Google Drive vs DAM: Which One To Choose and Why?

With the volume of content being created by organizations today, it’s vital to ensure that your assets are not only secured in the cloud but also stored in a way that is efficient for everyone. While both Google Drive and DAMs can technically store your digital assets, their capabilities are very different. Google Drive is secure cloud storage to save all of your digital content. You may save, share, and work together on files and folders from a computer, tablet, or mobile device. On the other hand, digital asset management solutions give you a single location to keep your valuable digital assets and arrange them so that your colleagues don't require your help to discover them. By including metadata, you turn the files into assets, increasing their worth by allowing you to find, share, and reuse them later on. One significant difference is that a Digital Asset Management system like ioMoVo is shared and immediately available to users in the company. The files you keep on Google Drive are private; if you want to share any, you may decide which ones to do so. The two solutions start at opposite ends, so let's take a look at each.

1. Digital Asset Management
2. Benefits of ioMoVo's DAM
3. Google Drive
4. Benefits of Google Drive
5. DAM Vs. Google Drive: Key Feature Differences
6. Choosing a DAM Over Google Drive: Why?
7. Upgrade to DAM

What is (DAM) Digital Asset Management?

As previously highlighted, digital asset management (DAM) is the solution by which businesses store, distribute, arrange, locate, and retrieve digital assets (such as videos, audio files, branding materials, presentations, and proposals) from their constantly expanding collection of content, rich media, and digital materials.

In other words, businesses use a DAM system to store and distribute the thousands of digital assets they regularly employ to develop their brands, equip their sales teams, and produce proposals that attract more clients.

Benefits of (DAM) Digital Asset Management 

1. Simple Access to Digital Content

The capability to quickly identify, access, recover, and use all digital content from a sole source is a DAM's main advantage. It makes sure that all files are properly indexed and metadata-structured so that they may later be found and retrieved quickly. Even if you are unable to remember the precise name of a certain file, you can still search using a variety of parameters, such as keyword tags, descriptions, categories, indexed document content, and more.

2. Use Your Assets Everywhere

You can link and integrate with nearly any other cloud storage platform like Dropbox, Box, AWS, FTP, SharePoint, and many more including Google Drive! You may use ioMoVo right out of the box to add photographs or graphics to a Word document or a PowerPoint presentation you're working on, and you can trust that all the files you can pick from are safe to use.

3. Asset Sharing and Collaboration

Share resources with coworkers or outside parties. You can share content and control access so that users only access what you want them to, and even when they access the content, they can only perform actions within their assigned role. For example, a user can have read-only access where they cannot edit the document you shared. You may also share with other ioMoVo users and outsiders, like a project stakeholder or an outside advertising agency. Additionally, invitees have the option of annotating the item with notes and visual markings. For instance, if you're working on a creative project where graphics are crucial and you want input on a graphic file, like a logo, this is helpful.

4. Automate Tasks and Processes to Boost Efficiency

You can be more effective when being creative if you have a DAM system. You can quickly identify assets in ioMoVo and download them in the size and file format you want thanks to tools like crop and format conversion. To obtain the items you need in the ideal size even faster, you may even design your own pre-sets.

5. Advanced Asset Security

Organizations can control digital media more strictly thanks to access permits for internal and external users. A DAM provides increased security and compliance along with version control, history tracking, and watermarks.

6. Integrate With Existing Workflow

An effective asset management platform should be more than simply a repository; it should enable teams to access and use assets more quickly and easily, maximizing the impact of each item you develop. Some apps let users access their Google Drive from inside their user interface, allowing them to explore and upload files, while top DAM systems provide a far wider range of connectors. As an example, some DAMs include plugins and integrations that enable creatives to quickly locate and modify files stored in the DAM using different cloud storage platforms. With this feature, team members may work on files on their preferred creative platforms without switching between tabs, saving time.

Want to learn more about ioMoVo’s DAM and its capabilities? 

Read our guide: How Do You Make Data and AI Accessible to All? AI-powered DAM is an Answer!

What is Google Drive?

Google Drive (GDrive), a cloud-based storage service that has free and paid tiers, is mostly used by people and businesses who want simple file management and storage capabilities. Users may store files in the cloud, synchronize data between devices, and easily share files using the file storage and syncing service Google Drive. Users who currently use the G-Suite of applications and integrations, such as Gmail, Sheets, and Calendar, will find Google Drive to be a great alternative that integrates seamlessly with the other Google Services and Apps.

What are the Benefits of Using Google Drive?

1. Easily Access All Your Content

Currently, up to 15GB of storage on Google Drive is free. There are higher storage allocations with a paid subscription. It can be used from any mobile device, tablet, or computer to save, share, and collaborate on files and folders. You have the option to control who may read, modify, and comment on your shared documents.

2. Increase Team Efficiency With Cloud-native Collaboration Apps

Google's office productivity suite, which consists of the cloud-native Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides applications, connects with Drive to let your team work successfully and in real time. Without the need to switch from current tools, you may start creating and sharing content with your team right away. Google Suite is a competitor to Microsoft Office, however, it also works with Microsoft Office.

3. Faster Teamwork With Google AI and Search

GDrive includes Google's robust search features, which provide unrivaled speed, performance, and dependability. Additionally, features like priority make use of AI to anticipate your needs and identify the most pertinent content, making it possible for your team to locate files up to 50% quicker. Search for a word in the picture file, filter by file type, or use a keyword search.

DAM vs Google Drive.

Although Google Drive does have some rudimentary DAM features, it was not designed as a DAM, but as a cloud storage solution. To put it another way, utilizing Google Drive as your primary digital asset management system is like trying to hit a baseball with a tennis racquet. It may theoretically work, but there are better tools available. Features ioMoVo DAM Google DriveOrganize documents and folders✔✔Back up and sync files✔✔Collaborate with guests✔✔Camera2Cloud✔✔Share and publish✔✔Mobility✔✔Integration with apps✔✔AI Search✔✔Cloud storage✔✔Meta Tags and Descriptions✔✘AI Extract - Product Categorization, and Tags✔✘Convert File Formats✔✘AI Recognition - Facial, Emotion, Content, Speech✔✘Automated Transcription✔✘Auto Captioning and Subtitles✔✘API Support✔✘Natural Language Processor✔✘Built-in meta editor✔✘Built-in captioning editor✔✘Built-in transcription editor✔✘Video/Audio Indexing✔✘

Choosing a DAM over Google Drive: Why?

While many businesses start out by using a free cloud-based system like Google Drive to store their files, they frequently discover as they expand that they want a more powerful solution to manage their content, especially for their rich media. While switching to a DAM has many advantages for enterprises, these are a few standout features:

✔ Category Access Management: You may provide your team bespoke access rights using a DAM, ensuring that only the authorized individuals have access to the required assets.

✔ Previewing: Users can preview design files, PDFs, movies, 3D files, big format photos, and other types of assets using a DAM.

✔ Asset Rendering and Resizing: When downloading or sharing assets, DAM users can customize the size and format of each file. Users just require authorization to utilize the rendering capability; they are no longer dependent on the design team for assistance.

✔ Global Search: You may find what you're searching for with the help of a DAM's extra sophisticated search options, such as AI auto-tagging, without having to dig through a sizable amount of assets.

✔ Support: A DAM (particularly, ioMoVo) provides limitless onboarding and training, so if you ever run into problems using ioMOVo or just need a refresher, the ioMoVo team will be happy to assist you right away, free of charge.

✔ Data Security: You can always feel confident that your assets are safeguarded since ioMoVo is dedicated to providing enterprise-level compliance and security.

Don't know how to use ioMoVo for your benefits?

Read our support guide here. 

Are You Ready for an Upgrade?

Since we now know the key benefits that a DAM and Google Drive both offer, it is obvious why so many businesses opt to switch to a DAM. Teams who work with a lot of rich media and want to become more effective should consider selecting a DAM solution. These teams also need enhanced asset discoverability, increased security, and gradual user and storage growth. Large businesses throughout the world rely on ioMoVo, a digital asset management solution, to help them make the most of their extremely valuable digital assets. A pioneer in cloud-based digital asset management, ioMoVo assists businesses in managing, organizing, and sharing their digital assets, boosting productivity and return on investment. Start your free 30-day trial of ioMoVo here.