If you’ve ever wasted hours searching for the right image, you get why DAM matters. But to win over decision-makers, you need more than frustration—you need a business case. Here are five ways to prove DAM is worth the price tag, including measurable ROI.
1. DAM saves time and manual work
Employees spend a lot of time searching for images scattered across systems. It’s hard to determine which version is accurate and approved. Eventually, they may use the wrong image, risking your brand, customer loyalty, and even legal issues.
This is why simple cloud storage, such as SharePoint or Box, isn’t enough. Companies with complex digital assets need an intuitive way to add metadata to assets and manage it all long-term.
Metadata is what makes assets searchable: easier to classify, find, and filter. The impact grows when you customize the metadata model to meet your specific needs.
For example, when Ntara partnered with a global consumer goods brand, we found that user frustration and wasted time were the core issues and DAM use cases. They needed an easier way to navigate digital assets.
So, we designed a flexible metadata model to make uploading, finding, and reusing content simpler. We built the DAM to automatically adjust metadata fields based on the type of asset uploaded, so users only see what’s relevant, saving hours across the organization.
2. DAM can help cut costs
Time wasted is just the beginning. When users can’t find what they need, they often recreate it. Sometimes this means manual work that’s prone to errors. Other times, it means tens of thousands of dollars spent on external agencies and photo shoots.
With DAM, users can find what they need in a central location and reduce the time and cost spent recreating assets that already exist.
3. DAM improves speed to market
DAM helps users collaborate on assets using automated workflows for quicker approvals and campaign development. This helps teams go to market faster, even across multiple channels.
The business case grows even stronger for global sellers. Localization features in DAM make it easier to transform content by region, language, or channel. This cuts the time and cost required to launch products on a global scale.
4. DAM lowers risk with rights management
Digital assets often come with usage restrictions, such as an image featuring a model with a limited contract. Without a way to track these details, it’s easy to use an image outside your contract, which can result in costly fines. And the complexity rises as more user-generated and influencer content get added to the mix.
DAM helps by tracking all the rights tied to each asset, including images themselves and every piece that uses them. You can set expiration dates, usage restrictions, and contract- or campaign-based rules. For example, when a model’s contract ends, DAM can automatically expire all related assets.
To keep your assets secure, DAM also lets you control access with permissions. You can gate content by asset type, user role, country, or publish date, making sure only the right people see the right content at the right time. All of these elements work together to lower your risk of non-compliance.
Learn more in this article: Eight DAM features we love
5. DAM is essential to PXM
Product experience management (PXM) requires a customer-centric mindset. This is a strategic choice: reverse-engineer your tech investments to what drives customer loyalty, not necessarily just cost and efficiency.
Customer loyalty depends on a flawless product experience—one that’s consistent, compelling, and trustworthy. That kind of experience requires well-managed product data and digital assets. And that requires PIM and DAM. This is why Ntara says PIM and DAM form the foundation of PXM.
The results back this up. In our 2025 Digital Commerce Benchmark Study, companies with both PIM and DAM reported 36% higher digital maturity and 39% greater confidence when comparing themselves to competitors.
The bottom line: It’s not what you spend it’s why you buy. Drive your investment with the customer in mind and you’re more likely to gain a competitive edge.
Creating benchmarks for DAM ROI
You can build a stronger business case for DAM by defining KPIs and showing how this investment will help grow the business. Here are a few ideas for ways you can quantify and measure ROI.
How much efficiency can you gain?
Measure the time it takes a user to find what they need today. Multiply that by every user, across thousands of assets. Assign an hourly cost, and you have your baseline metric. Keep measuring over time to show improvements.
Can you reduce asset creation costs?
Organizations often find they spend less money on recreating assets once they can easily find everything in one place. Quantify how much you spend today in asset creation, set a goal to reduce that cost, and track your progress.
Are there redundant systems you can eliminate?
If you store assets across four different systems, DAM may enable you to retire two. That’s a direct line-item savings you can quantify. Identify everywhere your assets live today and track those savings numbers over time.
Could you get better functionality for a lower cost?
There may be savings in avoiding pricy license renewals. For example, our client Bouclair faced a steep cost for an outdated system that no longer met their needs. By switching to Bynder’s AI-powered DAM and partnering with Ntara for rapid implementation, they successfully migrated over 85,000 assets in just weeks and reduced costs by 50%.
Can DAM help you reduce translation costs?
Some DAM systems have native features for creating metadata fields with multilingual support. This lets you manage translations directly in the DAM to potentially reduce outside agency spend. Other DAM systems connect to external translation services via an API, automating taxonomy translation to save time.
Are you frequently fined for contract violations?
Fines and legal penalties for using expired or unauthorized content are a real risk. DAM helps you avoid these costs. If you’ve had issues in the past, track the reduction in fines or legal spend as direct, measurable ROI.
Where to start
Ntara helps organizations build their case for DAM, win support, and launch with success. Here are the steps we recommend:
Map your asset lifecycle.
This helps you understand who across the organization interacts with digital assets and identify all stakeholders.
Define your use cases.
Real-life user stories can make a powerful impression. What are users telling you? What’s frustrating them? What’s slowing them down or driving up costs? How do they prefer to work with assets? How do they typically search? What would it mean if you could streamline their processes?
Set benchmarks and KPIs.
Once you understand needs and pain points, define clear KPIs. This not only helps secure buy-in but also guides your implementation priorities and provides a clear way to demonstrate success.
Provide a visual.
What often gets decision-makers excited is seeing the possibilities. A demo or a quick branded prototype can help them visualize the transformation and truly understand what it would mean to have a personalized DAM as the go-to hub for users.
Thinking about building a business case for DAM? We can help. Let’s talk.