In 2025 how to choose a Digital Asset Management in Australia

This updated post covers the changes and biggest new factors to consider when choosing a DAM in Australia in 2025.

Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions have evolved significantly since our original blog on this topic in 2021, becoming a cornerstone of content management strategies for many organisations. With advances in technology, shifts in privacy concerns, and changes in the competitive landscape, choosing the right DAM solution has become more complex yet essential. This updated guide provides the latest insights and key considerations to help you make an informed decision in 2025.

In this updated guide, we not only highlight the vendors thriving in 2024 but also reflect on the evolving challenges and opportunities within the DAM market for Australian businesses. We also recommend you read our latest ebook on picking the winning DAM for your organisation.

Biggest new factors in the digital asset management (DAM) world since 2021

The past three years have seen a transformation in how DAM systems are perceived, used, and valued. Here are some of the most critical changes:

AI Integration and Automation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionised DAM platforms, particularly in automating metadata entry and improving content discovery. AI capabilities, like those seen in Canto’s AI Visual Search, enable users to find content without needing to manually enter metadata, significantly enhancing efficiency and usability. This shift towards AI-driven functionality allows for a more intuitive user experience, reducing manual tasks and improving content accessibility. For more on this, check our detailed post on AI in DAM here.
Rising Concerns Over Privacy and Consent
With the increasing emphasis on data privacy and user consent, managing these aspects within DAM solutions has become a priority. Organisations are now demanding more sophisticated tools to handle digital rights, permissions, and compliance requirements. DAM systems are evolving to include features that help manage privacy and consent efficiently, adapting to stricter compliance needs highlighted in our guide on managing privacy and consent in DAM here. We wrote an eBook on Privacy and Consent in DAM.
Consolidation of the Market
The DAM landscape has seen the demise of smaller, underfunded brands, with bigger players acquiring or outperforming them. This consolidation has led to a more competitive market dominated by well-resourced vendors that continue to innovate and expand their offerings. Read about the best alternatives to smaller DAM brands here.
High Demand for Integrations
Integrations remain a critical factor for DAM selection as businesses seek solutions that seamlessly fit into their existing technology stacks. Whether it’s integrating DAM with popular platforms like WordPress or Akeneo, the ability to connect with other software solutions has become a defining feature of top-tier DAMs. Explore Canto’s latest integration capabilities here.

Core requirements remain the same - "Can't find it, can't use it!"

The fundamental user need—finding and using assets easily—remains unchanged. However, in today’s tightening financial climate, businesses are seeking solutions that offer even greater cost-effectiveness. Current estimates indicate that around 100 new Australian organisations will deploy DAM solutions, representing a collective investment of approximately $2.5 million.

Key factors to consider in 2025

1. Infrastructure

On-premise DAM solutions have become a thing of the past, with cloud-based offerings dominating the market. Amazon AWS is the preferred choice, providing robust replication and backup services between Sydney and Melbourne, ensuring full Australian data sovereignty.

2. Technology

AWS continues to be the leading infrastructure choice, offering reliable, scalable, and secure hosting options. For DAM vendors, leveraging AWS’s technology stack allows them to offer superior performance and data security to their clients. Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure are still behind most of the top DAM software. Besides providing highly secure data centres, the benefit of having these tech giants as a base of your digital asset management technology is just that – the world-class technology they provide, allowing for introduction of new and powerful features in blink of an eye.

What if a DAM solution you’re considering is not hosted on AWS or Azure? It’s possible it is being developed in-house and is hosted on a local server. This type of technology, while being low-cost, might be unreliable and prone to system failures that take time to being resolved. In addition, any updates to software would require additional investment and new functionality may take long time to develop. Questions to ask: is the hardware and network infrastructure capable of handling the DAM software and data transfer needs? If not, what will the upgrades cost?

3. Resources and Innovation

As we wrote in 2021, smaller DAM vendors usually lack in this area with their resources limited innovation is not on top of their list. The issues here might arise if a problem occurs with a user’s solution (or a customer has a new requirement) that requires creative problem-solving, if a vendor cannot innovate it is unlikely that they’ll be able to help here. Typically, global DAM vendors have vast resources available and dedicated to product development and innovation, and their teams are always looking at improving their solutions.

As anticipated, smaller DAM vendors have struggled to keep up, leaving the market dominated by those with the resources to innovate. Investment in AI, user-friendly interfaces, and advanced integrations has set the top vendors apart.

4. Security

Security is now the primary concern for DAM buyers. Compliance with standards such as ISO27001 and SOC 2 is no longer optional but a mandatory requirement. Organisations are investing heavily in solutions that offer robust security frameworks to protect their digital assets.

Is your data stored in ISO 27001 compliant data centre? Will your digital assets be safe in the event of a system failure or another catastrophic event? After making sure your data will be stored in a secure environment, you should consider what type of user access authentication would be appropriate for your organisation, and if access permissions need to be included for other employees, global teams, and external parties.

5. Reporting and Analytics

There has been little change in the reporting and analytics capabilities of DAM systems since 2021. While these features remain critical, they have not seen the same level of innovation as AI-driven functionalities.

Having an audit trail and tool to monitor user behaviour (downloads, uploads, search queries, etc.) is an important capability to have and might be essential for some organisations.

6. Digital Rights Management

Topics like copyright, privacy, and consent have taken centre stage. DAMs now include more advanced tools for managing digital rights, helping organisations comply with complex legal and regulatory requirements. For an in-depth look at these issues, visit our blog posts on SOC 2 compliance, privacy management, and copyright.

7. Integrations

The ability to integrate DAM solutions into existing workflows has become a significant differentiator. With a growing number of integrations available, DAMs are now more adaptable, fitting seamlessly into an organisation’s existing software ecosystem.

8. Archival Capabilities

Archival functionality remains largely unchanged from 2021, continuing to play a critical role in long-term content storage and management.

9. Functionality and AI

AI-driven capabilities are now at the forefront of DAM functionality. From automatically tagging assets to recommending relevant content based on user queries, AI has significantly enhanced the user experience. Imagine simply entering a query like “images for a Sydney-based construction client presentation,” and having your DAM deliver the assets directly to your preferred presentation tool, such as Canva or PowerPoint.

10. Budget Considerations

Budget remains a critical factor. As organisations are pressured to do more with less, the focus has shifted towards DAM solutions that provide cost savings, either through automation, reduced operational overhead, or fewer manual tasks.

Comparison of DAM vendors available in Australia

Selecting a Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution in Australia can feel like a daunting task. With a myriad of options available worldwide, narrowing down the right solution for your organisation requires careful consideration. In our previous article, How to Choose a Digital Asset Management Solution in Australia, we explored the key factors to consider when starting your DAM search. This updated guide focuses on popular DAM solutions available within Australia in 2025.

For clarity, this list doesn’t cover every DAM vendor that might be available in the region. Instead, we’ve selected solutions based on our research and feedback from Australian organisations. If you believe there’s a DAM we’ve overlooked, feel free to let us know.

Full Disclosure: As a certified reseller for Canto, we’re proud advocates of their solutions. That said, every organisation’s needs are unique, and the best DAM for you will depend on your specific requirements.

Canto

Canto, a pioneer in the DAM industry, has over 25 years of experience. Originally known for their on-premise solution, Cumulus, they pivoted to the cloud in 2014 with their lightweight DAM, Canto. Trusted by small to medium-sized organisations worldwide, including many in Australia, Canto is particularly strong in the education, government and brand sectors.

Key Features:

Built on AWS technology, ensuring robust hosting and Australian data sovereignty.
Free functionality updates rolled out several times a year.
User-friendly, intuitive interface.
Advanced branded portal capabilities for internal and external asset sharing.
Mac OS and Windows integrations, DRM, archiving/expiry support, and asset use reporting.
Limited audio and video functionality, which may not suit organisations with heavy media needs.

How to choose a DAM solution in Australia in 2025