files and easily distribute them across multiple devices. The most recent version of the file is automatically synced everywhere and readily available for use.  
• It’s Free (To An Extent): Dropbox offer a free ‘basic’ 2GB storage package ideal for personal or very small business use.  

What Is DAM?

Digital asset management is an all-encompassing file management solution. From government bodies to small businesses, DAM provides an intelligent, centralised platform to store, edit and distribute digital content. This can be anything from raw images and videos to spreadsheets and PDFs, but is typically focussed on brand and marketing related digital assets. It’s also ideal for securing highly sensitive content like contracts, campaigns and licenses.  

While DAM systems were once installed on-site, most are now almost exclusively cloud-based. DAM creates intrinsic value by giving users the freedom to store digital assets and manage their usage rights and permissions from a single, remotely accessible platform. 

Unlike Dropbox, DAM has advanced features that go way beyond basic file storage and sharing. This includes version history, large file sharing, offline archives, cropping and editing functionalities and MarTech stack integration. 

What Can DAM Do That Dropbox Can’t?  

• Collaborate seamlessly: With DAM, there’s no need to compress files and send them via email – viewing, editing, reviewing and sharing all happen securely from one platform. Users can also generate custom share links to grant internal and external stakeholders varying levels of access to your assets.  
• Instantaneous Search: With custom metadata and AI search functionalities, DAM solutions boast a sophisticated system for cataloguing and tagging digital assets. This is especially valuable for enterprise level businesses with large digital asset libraries who need to locate files quickly. 
• Robust Asset Security: With features like passwords, expiry dates and secure cloud hosting networks, DAM ensures your assets are always secure and only accessible to approved users.  
• Advanced Integrations: Collaboro works with you to custom build your DAM solution, tailoring it your business’s unique workflows and software requirements. This means seamless integration with your existing CRM, DMS, MAM systems – you name it. 

Dropbox Or DAM: Which Is Best For Me?

If you’re a small-to-medium size business that only works with standard file types like PDFs, Word documents and JPEGs, the Dropbox model may be more suitable to your business needs.   

However, when businesses start to grow, hire more employees and handle larger amounts of digital content, basic file management software like Dropbox is no longer the most practical solution.  

How Do You Know You’re Ready For a DAM? 

Dropbox falls short when it comes to intelligently managing and storing creative content. 

For instance, how many times have we forgotten a file name or saved something in the wrong folder? How long does it take to search and sift through files and folders trying to find what you need? How much time does this waste, how frustrated does this leave you? 

If only you could search using internal language, subject matter or facial recognition to find what you’re after, instantly. Thankfully, this is possible with a DAM solution with custom metadata – it takes away all the frustration and hard work while letting users do their job efficiently – and simply.  

So, if you’re a larger business, have plans for growth or work with complex RAW images or 3D files, a DAM solution is not only more practical, it’s a solution for your specific use case.  

With features like video and image editing, custom share links, file formatting and archiving, DAM software caters to all teams and all stages of the digital asset lifecycle. It’s more flexible and scalable as your business and file storage needs change and expand over time.   

How Much Does a DAM Cost?

Unlike Dropbox, there is no set price for a DAM solution. The price of the software will be tailored to your unique use case – number of users, integrations, customisations and storage requirements.  

However, it’s important not to focus on price alone when comparing Dropbox and DAM software. This could mean sacrificing the features and services that will benefit your organisation the most in the long run.