Connecter's Hybrid DAM and Version Control Systems

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Since both the Hybrid DAM and Version Control systems in Connecter work by storing assets' content in cloud storage, users may need clarification about their differences when choosing which would work best in their use case. 

The first thing to know is that the Hybrid DAM and Version Control in Connecter are entirely independent features designed to serve different workflows. Following are some key points to bare in mind:

• Each Workspace can have none, any, or both of the features enabled for the team, each with a separate, independent setup process. Learn more about setting up Hybrid DAM and Version Control features in the Team Portal.
• The team admin can set up the same or two different storage providers (e.g., Dropbox, Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, etc.) for the Hybrid DAM and Version Control. However, both features will always utilize separate storage spaces (the Version Control can also use local storage), even when using the same storage provider. 
• You can't have an asset added simultaneously to the Version Control and the Hybrid DAM features. You must remove the asset from one of the systems before adding it to the other. 

IMPORTANT: Removing an asset from the Version Control and the Hybrid DAM can't be undone, and all related content and metadata stored for the asset get permanently removed.  

User scenarios

There could be various scenarios where one of the systems may be preferred over the other. For example, if your organization is developing a project that requires regular iteration and preservation of asset versions, the Version Control system would be an ideal fit. 

It'll keep all asset versions, allowing you to track changes over time. On the other hand, if your team handles a large volume of assets that don't require frequent changes but need to be readily accessible and have their metadata intact, the Hybrid DAM would be the more appropriate choice.

Asset metadata

Visualizing metadata can significantly differ between the two systems. With the Hybrid DAM, a snapshot of the asset's metadata is stored along with the asset, offering a comprehensive view of the asset at a glance, even when the content isn't locally available. 

Conversely, Version Control focuses more on versioned content previews rather than a holistic snapshot of the asset metadata. As a result, users gain more control over their assets with the Hybrid DAM, as they can access and interact with the metadata more directly.

When an asset gets added to the Hybrid DAM, Connecter processes its content to gather all possible metadata like previews, versions and renderer (3ds Max assets), family properties (Revit assets), image keywords, etc. It then stores the metadata and the asset content in the Hybrid DAM's cloud storage. 

The key benefit is that users can browse the assets held in the Hybrid DAM with all their visual and other metadata without having assets' content locally available. This is when the asset content gets deleted from the file system, or the "Cloud only" Hybrid DAM option is selected.    

In contrast, in Version Control, along with each version of the asset content, Connecter stores only a preview of that content. 

Assets like images and others which content Connecter can process to generate (various supported 3d formats like 3ds, FBX, as well as Substance materials, videos, and others) or grab (assets with embedded native previews like .max, .skp, .c4d, etc.) previews for will have previews stored with along with the versioned content in the Version Control storage. 

IMPORTANT:

• Although each versioned content can have a preview added to the Version Control, those previews relate only to the respective content version and NOT the asset itself. For this reason, the asset preview in Connecter may be entirely different from the previews stored in the Version Control for any of the asset's content versions. 

Another consequence is that if the asset's local content is missing (the file isn't present in the file system), Connecter will mark its local content as missing and won't show a preview (unless it's stored in the user's local cache from previous interactions with the asset). 

The asset content versions and related previews stored with the Version Control are available through an additional interaction with the asset from the Version Control details UI.  

• All metadata that requires Connecter to use dedicated instances to open and process the asset content (aside from extracting and generating previews) isn't gathered and stored in the Version Control. Such metadata includes software versions, render engines, the materials in .mat libraries, Revit family types previews and properties, and others. 

Asset content versioning

Both the Hybrid DAM and Version Control systems integrate seamlessly into various workflows. In industries like animation or video production, where multiple iterations of an asset are created, Version Control can help teams keep track of changes over time. 

On the other hand, for organizations dealing with a large volume of static assets, like in digital marketing or e-commerce, the Hybrid DAM's efficient metadata handling and storage flexibility could streamline processes and improve productivity.

As the name suggests, the Version Control system versions assets' content. It allows users to add multiple content versions for the same asset while iterating on it throughout production. 

In contrast, the Hybrid DAM stores only one version of the asset content in the cloud storage, which is always its current version. Hybrid DAM's conceptual model is that cloud storage is another place (besides the local file system) where assets' content can live. 

That is where assets' content can stay and is downloaded from (if needed) when the users don't need it as files stored locally. With this paradigm, the user has complete control over what content to keep locally available or only in the cloud. 

When the asset's local content gets updated, Connecter will notify that the content stored in the Hybrid DAM's cloud storage differs from the current local content and will allow the user to sync it both ways – by replacing the cloud content with the local content or vice versa. 

So in the Hybrid DAM, there's always one valid version of the asset content - the current local content or the one added to the cloud storage.

Privacy and security

While both systems use separate storage spaces, it's important to reiterate the security benefits this brings. Separate storage ensures that data from one system doesn't mix with the other, adding an extra layer of data segregation. 

That can be crucial for businesses dealing with sensitive data where utmost privacy is necessary. Furthermore, each system adheres to the security protocols of the chosen cloud storage provider, further enhancing data safety.

Cost and budget considerations

When deciding between different storage providers for each feature, it's essential to consider potential cost implications. The Hybrid DAM feature might lead to higher costs if you're storing a large volume of data due to its comprehensive metadata storage capabilities. 

On the other hand, the Version Control system can become storage-intensive, mainly as it retains multiple versions of your assets over time. This could be particularly relevant if your projects require frequent asset updates. 

Understanding these cost implications is crucial for deciding which system aligns best with your storage needs and budget constraints.