1/12/2015

OpenSourceDigitalAssetManagement

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ReviewofAvailableOpenSourceDAMSoftware
byNareshSarwanonAugust7,2014
Inthisarticle,weintroducethemainopensourceDAMsolutionsthatarecurrentlyavailable(16atthelatestcount).Mostproducts
mentionedhereareprimarilywebbased.Insomecasesdesktopclientsmayalsobeprovidedasanalternativemodeofinteractionalso.
Basedonfeedbackreceived,wehaverecentlychangedtheorderoftheproductssothatpurewebDAMsystemsareshownfirst,followed
byECMsuitesandthenpreservationorientedsolutions.
IndeterminingwhichproductsaresuitabletohavethedescriptionOpenSourceapplied,wehaveassessedeachvendortoidentifyifthey
usealicencethatisOSIapprovedasthemaincriteriaforinclusion.Readersshouldnotethatthisdoesnotmeantheyarenecessarilyfreeof
cost(eithertopurchaseorforcustomisationandongoingsupport)andeachvendorshouldbeconsultedtogetabetterideaoftheactual
totalcostofownership.
Weintendtokeepthispageuptodatewithnewentrantstothemarketandadjustreviewsbasedondeeperinvestigationofeachproductand
anyinformationthatmightcometolight.
Anyvendorswhoarenotlistedandbelievetheyshouldbeincludedmaycontactususingourcontactformandrequestalisting.Please
indicatethelicenceyouuseifyouwishtobelistedandsupplydetailsofyourwebsite.PleaserefrainfromsendingdetailsofECM
(EnterpriseContentManagement)softwareunlessyouspecificallyprovideaDigitalAssetManagement(DAM)facilitywithinthat.
Ifyouarealreadylistedandwantalogoentry,pleaseaddyoudetailstotheDAMvendordirectoryontheDigitalAssetManagementNews
site.

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RivaModeling
EnterpriseAssetManagement.HelpingyouachieveISO55000.

PureWebDAM
ECMSuitesWithDAMModules
PreservationDAM

PureWebDAM

Activae
ActivaeisdevelopedbyCenatic,anagencyoftheSpanishgovernmentandisaPythonbasedDAM(likeCyn.in,NotreDAMandsome
proprietaryDAMsolutionssuchasAssetBank).ActivaeusestheCherokeeWebServerandincludesanadvancedAPIsoiswellsuitedfor
integration(butXML/RPCratherthanthemoreconventionalRESTorCMISgateways).Itincludesaseparatetranscodingserverdetached
fromthewebapplicationwhichpermitsittoscalequiteeasily.ThisismorecommoninenterpriseDAMsystemsbutlesssoinopensource
products(FocusOPENandRazunaaretheonlyproductswhichincludeadedicatedassetmanipulationserverthatweareawareof).Being
fromapublicsectorheritage,ActivaeisstrongonDMCI(DublinCore)andincludesadvancedworkflowcapabilities.ActivaehasaBSD
licence(incommonwithResourceSpace).
ThekeydrawbackisthelackofEnglishlanguagedocumentation,thewholeActivaesiteisinSpanishonlyandforthisplatformtogain
traction,itneedstoreachouttoawidermarket.Cenaticarekeenfortheirusercommunitytoassistwiththisprocessbutinourview,they
needtopossiblymakesomeinvestmentintoreachingouttoawiderusercommunity.Theirproductisclearlyverystrongtechnicallyand
couldgainfargreatertractionandpotentialrevenuetoreinvestbackintoR&Diftheyhadawiderbaseofusers.
SinceActivaewasfirstaddedtothislistofproducts,therehavebeenfewupdatessinceAugust2012,soyouwouldneedtocheckwhetherit
isstillbeingactivelysupportedandensurethatyouhavelocalaccesstoPythonskills(andthatyourdeveloperscangettogripswiththe
codetomodifyityourselfifrequired).
Summary:veryfastandscalablealternativetosomelesssophisticatedproprietaryDAMs.Veryflexiblelicenceandgreatforanyone
comfortablewithPythonbutonlyforthosewithSpanishlanguageskillsatpresent.
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Licence:BSD
Technology:Cherokee,Python
Website:http://activae.cenatic.es/

StartDownload
ConvertAnyFiletoaPDF.GettheFreeFromDoctoPdfApp!

EnterMedia
FormerlyOpenEditDAM,EnterMediaisanopensourceDigitalAssetManagementsystemdevelopedusingtheOpenEditcontent
managementframework.EnterMediaincludesfullsupportforthetypicalrangeoffacilitiesthatmodernDAMsystemsshouldincludeas
standard,includingextractionofembeddedmetadata,bulkuploading,transformationofimagebasedassetsetc.Bydefault,EnterMedia
usesXMLfilesratherthanadatabase,however,databaseconnectorsareavailableforthosewhoarenotkeenonthisapproach.The
OpenEditframeworkiswellestablishedandEnterMediasuseofitisaswellasJavamarksitassuitableforenterpriseuse.
EnterMediahasrecentlyacquiredgreaterpopularityamongsttheA/Vcommunityandhasanumberofpluginswhichenableittobemore
easilyintegratedwithvideotechnologies,notablytheRhozetCarbonCodertranscodingtool.
Summary:GoodAVDAMsolution.Javabasedsosuitableforenterpriseuse.
Licence:GPL(versionnotknown)
Downloadlink:http://entermediasoftware.com/download.html
Technology:Java,XML
Website:http://entermediasoftware.com

StartDownload
CleanPC,BoostSpeed,FixErrors.(HighlyRecommended!)

FocusOPENDigitalAssetManager
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FocusOPENisaWindowsNETbasedopensourceDAM.Therearetwovariations:afreeAGPLeditionwithapublicdownloadanda
Commercialversion.ThefreeversionhasanAGPL3opensourcelicence,theCommerciallicenceincludesaclausetoenablethe
attributiontoberemovedandtheoptiontoavoidmakingthesourcecodemodificationspublic(butstillincludesthesourcecode).They
haveelectedtoadvancereleaseupdatestoCommercialusersfirstalsoandtherearemanyfeaturesthatareunavailableonthefreeto
downloadedition.
FocusOPENismarketedasDAMplatformfor.NETdevelopersandWindowssystemsadministrators(especiallythosewhoarepreparedto
takethecodeandmodifyitfortheirownpurposes).
AswellasmanyofthetypicalfeaturesofaDAMsystemlikesupportforalltypesofmedia,embeddedmetadataextractionandasset
manipulation.AseparateAssetProcessingServer(transcodingfacility),serversideJavaScriptscriptingengine,APIisprovidedaswell
asLDAPsupportandversioningofbothassetfilesandmetadata.Thechoiceof.NETasthedevelopmentlanguagemakesithighlysuitable
forenterpriseuse.Oneoftheothermajorfeaturesisamultibrandcapabilitywhichenablesasingleinstancetobeusedfordifferent
repositoriesofassetswitheachbrandhavingitsownvisualidentity,URL,permissions,metadataandusers.Thereseemstobeadegreeof
similaritybetweenFocusOPENandsomeotherclosedsourceproducts.
Thepublicopensourceeditionprovidesmanyofthefacilitiesbutlackssomeenterprisecapabilities(likeADintegration)andmore
critically,thebatchimportoptionsforloadinginassetsfromCSVdataareCommercialonly.IfyouwantsupportwithanSLA,a
CommerciallicenceisrequiredandtheSLApricesareexcessiveforsmallcompaniessotheyneedtohavesomeoneinhousewhocanroll
uptheirsleeves.FocusOPENhasasophisticatedarrayoffeatures,however,acriticismwewouldmakeisthatthelimiteddocumentationof
theproductisnteasytouncover.Theydooperateanopenforumontheirsiteandthesupportresponseisgenerallyindepthanddelivered
reasonablyquicklyconsideringthelackofformalSLAforthefreeversion.
Summary:AimedsquarelyatthebusinessDAMmarket,thisissuitableforEnterpriseslookingforanopensource.NETbasedDAMor
.NETdeveloperswhowanttouseareadymadeproductasabasisfortheirowncustomsolution.
Licence:AGPL3.0andCommercial
Downloadlink:http://www.focusopen.com
Technology:ASP.NET,SQLServer2005/2008/2012
Website:http://www.focusopen.com

Gallery
MenaltosGalleryisdescribedasaPhotoAlbumOrganizerratherthanaDigitalAssetManagementsystem,however,itdoesoffera
numberoffeaturesandbenefitsthatallowittooperatelikeaDAMsolution.OneoftwoPHPbasedassetmanagementsolutionsfeatured
here,Gallery,ismainlyorientedtowardstheneedsofphotographsandimages,however,itdoeshavesupportforvideo.Galleryisdesigned
tointegratewithotherPHPapplicationsandincludessupportforimagemanipulation,searchingandmanyofthecorefunctionsofother
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DAMsolutions.
Summary:IdealforhobbyistsorprovidinganimagegalleryfunctiontoanexistingPHPbasedsite.
Licence:GPL(versionnotknown)
Downloadlink:http://codex.gallery2.org/Downloads
Technology:PHP,MySQL
Website:http://gallery.menalto.com/

NotreDAM
NotreDAMwasdevelopedbyCRS4(CenterforAdvancedStudies,ResearchandDevelopmentinSardinia)andalthoughithasan
academicbackground,itissomewhatsimplerthanFedoraorDSpaceandsharesanumberofcharacteristicswithmorecommercially
orientedopensourceDAMsystems.NotreDAMusesPython(asdoesCynapsementionedabove).BydefaultitincludesaSQLLite
database(althoughthiscanbechangedtoMySQLoranalternativeRDBMS).NotreDAMusestheMediaDARTframeworkwhich
providesanumberofmediaprocessingfeaturesthatareidealforDigitalAssetManagement.NotreDAMisalsotightlyintegratedwith
XMPandcontainsanumberofoptionsforXMPbasedmetadatamanipulation.Theapplicationitselfcontainsthecorefundamentals
requiredforseriousDAMincludingawebbasedinterface,supportforimages,videoanddocuments,workflows,multipletaxonomiesanda
varietyofotherfunctionalitysuchasGeotagging.
Summary:HighlysuitableaslesscomplexalternativetoDSpaceorFedoraalsowellworthcheckingoutfornonacademicuse.Oneto
watch.
Licence:GPL3
Downloadlink:http://www.notredam.org/download.html
Technology:Python/Django,SQLLiteorMySQL(oranyotherDjangocompatibleRDBMS)
Website:http://www.notredam.org/

Phraseanet
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PhraseanetbyFrenchvendor,Alchemy,wasformerlyalicensedproductcosting7,500Euros.However,Alchemyhavechangedtheir
licensingpolicyrecentlyandswitchedtoopensource.AlchemywereoriginallyaresellerforPhrasea,butacquiredtherightstoitin2000.
TheyhavealongertrackrecordintheDAMsectorthanalmostanyotherfeaturedvendorhereapartfromDaydream(havingbeenoperating
since1996).PhraseanetisPHP&MySQLbased(asareResourceSpaceandGallery).Thefeaturesprovidedareimpressiveand
demonstratejustwhatapowerfulchallengeopensourceDAMnowpresentstoproprietaryalternatives.Phraseanethassupportforimages,
videoanddocuments(usingtheusualcomboofImageMagick,FFMPEG,OpenOfficeetc.forprocessing)andincludesanimpressive
searchingcapabilityaswellaslightboxes(favourites).Otherfeaturesincludeathesaurus,livefoldersandFlashbasedfileuploaders,an
LDAPintegrationmoduleisalsoavailable.AlchemyhavedefinitelyputthemselvesbackonthemapbyelectingtotakePhraseanetopen
sourceanditswellworthcheckingoutifyourpreferenceisforaPHP/MySQLbasedproduct.TheGPL3Licenceismorerestrictivethan
BSD,butstillperfectlyusableforclientprojects,Alchemythemselvesalsoprovidearangeofdevelopmentandsupportservicesaswellasa
SoftwareasaService(SaaS)option.
Summary:IdealforPHPdevelopmersandapossiblealternativetoResourceSpace.BuiltbyavendorwithalongtrackrecordinDAM.
Licence:GPL3
Downloadlink:http://www.phraseanet.com/en/download/
Technology:PHP&MySQL
Website:http://www.phraseanet.com/

Razuna
TheRazunaproductisJava/CFML(ColdFusion)based.IncommonwithmostprofessionalDAMsystems,Razunasupportsmosttypesof
media,extractsIPTCandXMPmetadatafromassetsandalsoincludesanAPI.RazunamakesuseofanopensourcevariantofCFMLusing
OpenBDwhichispoweredbyJ2EE.RazunaofferaWordPresspluginaswellasadesktopclientasanalternativetopurewebbased
delivery.Theyincludesomemorescalableoptionslikeadedicatedassetprocessingserverwhichuseswgettoinitiatetranscodingjobson
anotherserver.FocusOPENincludessomethingsimilar,however,thatisbasedonWCFandrunsasaseparateWindowsservice(which
maybebetterorworsedependingonyourcircumstances).Itlacksascriptinglanguagetocontrolit,however,theAPIiswelldeveloped
andinessence,thechoiceofCFMLsomewhatnegatestheneedforoneanyway(itsmorecompiledsystemswherethisisabenefit)
Razunahaveextensivelydevelopedtheirproductoverthelastfewyearsanditnowincludesvariousotherspecialistfeaturesandservices.
OneofthemainadvantagesitcanofferistheabilitytointegratewithavarietyofCloudstorageproviders.Theyalsoappeartohavestarted
totargetafewnichesectors,suchasRazunaBlueLightforlawenforcementclients.
TheuseofCFMLratherthanJavaor.NETmakesthislessenterprisefriendlythanthedeveloperswouldprobablylikeittobe.Thatsaid,
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theCFMLstackisessentiallybuiltasascriptinglanguageforJavaobjectsanditdoeshavetheadvantageofallowingthecodetobe
modifiedfarmoreeasilythansomeoftheJavaor.NEToptions.
Onthenegativeside,thisvendorappearstohavemovedaroundEurope,startinginSwitzerland,thentellingustheywereaUKcompany
andnowtheysaytheyareDanish.Thissuggestsasomewhatmobileand/orfluidexecutiveteamalthoughtheyappeartobestabilisinga
lotmoreinrecentyears(andtheyarestillheresince2007).Theirdownloadnumbersalsolookdubiousandappeartomultiply
exponentiallyeveryfewmonthstolevelsthatseemimplausibleforthesizeofthismarket.Withallthatbeingsaid,ifyoucanseebeyond
someofthemorearrogantpufferyoftheirmarketingoutput,thisiscreditableDAMproductthatiswellworthincludingonyourshortlist.
Summary:AmidmarketDAMsolutionwithenterpriseambitionsbuiltusingJavaandCFML(ColdFusion),especiallysuitedtothose
lookingforaResourcespacealternativethatisnonPHPbased.
Licence:AGPLv3andCommercial
Downloadlink:http://www.razuna.org/download
Technology:Java,CFMLandJDBCwithPHPintegration
Website:http://www.razuna.com

ResourceSpace
ResourceSpacewasoriginallycommissionedbyUKcharityOxfamwhoreleasedtheproductwithaBSDlicencein2006andwas
developedDanHubyandNealeHall.IncontrastwithMenaltosGallery,ResourceSpaceisafullyfeaturedPHP/MySQLDAMsystem
anditsBSDlicenceisthemostpermissiveintermsofwhatthirdpartiescandowithit.ResourceSpaceprovidesawiderangeoffacilities
andusespurelyopensourcebasedtoolssuchasFFMPEG,ImageMagickandOpenOffice.Arangeofpluginsaddfurtherfunctionality,
includingLDAPintegrationandotherfeaturestoenableenterpriseorlargescaleuse.ThemetadatacapabilitiesofResourceSpaceare
highlydevelopedandtheyhavetakensomebold(butinourviewcorrect)decisionssuchastoeschewthefoldermetaphorsthatanumberof
othersystemsuse.TheimplicationofthisisthatonResourceSpace,youdontreproduceyourshareddrivewithsomeextrafeaturesthrown
intomakethedigitalassetmanagementtaskmorebearable,butinsteadreorientatetowardsasearchcentricperspectivethatmirrorshow
endusersofassetswillprobablybelookingforyourassets.
Theservice,hostingandsupportoptionsarereasonablypricedandithasgoodcommunitysupport.Anumberofcommercialprovidersalso
offerservicesaroundResourceSpaceinadditiontomoreadvancedfacilities(whichyoumayhavetopayfor).SinceResourceSpaceis
LAMP(Linux,Apache,MySQLandPHP)based,itiswellsuitedtowebdeveloperswhowanttoleveragetheirexistingPHPexpertise.
TheuseofPHPisimportantbecauseitmakesiteasiertofindskilledpersonnelwhocanadaptthesystemshouldyouneedto.Someofthe
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morecomplexoresoterictechnologyoptionsavailableforotheropensourceDAMplatformscouldpotentiallypresentproblemsforthose
whomayneedtogaincontrolofthecodelater.
InthepastResourceSpacewouldhavebeenusedmorebynotforprofitcharitiesetcandwebdesignerswhowantedtostayinPHPrather
thanusingJavaor.NET.ThatsituationhaschangedinrecentyearsbecausemoreenterpriseendusersarebecomingopentoLAMPbased
platforms.Cloudhosting(whichiseffectivelyaformofoutsourcing)hascontributedtomakingunderlyingplatformdistinctionsless
significantforenduserswhocarelessaboutwhetherornotitiscompliantwiththeirITdepartmentspoliciesandmorewhethertheirDAM
isrunningornotandwhatitcando.Thereareanumberoflargerendusersofthisplatformnowanditisnolongerthepurelycharity
orientedsystemthatitoncewas.
Summary:Stillagoodoptionfornotforprofitorganisationsandlibrariesthatarelookingforalotoffeatureswithouthighcostbut
increasinglyalsobylargerorganisationswhohavetheflexibilitytosupportaLAMPbasedsolution.Alsoagoodchoiceforwebsite
developerswhomaypreferaPHPbasedsystemratherthancomplexitiesofJavaor.NET.
Licence:BSD
Downloadlink:http://www.resourcespace.org/download.php
Technology:PHPandMySQL
Website:http://www.resourcespace.org

TACTIC
TACTICisdevelopedbyCanadiancompany,SouthpawTechnologyandisdescribedbythemasaProductionAssetManagementtool.It
hasonlyrecentlybeenmadeopensourceundertheEclipselicence,whichislessrestrictivethanthemorecommonGPL.Southpawhavea
strongbackgroundin3Danimationandfilm,butthesystemhasbeenappliedtootherindustriesalso(includingadvertisingandmarketing).
Therearetwoeditions:TacticTeamandEnterprise,bothofwhichareopensource.ACommerciallicenceisavailable,buttheredoesnt
appeartobeanyspecificdifferenceintermsofwhatyougetorthereleaseschedules.Aswithnearlyalltheopensourceoptionshere,
supportandprofessionalservicesareavailable.
ThekeyadvantageofTACTICseemstobeitsstrongworkflowcapabilitiesandsuitabilityformanaginglargevolumesofproductionassets
(especiallybigfiles).TACTICusestriggersandavisualworkflowdesignertoenablemoresophisticatedmanagementofproduction
processesandtaskslikesignoffandscheduling.Itsfarmoredevelopedasaproductionprojectmanagementtoolthanmostoftheother
opensourceDAMsystemsandincludessomefeaturesuchasbudgettrackingwhicharenotsotypicalforotherDAMsolutions.TACTIC
hasahighlydevelopedAPIandisstronglytransactionoriented(sothereareoptionstorollbackmostchanges).Itappearsstraightforward
tointegratewithothertechnologies,forexample,FFMPEGandothertranscodersorconversiontools.
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TACTICiswellsuitedtoabusyproductionenvironmentwhereareasonableamountofpriorplanninghasgoneintohowworkflowsneedto
operate,butpossiblytooindepthandcomplexforcasualuse.Ithasanumberofenterpriseorientedfeaturesandsupportsthatlevelof
technology.Intermsofdirectcomparisons,itsdifficulttoidentifywhichcompetingopensourcesystemissimilar,althoughEntermedia
haveadevelopingpresenceinthevideosector.TheuseofPythonisaninterestingchoice.Ithasthebenefitofbeingquickandeasytopick
up,especiallyforadeveloperwhohassomepriorexperienceinotherlanguages.However,itisntJavaandsomemightseethatasa
negativepoint,especiallyanyonewhoneedstogetthispastamoredraconianITdepartment.Ibelievethatsituationischanging,however,
andonedoesfindthatmanyDAMsystemsthatuseJavaor.NEToftenendupprovidinguserssomelightweightscriptingfacilityanyway
(eitherattherequestoftheirusersortosimplifytheirowndevelopmentprocesses).TACTIChasmanyoftheotherrequirementsof
enterprisesolutionsincludedasstandard,suchasLDAPintegrationetc.
WhereTACTIClookslikeitmightscorehighlyiswhencomparedwithcompetingproprietaryenterprisevendors,suchasNorthPlains
(whoarealsoinToronto),ADAMandOpenText.Thefeaturesandfacilitiesmeasureupquitewellwiththeseproductsbutthepotential
savingonlicencefeesandthehighlyexperiencedmanagementteamlookreadytogivethosevendorsaproperrunfortheirmoneyinhighly
productionorientedenvironments.
Summary:Strongworkflowandprojectmanagementcapabilities,highlysuitedtoproductionenvironments.Willrequireeitheradecent
investmentoftimeand/orprofessionalservicesassistancefromTACTIC.ThePythonimplementationmightputoffsomebutifyouare
thinkingaboutalargescaleenterpriseDAMsolutionthenTACTICiswellworthcheckingout.
Licence:EclipseandCommercial
Downloadlink:http://community.southpawtech.com/downloads
Technology:Python,PostgresorOracle

ECMSuitesWithDAMModules

Alfresco
Anumberofpeoplehavecommentedand/orcontactedustoaskwhyAlfrescohavenotbeenincludedinourlistofopensourceDAM
systems.Thereasonisthatasdescribedinthedefinitionatthetopofthearticle,AlfrescodonthaveaspecificDAMproductpers
unlikesomeoftheotheropensourceECMplatformswhodo.However,sincetherehasbeenahighvolumeofenquiriesaboutthissubject,
belowaresomelinksforanyonewhoisinterestedinadaptingAlfrescoforDAM.Itshouldbepointedoutthoughthatifyouaresearching
foradedicatedDAMsolutionratherthananECMthatcandoDAMwithpluginsandconfiguration,Alfrescomaynotnecessarilybethe
moststraightforwardoption.IfyouresoldontheAlfrescoECMplatformforotherreasonsandwanttoleverageyourinvestmentthenit
representsagoodchoice.
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EmbeddedMetadata
http://forge.alfresco.com/projects/iptcexif/
http://forge.alfresco.com/projects/xmp/
ProxyProcessing
http://forge.alfresco.com/projects/thumbnails/
TheabovewerekindlyboughttoourattentionbyRayGaussII,CTOofRightsAssist,LLCwhoalsodevelopedthecomponents.
InadditionIntegratedSemanticsproduceanAIRbasedRIAclientforAlfrescowhichalsointegratessomeDAMfunctionalitysuchas
proxygeneration.MoredetailsareavailableontheAlfrescoforum.

Cynapse
CynapsesDigitalAssetManagementsolutionisamoduleoftheirCyn.inECMofferingwhichenablesittoleverageanumberofinherent
featuresalreadyprovidedaspartofthewiderplatform.TheNuxeoproductdiscussedbelowisalsopartofanECMsolution.Whatappears
tobemissingfromabriefinvestigationoftheirpromotionalliteratureissupportforembeddedmetadata,however,workflowand
transcodingfacilitiesareavailableastooaredesktopclients.Cyn.iniswritteninPython,ZopeandusesthePloneopensourceframework
(NotreDAMdiscussedbelowisalsoPythonbased).
Summary:IdealforthoselookingatDAMaspartofanECMframeworkand/orforaPythonbasedsolution.
Licence:GPLv3
Downloadlink:http://www.cynapse.com/downloads/cynincommunityedition
Technology:Java,CFMLandJDBCwithPHPintegration
Website:http://www.cynapse.com/solutions/technologysolutions/digitalassetmanagement

NuxeoDAM
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NuxeoaretargetingtheenterpriseendoftheDigitalAssetManagementmarket.NuxeosopensourceDAMofferinghasonlybeen
availablesinceJanuary2010andisoneofthemorerecententrantstotheopensourceDAMsector.Nuxeoalreadyhaveexpertiseacquired
intheopensourceEnterpriseContentManagement(ECM)marketandboastimpressiveenterprisecredentials.TheirDAMsolution
supportsembeddedmetadataextraction,interoperabilitywiththeirECMsystemandLDAPintegration.UnlikeothermoreEnterprise
orientedOpenSourcesolutionssuchasFocusOPEN,themajorityofdependenttechnologiesarealsoopensource,forexampletheuseof
Lucenceasthetextsearchengine.Nuxeopermitfreedownloadoftheirproduct(albeitwithregistration).
Summary:AnenterpriseDAMsolutionbuiltinJavausinganestablishedECMframework.
Licence:LGPL
Downloadlink:http://www.nuxeo.com/en/downloads/downloaddamform
Technology:JavaandJDBC
Website:http://www.nuxeo.com

Preservation
Concerto
Concertoisapreservation/collectionsorientedopensourceDAM,butitdoeshavesomefeatureswhichpotentiallymakeitsuitablefor
generalusetoo.ItwasbuiltbyMiddleburyCollegesCurricularTechnologyDevelopmentLab.Thepreservationbackgroundismade
fairlyclearbytheproductterminology,CollectionsandExhibitions.Collectionsarecombinationsofassetsthatareaccessedbya
searchandbrowseinterface.Exhibitionsarepresentationsorslideshowsthatallowuserstodemonstratetheirassetcollectionsand
includenoteswiththem.Concertousesaneditor/viewerconfiguration.ViewerscanbedeliveredviaalowprofileJavaScriptapplication
whichaccessestheConcertodata.Concertohasotherlessspecialisedfeaturesincluding:zoomimagepreviews,custommetadataschemas,
automatedproxygeneration(thumbnailsandpreviews),batchimportingandembeddedmetadatareading,LDAPintegrationandwhatthey
callhierarchicalauthorizationswhichsoundslikeworkflow.AllofthesearewhatyoumightexpecttofindinthepurewebDAMsystems
describedabove(inadditiontoitscapabilitiesforpreservation).
TheuseofPHPandMySQLmakesConcertofairlyusablefordeploymenttocommodityhostingenvironmentsbuttheLDAPintegration
alsoofferssomepluspointsforusingitinacorporatesetting.GiventhebackgroundofConcerto,however,itdoessoundlikeacollegeor
universitywouldbetheidealusecasescenarioforaproductofthisnature,however,ifyouhaveaccesstodevelopersfromasimilar
backgroundthereisnoreasonitcouldnotbeadaptedforotherscenarios.ConcertoisbuiltontopoftheHarmoniApplicationFramework
(alsodevelopedbyMiddleburyCollege).Thisseemstobeagenericarchitectureforthedevelopmentofmanytypesofinformation
managementsolutionssopotentiallyoffersthepotentialtoextendtheproductfurtherbyleveragingtheframework.TheGPL2licence
presentsfewissuesforthirdpartydevelopers(althoughintegrationwithothersolutionsissubjecttotheusualrestrictionswithanyGPL
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code).
Summary:Aimedatauniversity/highereducationusagescenario,ConcertoispreservationorientedbuthasenoughgeneralDAM
capabilitiestomakeitpotentiallyagoodallroundsolution
Licence:GPL2
Downloadlink:http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=88266&package_id=164762
Technology:PHP,MySQLorPostgres
Website:http://concerto.sourceforge.net/

DSpace
DSpaceisaframeworkfordevelopingDigitalAssetManagementsolutions.DevelopedbyHPandMITLibraries,itisusedextensivelyby
academicandresearchorganisationswhichmakesitwellsuitedforpreservationusagescenarios.DSpaceimplementationsareorganised
intoCommunitieswhichhaveresponsibilityforCollectionswhichareinturncomposedofassets.DSpaceishighlyconfigurableand
includesaflexibleworkflowforapplyingmetadatatoassetsthatwillsuitcomplexmetadata.ThoseseekingamorestraightforwardDigital
AssetManagementsolutionmayfindthissoftwaretoocomplexandacademicallyorientedfortheirneeds,however,therecanbenodenying
thepowerandflexibilityoftheunderlyingsoftware.
Summary:Highlyresearch/academicallyoriented,however,verypowerfulandsuitableforcomplexpreservationrequirements.
Licence:BSD
Downloadlink:http://sourceforge.net/projects/dspace/
Technology:Java,OracleorPostgres
Website:http://www.dspace.org

FedoraCommons
FedorastandsforFlexibleExtensibleDigitalObjectRepositoryArchitectureandshouldnotbeconfusedwiththeFedoraLinuxoperating
systemdistribution.WiththeexceptionofDSpace,FedoraCommonsdiffersfrommoreconventionalDAMsbecauseitdoesnotimposea
particularmetadataframework(whichtheynearlyalldoinonewayoranother)andhasaveryflexibleseriesofobjectmodelsbasedaround
itsownFOXML(FedoraObjectXML)schema.Thisflexibilitycomesattheexpenseofasteeplearningcurveandafairlycomplexsetup
(seethenotebelow).IfyourinterestinDAMisprovidingarelativelyconventionalsystemforbusiness/marketingpurposesFedora
Commonsislikelytobetoocomplexandtimeconsumingwhencomparedwithotheralternatives,however,ifyouinterestedliestowards
preservation,curatorial/museumorientedprojectsthenFedoraCommonshastobeonyourshortlist.
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Summary:AlongsimilarlinestoDSpace,FedoraCommonsisanopensourceframeworkforDAMratherthanapackagedDAMproduct
withanopensourcelicence.FedoraCommonskeybenefitsareflexibilityandinteroperability,however,thesecomeatthepriceofa
relativelycompleximplementationanddeploymentprocesswhencomparedwithotheralternatives.
Licence:Apache2.0
Downloadlink:http://www.fedoracommons.org/software
Technology:Java
Website:http://www.fedoracommons.org
Notes:Forthosestrugglingwithinstallation,thisFedoraCommonshowtoishighlyrecommended(forDebianatleast).

Greenstone
GreenstoneisdevelopedbyTheNewZealandDigitalLibraryProject(whichispartoftheUniversityofWaikatoinNewZealand).Thisis
moreanapplicationtohelpgenerateddigitallibrariesthanaregularDAM.Forexample,whilemostofthesystemslistedhereprovidea
webbasedUIandeitheradatabaseorXMLrepresentation,GreenstoneusesadesktopclientwhichwillproduceanHTMLlibraryusing
Perlwhichyoucanuseviaawebbrowser(itdoesincludeaclientalsothough,theGLIClientwhichenablesremotemanagementofa
collectiononaremoteserver).Thisapproachprovidessomebenefitsanddrawbacks.Thebenefitisthatrepositoriescanbetransferredto
medialikeCDROMsandthesystemcanbebuiltwithoutadatabaseorotherbackend.Thedrawbackisthatlibrariesarecreatedforothers
touse,ratherthanacollaborative,interactivewebbasedsystem.Greenstoneusesapowerfulmacrolanguageandcontainshooksthatcan
beintegratedwithC++andothermodules.Thereisundeniablyagreatdealofpowerandsophisticationinthisproductbutitsappears
morereadonlyintermsofitsorientation(atleastthatistheimpressiongiven).
Ashortoverviewlikethiscantreallysummariseaproductlikethisbecauseoftherangeofcapabilitiesofferedandthemodeofdelivery
isntconventionalforwhatmanyhavecometoexpectforaDAMsystem.Therefore,wewouldadviselibrariansespeciallytoclosely
inspectthecomprehensiveinformationontheGreenstonewebsitetodecideifitmeetstheirneedsbetterthansomeofthealternatives
discussedhere.WewelcomeclarificationcommentsfromanyoftheGreenstonemanagersordeveloperstocorrectourmisinterpretations.
Summary:AimedatlibrariansespeciallybutnotdesignedorimplementedinawaythatisconventionalformoderngeneralistDAMsystems
(especiallythoseforcorporate/marketinguse).Thiscouldbebothanadvantageordisadvantagedependingonyourneeds.
Technology:Perl,C++,HTML
Licence:GPL
Downloadlink:http://www.greenstone.org/download
Website:http://www.greenstone.org
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Conclusion
Asshouldbecleartoreaders,therearenowawiderangeofchoicesavailableintheopensourceDAMmarketandoptionstosuitthe
majorityofdifferentneeds.Overtheforthcomingmonths,weintendtorevisitthislistandprovidefurtherdetailoneachoftheproducts
presentedaswellasnewentrantstothemarket.
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Welcome
byNareshSarwanonAugust1,2013
WelcometoOpenSourceDigitalAssetManagement,boughttoyoubythepublishersofDigitalAssetManagementNews.Thissiteis
dedicatedtoOpenSourceDAMandwillincludenews,reviews,toolsandtechniquesforthemainproductsthatareavailable..
OpenSourceDefined
Indecidingwhattoincludeinthescopeofthissite,weareapplyingalosedefinitionofopensource,sothattheonlystipulationisthatthe
productunderdiscussionmustincludethesourcecodeanduseanOSIapprovedlicenceratherthanbeingbothfreeandopensource,
however,wewilldrawreadersattentiontoanylikelycharges.
AboutUs
WeaimtoprovideimpartialandhelpfuladviceforthoseconsideringOpenSourceDAMtechnologies,thissiteisprovidedasan
informationservicetoprospectiveusersofOpenSourceDigitalAssetManagementproductsandtools.
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