User Reviews
Widen Collective by Widen
USER REVIEWS - All reviews
Purchased Date: January 01, 1998
Graphic Designer, PENTAIR
May 15, 2013
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Pros
This DAM interface is the most innovative creation I have ever come across. I come from the old days of writing CDs and writing every project on the CD with a .05 sharpie marker. That took forever. When I started my job and was told that they use WIDEN, I was like what on earth is this all about!? But I love this interface, the ease of sending files to customers, vendors. The file conversions are awesome as well, cutting back on time using photoshop to save each format. Sending large emails is a problem too, but WIDEN allows you to send any size file to anyone on the receiving end. I recommend WIDEN to anyone who stores their archive on a server or other tangible mediums.
Cons
I really cant think of any.
Overall
I absolutely recommend WIDEN to anyone who stores their archive on a server or other tangible mediums. Total time saver.
Purchased Date: N/A
Network Engineer, Sport Graphics, Inc.
January 13, 2013
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Pros
Easy to administer.
New UI makes searching for and finding the correct asset much easier.
Ability do download assets in a wide variety of formats.
Cons
The transition to the new UI was confusing for some users.
Overall
The Widen Collective is great to use for cataloging, searching, and making available a large collection of assets. The new UI released a few months ago is a vast improvement and the site is much snappier and easier to use, from both administrative and user perspectives.
Purchased Date: N/A
Membership and Customer Service Associate , African Wildlife Foundation
December 12, 2012
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Pros
User friendly
Cons
Occasionally system slows down
Overall
Very good digital database
Purchased Date: N/A
Business Systems Architect, Rayovac
December 07, 2012
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Pros
Our creative services department has been using this software for a long time to host art files and data for sharing across the organization and with business partners. The data is hosted off-site and is available readily anywhere there is an internet connection. The user interface is intuitive and a user can be up and running with very little training. Analytics provided are very useful for the administrators.
Cons
Cannot think of any right now
Overall
Good for our needs and collaboration with various departments in our organization. Also, they are constantly improving the product and its usability.
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Manager, VF Licensed Sports Group
November 29, 2012
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Pros
Easy to use
Great sorting/searching capabilities
The ability to send collections of photos to others is awesome!
Cons
Sometimes there is a slow lag time when loading pages.
Overall
Overall this is an amazing tool to use for digital asset management. We would be lost without it in our business. Widen has the best customer service so you will not be dissappointed!
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Manager, Knaack LLC
November 28, 2012
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Pros
Easy to use
Keeps our digitals assets all in one place
Manages the brand so people always use the most current assets
Saves us hours a week in providing digital assets for other people
Has reporting capabilities to see who is using the tool and many other stats
Cons
People uploading images often don't tag them correctly
If assets aren't tagged right, it's hard for people to find them
Overall
I highly recommend Widen DAM for digital asset management. In time-savings alone, Widen has an ROI well above its cost. And customer support is phenomenal, should you need it.
Purchased Date: N/A
Desktop Publishing, Advertisers Press
November 27, 2012
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Pros
works well for digital asset management
Cons
not all my customers use it
Overall
would recommend!
Purchased Date: N/A
Flash Developer, Mimio
November 26, 2012
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Pros
Ease of use
Quick and knowledgeable customer support
Versatility
Cons
Website can be a little slow at times
Overall
This is an excellent asset management system. I would recommend it to anyone looking to organize a large number of assets and make them available to users in various locations.
Purchased Date: N/A
Sr. Account Executive, Corinthian Colleges
November 26, 2012
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Pros
Good and easy to use
Cons
I have been getting an error when trying to launch, but the rest on teammates are not. The only option I have to contact anyone is to send and email. It would be helpful if a phone number was provided as well since I have no way of knowing the timeframe that I will be contacted in.
Overall
Good and easy to use
Purchased Date: N/A
design, PIMCO
November 23, 2012
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Pros
Very easy to find select photos, download and upload. Download time is much less than originally thought.
Cons
You have to put in extensive metadata - because of our large library - or else photos are difficult to find
Overall
It takes the load off of our server and is safe and secure. Dowloading and uploading is fast and easy to use for all levels.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2005
Graphic Designer, Brady Corporation
November 21, 2012
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Pros
I have been very pleased with using Widen for our DAM tool. Their support team is phenomenal! Anytime I have a question or issue, they respond immediately and are very helpful to get to the bottom of any issue I might be having, or explain a feature I may not be knowledgeable in. Their entire team is always looking for ways to improve the tool based on user feedback and suggestions. It's great to have a company so open to what the users are saying.
I have also found that the tool itself has been great in meeting our DAM needs. By building out a thorough and intuitive organization structure through categories, asset groups and metadata, we have been able to greatly increase the use of our tool and have received numerous compliments on the improvements. That along with Widen's new interface launched in 2012, the collective is now a much more user friendly and intuitive tool for both users and administrators alike.
Cons
My only complaint at this time is that the "Send File" feature has been discontinued with the launch of the new interface. I believe our company may have been one of the few groups that used the tool fairly often, and were sad to see the feature go. We hope to be able to find a solution either with Widen or with an outside service in order to send large files directly to another user without having to have the asset 'live' in the DAM tool.
Overall
I would definitely recommend Widen to those familiar with DAM as well as those who are just starting out. The Widen team is also a great group to work with from start to finish and are there for you every step of the way, even for a company like ours that have been using Widen's services for over 7 years now.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2011
Project Manager, PIMCO
November 21, 2012
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Pros
- Different levels of users
- Sort by metadata
Cons
- adding metadata
Overall
I like the system overall and think it meets our needs.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2011
Vice President, Senior Global Project Manager, PIMCO
November 21, 2012
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Pros
Widen is a great company - support our digital assets across the department.
Cons
Experience is not quite like Getty or Corbis. Sometimes it takes long time to wait for download ready files. It'd be great if there is a function to tell a user how long it takes to prep the selected files. Also, it'd be nice if there was a search keyword tips shown to all users. Our immediate dept knows what to put in but non-graphic design/marketing processionals don't necessarily know them. I do support Widen but I feel it's underutilized in our department.
Overall
Having Widen for our photo and video assets have allowed our global offices to search for these assets without having to wait for headquarters' business hours and freed us on spending time on searching for the right assets.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2010
Forms Designer, CUNA Mutual Group
November 21, 2012
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Pros
Data is controlled and organized
Cons
slow days or completed locked out at times.
Overall
Lock out maybe because of high usage at the time.
Purchased Date: June 01, 2012
Digital Marketing Manager, Pirelli
November 21, 2012
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Pros
Customer Support is very good.
Platform capabities are extensive and just what we needed for our business, to share large finles internally and externally.
Cons
Takes some gettng used to, to navigate through the platform. Biggest complaint is that there are too many different types of asset groups, categories, etc. and it's not clear why.
Overall
I'd recommend this for a way to easily share big files.
Purchased Date: N/A
Graphic Designer, Colomer Beauty Brands
November 21, 2012
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Pros
It works for me. Upload wizard makes it easier to upload files which is definitely helpful since I'm an admin.
Cons
I inherited the toolkit and so I've been working with someone else's organization system. It's not ideal, but it's doable, short of organizing the entire system.
It would be nice to be able to log on as a certain user and see what they see.
Overall
I would recommend this to my collegues. The support team is especially helpful, especially since I'm an administrator and help my hundreds of toolkit users.
Purchased Date: N/A
Sr. Graphic Designer, Yankee Candle
November 21, 2012
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Pros
- time-saving
- cost-effective
- great customer service
- quality reporting
Cons
- interface could be improved for more intuitive ease of use
Overall
Since its inception, our Widen DAM has evolved from a simple repository for photos to a more complex system that quickly and easily supports multiple channels in our organization. And because it's a self-serve solution for our users (sales, clients, vendor partners, etc.), it's become a time-saving, cost-effective means of ensuring brand consistency across all consumer touch points.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2012
Graphic Artist, PIMCO
November 21, 2012
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Pros
the greatest pros are the ability to customize the software to our needs, the the straight forward design and it range of options.
Cons
Some of the customization in not intuitive and requires help from the Customer Service.
Overall
I would eagerly recommend the software to any one who has a busy and active creative department.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2011
Senior Graphic Designer, PIMCO
November 21, 2012
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Pros
I have a very good experienced with Widen.
Cons
None entered.
Overall
This is a very good software to have for the company.
Purchased Date: October 01, 2011
Project Manager, Central Market HEB
November 21, 2012
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Pros
This product was super easy to implement, easy for user's to learn how to use with minimal training, and meets our security needs in the cloud. There are also frequent software releases and great email communication.
Cons
I don't have any cons on this product.
Overall
Highly recommend. Lots of large companies use this product for managing digital assets and the cloud security passes their requirements.
Purchased Date: N/A
Facility Layout Manager, Life Fitness
November 21, 2012
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Pros
-Easy navigation.
-Seem to be faster.
-Great for large file storage
-Easy Admin functions
Cons
- Location of "Check-out" cart is not intuitive.It is hidden in lower right corner on a fly-out button.
- not able to have a CC function when sending email link to multiple users. Only BCC is the default.
Overall
I like the new interface and how our assets are added to cart by one click. I think that making what is in your cart (the cart area) stand out more. Newer users do not clearly understand where their cart is located or what items they have in there, since the image is small and blends in with rest of screen. Thank you.
Purchased Date: N/A
Code Enforcement Supervisor, City of Lake Forest
November 21, 2012
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Pros
-Ease of access
-Sorting/Searching capabilities
-Ability to send collections of photos to other agencies
Cons
Uploads can be cumbersome. We had to develop a naming convention to make images easier to find (complex file name vs. metadata)
Overall
An excellent product for its intended purpose.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Sales Support Co-op, Messer Construction Co.
November 21, 2012
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Pros
The DAM is an excellent way to consolidate our digital assets into one place. It allows our employees to share data across multiple departments while eliminating uncertainty in where and how data is stored.
Cons
There is a learning curve while using the DAM. The DAM can only work effectively if users understand rules behind tagging data and how to operate the system. As with any type of process, continued training and quality control are necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the DAM.
Overall
If an organization has a need to store large amounts of digital assets and must share those assets across multiple departments, utilizing a DAM could bring tremendous value. While training and quality assurance are necessary to effectively implement a digital asset management system, the time and energy saved by storing assets in a comprehensive way in a central location can provide value to an organization.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Sales Support Manager, Messer Construction Co.
November 21, 2012
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Pros
Widen's DAM has helped us improve in the following areas: Superior Organization; Improved Search Functionality; Universal Access; Reporting Capabilities; Security
Cons
I'd like to see the DAM have a more robust Media Builder. The ability to combine PDFs within the DAM would be helpful as well.
Overall
Widen's DAM delivers on all my basic requirements and touches on some of my more customized needs. As they incorporate more media builder options and provide the opportunity to manage more filetypes, my opinion of the system will only become more positive. As it stands, however, I would still recommend his tool for any organization needing to manage a large quantity of assets.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Sales Support Specialist, Messer Construction Co.
November 21, 2012
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Pros
Most features of the DAM are easy to use and the interfact has become much more inuitive. The newest version of Widen streamlined the upload process, saving significant time and reducing the probability of mistakes when completing the metadata.
Cons
There are many things that I feel the DAM should be able to do, such as combine mutliple PDF files into one document, that it is unable to do.
We have also found that the DAM will seemingly arbitrarily change how some documents are previewed. For example, most of our PDF files are previewed as a PDF, however a number of PDFs can only be previewed as a JPEG. This glitches greatly reduce the efficiency that the DAM is supposed to provide and negatively impacts our workflow.
Overall
While the DAM definitely has it glitches and things that need to be tweaked still, overall it has greatly increased the efficiency of our department.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Marketing Technologist, Messer Construction Co.
November 21, 2012
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Pros
Easy to learn and easy to use.
A great combination of OOTB design and customization that it can meet many companies' needs without being overwhelming OOTB.
The new UI upgrade also came with a boost in performance that is felt in every step of using this product.
The analytics tool is also much improved and now offers greater insight into my users' activity within the system.
Cons
There are certainly a limited number of cons with the system. Perhaps the largest is really rather minor, and that is some of the taxonomy can be confusing. For example, deleting an asset from your cart is actually deleting the asset, not just removing it from the cart. While their taxonomy makes more sense, it conflicts with major sites like amazon.com and therefore offers some confusion.
Overall
Overall, Widen's digital asset management system is great! It is the perfect combination of OOTB design and customization opportunity such that any company can implement this product to fit their needs while not feeling overwhelmed. In general the product is really easy to use. My interns pick this product up with about 15 minutes of training. Now much of the usability of the system depends upon each company's ability to implement effective taxonomy on their site.
In addition, Widen is a great company to work with. They are always looking for the next best feature to implement. And their support is immediate and effective. I love working with Widen as much as I love working with Widen's product. Two thumbs up!
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Sales Support Manager, Messer Construction Co.
November 21, 2012
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Pros
Widen has made our department's lives so much easier. After the initial start-up of organizing our assets, we now have a central location to search for our thousands of assets, which saves us time.
Cons
It takes a lot to get the DAM up and running properly. It will take a real commitment from your team to ensure the assets are properly managed.
Overall
Highly recommend Widen to all teams.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2011
marketing manager, Pimco
November 20, 2012
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Pros
love the video DAM part with the meta data
Cons
users have to have an account to download
Overall
It's a good way to store our digital media files
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Communications Specialist, KI
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Widen works great for KI in terms of housing the thousands of photos and other multi-media assets we have. The Widen database makes it easy for us to search for and find photos within seconds.
Cons
The Widen system does not work well on Internet Explorer, which is the main/preferred browser at KI. Photos load very slowly under searches that have a lot of results, and it takes much more time to download photos that way.
Overall
Overall, Widen is an excellent repository system for our multi-media assets, and I honestly couldn't imagine how we would work without it.
Purchased Date: N/A
Booking Agent, The Rock Agency
November 20, 2012
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Pros
-User friendly
-Knowledgable and quickly responsive customer support
Cons
I can't think of any cons at the moment.
Overall
Would highly recommend the product to businesses looking for an efficient digital asset management system.
Purchased Date: November 01, 2010
Media and Content Coordinator, CENTRIA
November 20, 2012
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Pros
The system is very easy to use and learn. Also the upgrades and changes provide new helpful features for finding assests. The customer support is very helpful and they have quick a response time.
Cons
There isn't an option to group photos with the same name. This would allow a user to view more photos in less time.
Overall
Widen is very useful if you have alot of files that need to be accessable to many users.
Purchased Date: N/A
Sr. Manager Brand Communications, Electrolux
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Easy to Use and Cost Effective. Provides almost instant access to all of our digital assets to our internal and external customers around the globe!
Cons
Download time takes a bit longer than anticipated when ordering assets.
Overall
We use Widen Daily at Electrolux. Overall, it is a great tool for both our internal team and our external vendors!
Purchased Date: N/A
Managing Director -- ProTranscript, Innovation Focus -- ProTranscript
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Reliable, quick, secure. Great support.
Cons
Difficult to add new features -- bureaucratic.
Overall
I would rank this product 10 out of 10. I can't see what new offerings in the pipeline!
Purchased Date: N/A
Sr. Graphic Designer, PIMCO
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Robust capability.
Quick, friendly and knowledgeable support team.
Love the new analytics features.
Cons
Wish result image thumbnails were a little larger, or would scale with screen resizing.
Overall
Keep developing the analytics features.
Purchased Date: N/A
Digital Technology Manager, UPMC Health Plan
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Widen's DAM is so easy to use, can be color branded to your organization, and allows for easy access of digital files. Videos load with no problems, and it is so easy to order assets from the system and share them with your colleagues.
Widen has walked us along at our own pace the entire way to getting it all set up!
Cons
Widen seems only limited by how ready your organization is to get fully involved with the setup and use of the DAM. So while I have not had any technical issues with the system, you will only get out of the DAM what you put in.
Overall
Widen Enterprises really has a grasp on both Digital Asset Management, as well as how to provide great customer service. We have been walked through everything with great care, and had our client representative hold many demos for us to learn how to use the system. Whenever we request new functionality, we always get great response along with fast turnaround times. I would recommend the Widen DAM as a great solution to any companies' digital asset needs. Thank you Widen!
Purchased Date: May 01, 2012
Photographer, New Era Cap
November 20, 2012
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Pros
organized, metadata recognition,
Cons
user interface lacking design.
When click on file i would like to see thumbnail.
would like to see cover flow-like viewing.
Overall
I would recommend but would like to the design to be bit more slick and refined.
Purchased Date: N/A
Shipping Clerk, InSinkErator
November 20, 2012
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Pros
1) Ease of use when searching for specific file types. 2) Star feature, to put most used assets at the beginning of your search. 3) Faster load time.
Cons
No cons come to mind at the moment. The system has become a lot more user-friendly. The only con I can think of at this time is on our company side, in how we assign keywords that allow all our customers search. We deal with various languages and have to determine words that make it easy for all countries to search.
Overall
The Digital Asset Management System is an extremely useful way to keep all of our assets (images, spec sheets, packaging, etc) in one central location for easy access for our company and all of our customers and vendors to retrieve files.
Purchased Date: N/A
Online Communications Associate, African Wildlife Foundation
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Easily searchable; excellent cloud-based system that is accessible from any location; meets needs of sharing in remote office locations
Cons
Not easy to export larger quantities of photos at one time
Overall
Definitely recommend for anyone with large media inventory
Purchased Date: N/A
Digital Asset Management Administrator, New Era Cap Company
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Improves the ability to get images out to vendors and internal staff on a much quicker and easier basis.
Eliminates outdated methods of sharing large files
Provides a cleaner digital library
Cons
Inability to connect to SAP (for now)
Privacy features are a little confusing to understand and implement, making it harder to bring people into the system
Overall
It absolutely improves the efficiency of sharing large digital files, and the customer services is great - they are always willing to help and get back to you very quickly.
Purchased Date: N/A
Agent, The Rock Agency
November 20, 2012
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Pros
I like the recent update on the system; the simple click of the photo/file will automatically put the file in your cart- very convenient.
The site seems much faster now.
Cons
I wish there was a way to organize the photos in folders.
Overall
Overall, you are doing an excellent job!
Purchased Date: N/A
Sr. Trade Marketing Manager, Electrolux
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Like the different file types available to send to internal/external clients.
Cons
Wish the interface was a bit faster.
Overall
Would recommend for any organization that needs image asset management.
Purchased Date: N/A
Sr. Multimedia Specialist, Toshiba America Medical Systems
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Great people to help whenever I've had questions. They are prompt and extremely knowledgeable.
Cons
Could use a bit more robust analytics.
Overall
Overall, Widen DAM is a great tool that will help any company get more organized and productive.
Purchased Date: N/A
Booking Agent, The Rock Agency
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Widen Digital Asset Management is great to use. Very easy and helpful.
Cons
I wish there was a quicker way to rename Conflicted Uploaded Talent.
Overall
Widen is very helpful.
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Coordinator, VF Licensed Sports Group
November 20, 2012
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Pros
clean look, easy to read fonts, pages load relatively quickly, responsive customer service.
Cons
Drop downs and page refreshes are little sticky. Would love if the common buttons functioned when pressing return (enter), rather than having to physically click on them, such as a SAVE button. Any little things which speed up and automate processing are appreciated!
Overall
Customer service is excellent!
Purchased Date: N/A
Creative Specialist, Yankee Candle Company
November 20, 2012
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Pros
A great way to share images and video with employees and clients to market a product. The assets are organized and categorized in one convenient location and easy to access. Very happy with the service provided and how quickly I am able to provide images to clients to complete a project.
Cons
**********
Overall
Would recommend to any company looking for a organized system that allows for immediate access to there most valuable assets.
Purchased Date: November 01, 2011
Marketing Specialist, LI-COR Environmental
November 20, 2012
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Pros
We use Widen as a storage warehouse for all of our large files so that anyone in our company can access these images, as well as our distributors internationally. It's made file sharing easy, fast, and convenient- everything is stored in one place. It allows us to keep memory space on our personal computers by not having to store these massive files on our individual PCs.
Cons
I work quite a bit with metadata for the uploaded images and I wish there was a way to clone metadata more easily so that I didn't have to re-title each image. Also, being able to mass release images would be nice rather than having to do them one by one.
Overall
It's a great product, and has worked very well for what we need it for. I wasn't directly involved with the implementation process but I know it proceeded quickly and without problem. Overall, it's a very good tool.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2005
Creative Service Specialist, Brady Corporation
November 20, 2012
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Pros
I do like the enhanced search capabilities, where you can narrow down faster to find what you want
Cons
I do wish you didn't delete the send file capability. We do use that a lot and now find myself missing it on a weekly basis to be able to send files to vendors and people overseas.
Overall
I do like it overall and I would recommend it to others
Purchased Date: November 01, 2011
Digital Asset Admin, Bain & Company
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Customer Support is friendly and quick to respond. This is especially true when the issue can be solved relatively quickly. Marketing team uses social media tools to create a community of Widen users.
Cons
More complicated issues are not able to be solved by Widen Support. Instead, I was advised to submit ideas for upgrade for consideration. It has been over 6 months and I still have not had a response.
The software is limited in functionality compared to other available DAMs. The interface is not intuitive to basic users without significant training.
Collections and collaboration tools are weak to non-existent.
Metadata and 'filters' applied to assets once in Widen do not write back into the asset when downloaded.
Very little is able to be branded or customized without large additional costs.
Overall
Limited and basic functionality does not suit needs of large enterprises.
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing coordinator, Little Rapids
November 20, 2012
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Pros
The people who work for Widen are very knowledgable about their software and listen to your needs. The software has a number of features to automate usage. I have experienced very little bugs in the software. The over all value of the product is good.
Cons
The software almost has too much available for a smaller company with a small amount of products and product rollover.
Overall
I would recommend this product to someone who has a dedicated person to put time into managing this system. There is a bit more work due to having key words and metadata.
Purchased Date: August 01, 2011
Marketing Manager, PAJ, Inc.
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Ability to show previews of all assets, no matter the format. Ability to convert assets to other formats. Cost is based on space not users, which is helpful in a many-user environment
Cons
Slow upload and download speeds for users in Asia
Overall
It's a good solution that can be successful as long as there is a person at the company who actively manages and promotes Widen throughout the company.
Companies who will have active users in Asia may have difficulty with upload/download speeds.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2010
Marketing Asset Coordinator, American Woodmark Corporation
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Ability to divide assets between brands
Support/Help desk very quick in responding to the needs of their customers
Other Widen personnel very friendly and professional
Cons
I can't really think of anything that would be a con in my experiences with Widen.
Overall
For anyone looking to get their images, pdfs, videos, ect organized and available to whomever may need access a Widen Collective site would be the perfect answer.
Purchased Date: September 01, 2005
Web Content Specialist - Web Design, Brady
November 20, 2012
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Pros
1. Can host/stream video - great because widen will generate the embed code right out of the WYSIWYG, making it easy for non-technical users to grab the code. In addition you are keeping the video files (finished and native) in one location and safe, verses living on someones hard drive.
2. Great DAM tool and very easy to use and tech support is accessible when you have questions of a more technical nature.
Cons
1. I would like to see the file sending feature back. It was removed in the latest UI update and was a useful feature.
2. Occasional bugs when any code or UI update is deployed for the tool, but customer service/support is usually quick to resolve the problem.
Overall
I would recommend this tool, it's very flexible and covers all the aspects/features of a good DAM tool. I give widen a 5 out of 5 stars. They also do a nice job with implementing improvements as well as customization if you find you need it.
Purchased Date: N/A
web server administrator, nxp semiconductors
November 20, 2012
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Pros
its really good to use saas for our product widen giving really good service
Cons
sometimes updates not happening as per the scheduled date
Overall
saas service given by widen is really excellent.
Purchased Date: April 01, 2012
Sr. Marketing Communications Manager, Sealed Air - Cryovac
November 20, 2012
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Pros
The Widen DAM system is a robust tool that will help our company collaborate and share assets across all regions of our business.
Cons
Setting up the tool is a bit of a process, and time consuming, but it is worth the investment in the end.
Overall
I would recommend Widen as a DAM tool, but it is good to have a champion or team dedicated to launching the tool.
Purchased Date: May 01, 2012
Trade Show & Marketing Specialist, Glanbia Nutritionals
November 20, 2012
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Pros
- easy to use
- great customer service
- proactive company
- easy management
I manage all the uploads and data on our site and it is so easy to upload, edit and manage all facets of the site. I have minimal questions on how to use the site because it is so intuitive. I also love that Widen is so responsive to customer ideas/suggestions. I have never worked with a company that is so responsive to issues/suggestions or in need of asssitance. THANK YOU!
Cons
I have not come across any major cons.
Overall
I highly recommend this company and their solutions to anyone working with managing internal data resources.
Purchased Date: N/A
Business and Process Coordinator, Walk In the Word
November 20, 2012
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Pros
-Easy lookup feature
-I appreciate the ability to limit and open up accessability at differently levels with our several hundred users
-Excellent Customer and Tech Service...willing to take your reccomendations to make it a better product
Cons
-Need a better system to find specific words or phrases within a document. Have to use Adobe search feature to do this
Overall
-Overall I would reccomend Widen to companies with a need to store and access data and assets with ease.
Purchased Date: June 01, 2009
Photography Services Manager, Grand Valley State University
November 20, 2012
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Pros
easy to implement
allows sharing of digital assets with a wider audience
saves time
provides a professional and reliable backup system for important digital assets
Cons
some days the server seems a bit slow
Overall
I would definitely recommend the Widen product. The best way to describe the effect joining the Widen collective had on our organization; it brought our photo archives out of the basement! Our digital assets are more valuable today because they are now easily accessible to the whole campus community.
Purchased Date: June 01, 2012
Owner, glassbox visuals
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Drag and drop file upload is really wonderful.
The options for distribution and sharing of media is great also
Cons
Has a bit of a learning curve at first.
There are more features than I could ever possible use for my type of workflow
Overall
It's great. I have no real complaints.
Purchased Date: N/A
Photography Intern, New Era Cap
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Helps organize our massive archive, easy way to distribute images, lets us keep track of which items have already been photographed.
Cons
Upload process can be a little confusing, download links expire, not practical for storage of .CR2 files.
Overall
This is a great service for distributing images quickly and easily, as well as organizing them in a way that makes it easy to find specific images without searching through tons of files. It has certainly made our job as photographers a lot easier!
Purchased Date: N/A
Creative Services and Marketing, Conlfuence Watersports
November 20, 2012
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Pros
Supports endless file formats, one of the only ways we can distribute information to international dealers (like China)
Cons
Sometimes classifying/ tagging items can be cumbersome.
Overall
The new configurations to Widen's management system have created a truly convenient, easy, and simple way to manage files both between departments and with out international network of dealers here at Confluence Watersports.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2012
Miss, Kerry Ingredients and Flavours
November 20, 2012
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Pros
-Navigation is very easy.
-Customer Service response is very prompt
Cons
It could be overwhelming as Widen has a lot of features but with time, you learn where to go to find what.
Overall
Widen is a very useful tool for our business, it makes information transfer really fast and organised and i will highly recommend it
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Communications Web Specialist, KI
November 20, 2012
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Pros
easy to organize assets based on our needs
Cons
some new users have trouble knowing how to get started
Overall
seems to be a good tool for housing company image assets. we dont use the site for much else.
Purchased Date: October 01, 2012
Senior Account Coordinator, Nancy Marshall Communications
November 20, 2012
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Pros
This is the second digital asset management program we have used. Its features are so much easier to use; managing collections and customer support has been wonderful.
Cons
I had problems at first because I was using Internet Explorer, but as soon as I switched to Google Chrome, the problem was fixed.
Overall
Having used another program previously, I would highly recommend Widen. It's a wonderful program. The customer support has been great, and they do a lot as a company to keep you up-to-date on the product.
Purchased Date: N/A
Design Management Consultant, Roche Diagnostics
December 07, 2011
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Pros
- Saves time
- Frees up space on our servers
- Cost-effective
- User-friendly
- Control over company assets with usage restrictions
- Good customer service
- Central place for asset storage
Cons
- Takes time to initially upload assets to be stored
Overall
Widen Enterprises has made life so much easier for our company. We no longer need to FedEx large files to vendors and/or colleagues. Widen¿¿¿s DAM system provides a central site for storing and quickly and easily sharing assets. I believe that everyone within our company feels the benefits gained through our shared assets site. The service has been great and quite cost effective, as well.
Purchased Date: N/A
Senior Designer, Ottawa University
December 07, 2011
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Pros
A solid solution for the University's asset needs made by a team of industry experts.
Cons
None to speak.
Overall
For the solution they offer, Widen is an even competitor on price and features. Even better is that they don't sit around waiting for the next new thing to happen. They make it happen.
Purchased Date: August 01, 2008
Network Engineer, Sport Graphics
August 23, 2011
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Pros
- Software as a Service model
- Cost is based on utilization
- Unlimited users
- Ability to convert a wide range of file types
- Metadata is customizable and easily searchable
- Widen staff worked closely with us during the initial setup period to skin our Collective site to our specifications and even customize some of the lower-level dialogs, buttons, etc.
- Easy to administer
- Support is usually very helpful and quick to respond
Cons
- Report generation can be slow at times
- Change requests can take a while to implement, depending on their developers' schedules
Overall
Recommended for anyone in the market for an enterprise-class DAM with a SaaS model.
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Communications, CNH
June 02, 2011
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Pros
Widen is a great place to store our digital assets. The customer service is great--we get questions answered very quickly!
Cons
The site is very slow.
Overall
I would recommend Widen. I would recommend setting up a category structure with assets placed in their correct categories so that users don't have to scroll through tons and tons of assets to find what they are looking for.
Purchased Date: N/A
Web Specialist, Amcor
May 31, 2011
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Pros
The new UI (currently on BETA) looks like a big improvement, giving better web usability and speed up the browsing experience.
Cons
Faster download time will deliver a better user experience.
Overall
It is the effective way of centrally storing, sharing, retrieving and sending artwork with minimal effort.
SSO with your intranet and AD is also possible. Widen helped us in implementing this.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2010
IS Manager, Walk in the Word
January 09, 2011
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Pros
Excellent customer service provided a seamless and smooth implementation. Widen has been very responsive to feature enhancment suggestions and the implementaion of the new text phrase search option.
Using the Widen Collective has allowed us to organize and share our digital media to our ministry partners with ease without the use of FTP sites, constant management of requests and saves time transfering content to multiple partners.
Cons
Would like the user interface to be more dynamic and intuetive. Speed is sometimes slower than expected.
Overall
Excellent product with good up time. Easy to implement in your organization.
Purchased Date: September 01, 2008
Graphic Designer, 5.11 Tactical
December 16, 2010
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Pros
Ease of use, cost effective, time saver, web-based for portability.
Cons
Would like more custom options available in the user interface. Would like to have an iphone ap designed specifically for managing users, and metadata on the collective.
Overall
The Widen collective system probably saves me 800-1000 hours a year. That allows me to focus more on creative work, planning for new photography. For the most part the system is easy enough to use for the end user with a fairly low level of computer literacy. Every time the cost for the system comes up we simply create a graph showing the number of users, the number of assets downloaded, and then explain what the time savings is for our department. Once it becomes clear how much work is done, and done easier as a result of the ease our clients have in getting proper images the worth is absolutely clear.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2007
Sr. Marketing Operations Manager, KnaackLLC
December 09, 2010
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Pros
Extremely easy to use with little to no training needed
Handles all types of digital assets and conversion types
Admin and reporting are first rate
Cons
Sometimes page loading can be slow, which is also due to internal network capacity
Overall
Excellent SaaS offering for handling all of our digital media
Purchased Date: N/A
International Marketing Director, InSinkErator
December 06, 2010
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Pros
Spending less time helping customers search digtal assest;
Widen helpful with all questions;
Created for us a list of search terms;
Good value
Cons
All of our users do not use English as primary language;
Some of our search terms are less than ideal;
not top of mind for the users;
It's taken time to get full company buyin
Overall
Remain committed and continue to push the tool with all users and staff
Purchased Date: N/A
Graphic Designer, Howard Miller
December 02, 2010
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Pros
Access for our customers for all our digital assets
Cons
Not completely intuitive
Overall
I would recommend
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Manager of E-Commerce, Oceania Cruises
December 02, 2010
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Pros
Widen's solution provided the three components we wanted in a digital asset management systemscalability, flexibility and user-friendliness. Furthermore, their customer and implementation team was exceptional in providing the information and support we needed to fluidly understand and integrate the technology into our website.
Cons
I don't think there are any negatives with the collective solution.
Overall
Highly Recommended!
Purchased Date: N/A
Graphic Specialist, Howard Miller
December 02, 2010
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Pros
I like the capability of adding categories of images to any of several Company profiles that I work with. The tools for image review are intuitive and allow me to maintain and update our image library very efficiently. I know there are additional features that I have not yet accessed, such as using templates, but I anticipate using these in the near future.
Cons
I don't understand all of the functions for assigning Roles for different groups.
Overall
I highly recommend the Widen application for managing a digital library.
Purchased Date: December 01, 2007
eMarketing Manager, Kimball Office
December 01, 2010
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Pros
Ability to store our movies, documents, and forms...as well as images.
Widen dynamically converts images to various sizes, based on the needs of the user.
Can mass upload images at once.
Search capabilities for assets.
Cons
Cumbersome to find things at times. Not overly user friendly for uploading assets.
Shopping cart is somewhat confusing, as people get the misperception that they must purchase and we do not charge for asset downloads.
Overall
Nice tool. Definitely assists with managing large quantities of digital assets that would otherwise require additional resources on the staff.
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Manager, Kerry Ingredients & Flavours
December 01, 2010
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Pros
One large database w/ access to all uploaded content
Cons
Extremely slow to navigate page to page, and even slower to download content
Overall
If there was a way to speed up the site, that would be very beneficial and usage would absolutely increase for uploading and pulling down content.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2007
Creative Director , Woolrich
December 01, 2010
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Pros
Ease of use for our sales team
24 hour access for our team
spead of response
Cons
Access needed for our retailers
lack of k owledge for our endusers
Overall
As the system is used by our team it works great and has been very valuable. We as a company do not take advantage of it as we should
Purchased Date: October 01, 2009
Sales Support Manager, Messer
November 30, 2010
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Pros
Searchability is far improved versus old network file-folder storage method
Large file transfer is easier and less of a burden on e-mail
Uploads and tagging are very useful
Cons
Stemming leads to assets being returned that I don't want
Downloads take longer than I'd like
Uploads and tagging are very tedious
Overall
I would recommend Widen's Media Collective to organizations with large media asset collections.
Purchased Date: August 01, 2010
President, Graphcom, Inc.
November 30, 2010
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Pros
Great features, no question
Cons
None immediately come to mind.
Overall
Certainly the most robust, cost-effective solution that we've found. We're pleased thus far.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Photography Services Manager, Grand Valley State University
November 30, 2010
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Pros
The Widen system is easy to implement and maintain.Widen streamlines the storage and retrieval of our photo files. With the Widen system more people are able to access our digital assets than ever before. Now our photography archive is being used to its full potential.
Cons
The system is occasionally slow. Some days I wish it would process the images a bit faster.
Overall
I would highly recommend Widen to companies or organizations that have large visual archives to manage. Widen makes storing and retrieving our files easier than ever. It is a great product for the investment!
Purchased Date: N/A
Graphics Manager, Greenlee Textron Inc
November 30, 2010
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Pros
This software has reduced my daily maintenance workload tremendously and has given me additional time in my work day to be proactive in my job function.
Cons
The initial set up can be tedious based on volume off assets, but certainly worth the undertaking.
Overall
I would highly recommend this software suite.
Purchased Date: N/A
Senior Project Coordinator, Kohler
November 30, 2010
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Pros
We use the software so that editors can search and download thier own images, which frees up our time to work on other PR stuff
Cons
I really like the service and don't have any cons
Overall
I would recommend other companies on the services
Purchased Date: N/A
Market Communications, kimball office
November 30, 2010
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Pros
I think that the site is great for users that need various file sizes. It's easy for me to "order" images and send them directly, with just a link so that neither my mailbox or theirs is maxed out because of the size of the images.
Cons
Still frustrating when i want to use the back button on my browser, due to habit, and it errors out. I know that the site has its own back button, but out of habit I use the browser back button and my search is then errored out and i have to start over.
Overall
For the most part, it's meeting our needs and our customers/dealers needs as well.
Purchased Date: N/A
Graphic Designer, James Hardie
November 29, 2010
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Pros
-Roles and Permissions abilities
-Category menu is clean and easy to understand
-Like how you can quick view the keywords and description of the thumbnails
-options for viewing the files
Cons
- pretty slow
- often times the page come up blank when I click an option so I am constantly refreshing, sometimes I even need to log out to get the site to work again
-In batch editing I want to be able to add a keyword to multiple pictures without losing what tags I already have
-When there is a conflict I want a quick option to delete the new file. There only seems to be a replace option to get rid of the old.
Overall
It took me awhile to get use to Widen/ figure out how to use it. I wouldn't exactly call it the most user friendly, but once you start to figure it out there are a lot of options. Sadly it took me loading a lot of images and many hours to finally understand all the possibilities. I really like the search ability and the different viewing options. I like how you can set up the option to approve what images people download and create different roles. That gives us much more control as a company over the branding and imagery that is released.
Purchased Date: N/A
Trek Marketing Builder Administrator, Trek Bicycle Corporation
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Good customer support
Robust reporting features
Assets can be downloaded in a variety of file formats
Various types of file formats are supported
Permissions can be setup to protect assets
Users can access the site through a standard web browser
Media can be built in minutes without needing expensive software programs
Assets/media can be ordered and downloaded at any time of day or night
Software updates made throughout the year
Cons
Pages can be slow to load at times
Reporting tools can be confusing
Custom enhancements to the site can be expensive
Some education is needed for new users of the site
The site is not setup for printing on demand
Home page can be confusing if your site includes the DAM and the media builder
Overall
The Digital Asset System was put in place to provide easy access to assets owned by Trek Bicycle Corporation for those internally and externally. These assets can be ordered and downloaded at any time of day or night. It's an invaluable tool for our dealers, distributors, and international offices.
'
The Media Template is an online ad, and media builder. It allows Trek to control brand consistency, while it allows our users to build media in minutes using pre-approved images and text without the need of expensive software programs. We use this portion of the site to provide promotional items and in store signage to our large dealer base.
Overall, I think the Widen collective is a great product and I really enjoy working with Widen.
Purchased Date: N/A
Asst Marketing Manager - Creative Services, Sub-Zero and Wolf
November 29, 2010
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Pros
I like the fact that the software continues to be customizable and is frequently updated to accommodate advanced technologies.
Cons
Sometimes, the cost, has prohibited purchase of a program.
Overall
Would have no problem in recommending. Great customer support.
Purchased Date: February 01, 2010
Marketing Communications Specialist, Carl Zeiss MicroImaging, LLC
November 29, 2010
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Pros
The support is fantastic from Widen, both on helping to use the site, as well as helping to release it to and market it to your employees.
The portfolios are a great tool for INDD files and will help streamline global marketing efforts
Powerful search tool
Cons
Quick search function does not have a auto-suggest feature
No automatic preview for Adobe files (INDD, AI, SWF, etc)
Overall
Excellent program and Extremely helpful company
Purchased Date: N/A
Sales & Marketing Administrator, Hekman Furniture
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Easy to use
Geared even for the most basic computer user
registration process quick
User Administration simple to understand.
Cons
Option of "order a CD" should not be available.
Overall
I think it is great like it is. I use it continuously during my day. It makes my job so much easier when working with images for presentations etc.
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Assistant, taylor
November 29, 2010
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Pros
The people that work at Widen are GREAT! They walk me through things and find answers to any and all questions that I have. (Even when I ask the same ones over and over again!)
Cons
There are so many options that I confuse myself at times. Some of the titles are a bit confusing in the admin tools - but now that I have been using it for over a year - I am getting more familier with the in and out of the program.
Overall
I would recommend you to anyone! It is just what our company needs!
Purchased Date: N/A
Senior Manager Product & Design, Scott's Fundraising
November 29, 2010
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Pros
-Easy to keep assets organized, up to date and accessible
-Simple as shopping on the internet
-Immediate delivery for clients requesting images
-Email link to download assets eliminates shipping costs
-Accessible from anywhere you have internet, travel or office!
-Updates annually improve features
Cons
-Collective doesn't work with all versions of internet browsers (must be current release to work efficiently)
Overall
I highly recommend the Widen Collective and have been a user for over 6 years. The Collective improves asset organization while being accessible anywhere and to anyone you allow.
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Graphics Specialist, Datamax-O'Neil
November 29, 2010
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Pros
easy to learn interface, good support, like how we can customize almost every feature for our purposes
Cons
none at this time
Overall
good product
Purchased Date: January 01, 2007
Manager, Graphic Design, Hollister Incorporated
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Easy-to-use search and download tools
Good, intuitive interface
Excellent Customer Service and Administrative Support
Simple to upload new assets and resolve asset conflicts
Strong administrative capabilities and options (custom categories, user options, etc)
Excellent site and user reporting capabilities
Cons
Prefer more graphical interface (mac-like, not pc)
Admins can easily get lost in some options - seems a little overwhelming at first
Overall
Overall an excellent system, the cons are more personal preferences than system faults. After viewing other DAM sites in the past couple of years, the limitations are more the user vs the system itself. We have had very few major issues that Customer Service or Admins could not resolve.
Besides, the 2 "Cons", my only thought is that maybe for beginning admins, more "default" options for common tasks may be good - almost too many options for some.
Purchased Date: N/A
Graphic Designer, James Hardie Building Products
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Able to get specific and granular to support our wide range of needs. Customizable for different users. Gave training on how to use the system one-on-one, this was incredibly helpful.
Cons
The site is really slow. It takes an insane amount of time sometimes to load a page. I am unable to edit the description for a batch of images, without replacing the existing descriptions. It would save me a ton of time if I could simply add to the existing descriptions in a batch edit. The previews are incorrect sometimes, it seems that the site can't refresh or gets confused and sometimes shows a preview for a different image. You have to click all the way into the asset detail page to see the correct image preview.
Overall
Find a way to speed up the site and it's ability to refresh itself and show recently upload images faster.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Manager Sales Technology, Coty Inc
November 29, 2010
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Pros
From the time I spoke to the first salesperson until the implementation team got me up and running they kept us on track and on time. Their understanding of our needs enabled us to go into production in just a few month with minimal configuration post go live. The interface was simple and training our internal admins was short.Our external consumers were not trained at all and had no problem using the images. The Mass Transit Tool really faciliated getting images off our systems and out to our clients.
We were able to move responsibility for uploading and categoring images back to the source, creating great efficiencies. Finally, my IT dept was not burdened with additional tasks and responsibilities, and the cost has been affordable.
Cons
I would have to make something up. Working with Widen has been one of the best vendor experiences I have had to date.
Overall
If you are getting started in a DAM solution and SAAS is your preferred model, take the time to understand the Widen offering.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2007
Marketing Communications Program Manager, Johnson Controls
November 29, 2010
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Pros
- Great team to work with
- Competitive pricing to other similar tools
- Easy access to a variety of usability reports
Cons
Will not be compatible with IE6.
Overall
This is a great tool to allow your users the flexibility to create customized pieces but still maintain some amount of control regarding the overall creative look and feel.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2010
Associate Manager, Corporate Communications, PPD
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Great repository, easy to use for end user ordering assets
Cons
Setting up categories, sub categories and assigning profiles can be an issue for an administrator. Have also had issues with creating temporary accounts and requiring them to require approval with effecting other user profiles.
Overall
This product has great end-user features. Could be a little more user friendly for administrators.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2006
Advertising Coordinator, Howard Miller
November 29, 2010
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Pros
User friendly
Cons
Customer service can be a bit over-technical at times.
Overall
Would recommend
Purchased Date: N/A
Senior Manger, Global Creative Services, Life Fitness
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Implementation of the site was simple.
Cost was very affordable.
Space used/space left is noted on the monthly statement giving me a nice tool to manage the number of assets we have on the collective.
Communication about maintenance issues and update is outstanding.
Feedback from new users has been that the sight is easy to navigate and download.
Cons
Perhaps the only blip that we have had from Widen is in the image retouching that they have provided us has not met our standards. However, with that said, they have made every effort to rectify the image outlining and it looks like we will be satisfied with the final outcome.
Overall
I highly recommend Widen as a source for data/asset storage for any company. The combination of ease-of-use, customer support and reasonable cost has made our choice in Widen a smart and effective.
Purchased Date: N/A
Brand Manager, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
November 29, 2010
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Pros
- customizable
- user friendly
- easy access by internal and external team members
- versitile
- enhancements available
Cons
- additional training materials would be nice to have
Overall
I would certainly recommend the Widen DAM system to other companies.
Purchased Date: N/A
Senior Graphic Designer, La-Z-BOY
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Easy to use and navigate, lots of storage space for our images. Different ways to organize search results.
Cons
Only problem I have ever had is the time it takes to upload new images manually. Seems to take a long time, process is a little more complicated than I think it needs to be. A lot of steps to upload one image and add metadata.
Overall
I would recommend this program to other companies for their image database solution, I have seen other companies pages and they usually are not as good as the one we are using.
Purchased Date: February 01, 2007
Account Supervisor, The Pampered Chef
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Mediacollective has greatly reduced the number of hours our design team has spent fulfilling image requests for coworkers in the US and abroad. It is a professional system for our users. The reports are very helpful from an administrator point of view. The customer service team answers our questions and forwards user questions in a short amount of time. Thank you!
Cons
> Currently, there isn's a way to view thumbnails of an order.
> Placing a cap on the number of assets someone can place in one order (no more than 20).
> Or deny part of an order without denying the entire order and and placing a new request for the approved assets.
Overall
Great tool for our organization!
> Vendor Responses
12/03/2010 by Widen
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Communications Specialist, KI
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Uploads are a breeze and it's great to have a single source for our image repository - no matter what format we're working with.
Cons
To view larger images, takes you out of the search results - perhaps some kind of "hover over" to get a larger view would be better.
Inconsistent speed - sometimes it works quickly and sometimes it's almost inoperable.
Overall
Although not perfect, this system has met our needs and hopefully will continue to evolve as needs change. Customer service has been quite responsive
Purchased Date: January 01, 2009
photographer , tna wrestling
November 29, 2010
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Pros
ease of use for users
simple gui
rare downtime
Cons
needs rss update feeds for users
Overall
great investment, would refer others to widen
> Vendor Responses
12/03/2010 by Widen
Purchased Date: January 01, 2008
Creative Services Production Specialist, Nationwide Children's Hospital
November 29, 2010
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Pros
The online asset site streamlines my work-flow. It is now much easier to get image files to my coworkers and also people who work outside of my company. The site is very user friendly and the customer service reps always answer my questions promptly.
Cons
I have no complaints.
Overall
I would highly recommend widen to anyone. It has made a positive impact on my work and how quickly and efficiently I'm able to handle day to day tasks.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2009
Digital Marketing Specialist, Oceania Cruises
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Up until this point, your application has met our needs and works really well for all of our users. It is user friendly and effective.
Cons
No cons at this time.
Overall
I recommend this application.
Purchased Date: September 01, 2009
Graphic Services Manager, Briggs & Stratton Corporation
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Easy to implement. Easy to use for administrators and users. Customer Service is attentive to our needs.
Cons
Costs when you want to customize.
Overall
Better integration or application for mobile devices.
Purchased Date: N/A
Interactive Design Coordinator, KI
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Easy to set up new categories & edit information. Love the new uploader tool.
Cons
Sometimes the site can be really slow.
Overall
it would be nice to be able to hover over the images and have them enlage automatically (not having to click into).
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Services Specialist, Broan-NuTone LLC
November 29, 2010
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Pros
Various search options a plus
Cons
Confusion periodically with customers selecting more than one file type.
Overall
Overall performance is great
Purchased Date: February 01, 2009
Internet Project Manager, Case IH
November 29, 2010
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Pros
The widen site allows brands to self-manage their assets quickly and easily. The system is faily easy to learn.
Cons
Our implementation was not structured properly from the start, so we have many challenges with the search feature. I would suggest Widen provide consulting services to help brands efficiently structure their system to avoid our mistakes. The system can be slow at times, but I understand that is changing with the new release.
Overall
I would recommend Widen to another firm looking for an asset management system.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2002
Marketing Editor / eBuilder Administrator, Roche
November 05, 2010
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Pros
Roche is about to begin its 9th year with Widen managing its online image collective. With a sales force of more than 300 along with an in-house marketing staff, agencies, and retail clients, having an easy-to-use central location for finding the latest product images has been a huge time saver and an efficient distribution solution.
* Ease of adding new accounts
* Ease of search and categorization
* Ease of releasing / retiring images
* Cost effectiveness
* Prompt support
Cons
Because of the huge amount of variables available to the admin user, setting up a site with correct user permissions, asset groups, etc. can be intimidating and challenging if there is not a natural bent toward site organization or if a user doesn't have a daily hands-on role.
To offset this, Widen offers tremendous support, reviewing site settings set by admins or walking an admin through the logic needed to set up the appropriate permissions.
Overall
Excellent company, excellent product.
Roche uses only a portion of what Widen offers for our image collective, but we are truly impressed with the site we have.
Purchased Date: N/A
Marketing Coordinator, Mcomm Group
November 02, 2010
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Pros
Provide training on how to use features.
Knowledgeable and timely customer support.
Search-ability feature and linear cataloging available.
Cons
Asset management system only functions as well as the information inputted. Make sure you have complete and accurate data prior to uploading. Fixing the metadata for 1,000s of assets is quite time consuming and costly.
Overall
Good system for assets assuming metadata is complete and accurate.
Purchased Date: May 01, 2009
Marketing manager, Beazley
November 02, 2010
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Pros
Once the set-up is complete, the system is very easy to use. Allows marketing to monitor and control the brand.
Cons
It took a bit of time to set-up and create our templates, but once the process was in place it was very easy to add new templates.
Overall
I highly recommend this product. User friendly interface and responsive customer service.
Purchased Date: N/A
Product Management Specialist, Taylor Company
November 01, 2010
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Pros
Customer service is outstanding. The features of DAM save us innumerable calls & followup.
Cons
We would have liked to set up administrators at each of our distributors, but did not understand that during implementation. Ultimately, going back & setting that up would be nice, but not sure we have the time or resources to accomplish now.
Overall
Tremendous benefits to utilizing the DAM system for maintaining digital assets. Also look forward to using the Embed Links to manage our assets in web content.
Purchased Date: N/A
Channel Manager, Little Rapids Corporation
July 30, 2010
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Pros
-Responsive
-Friendly
-UI
-Willingness to work with you and customize DAM to individual needs
-Ease of use
Cons
Our experience has been extremely positive.
Overall
Higly recommend the Widen DAM media collective.
Purchased Date: N/A
Publications Coordinator, St. Mary's Hospital
June 11, 2010
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Pros
Great for storage, searching and sharing - no more clogged email accounts and lots of time and hassle saved in digging up images. Option to convert to various formats saves even more time and hassle for the end users.
Cons
To work most effectively, it requires consistent thinking and logical protocols -- elusive traits because we don't have the luxury of time or dedicated staff to devote to organizing our meta data in relation to how images will be used. We've found that many of our search terms yield too large of a pool because many of our photos include similar terms for very different images. Also, there's no compare feature to help select images or delete duplicates.
Overall
Very responsive customer service and very professional company with good communication about their product.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2009
Graphic Designer, Stens
June 11, 2010
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Pros
This is def. a learning curve, but opens so many doors for customers.
Great staff that is willing to work with you above and beyond!
Updates/upgrades occur regularly which continually helps to improve processes by making them more efficient and just better.
Cons
Takes time to learn!
Go to meetings for trainings can be rather confusing at times and hard to know what questions to ask if you haven't been exposed to it long enough.
Extra software may be required to access full function of parts of this database!!
Overall
Overall, this database opens many doors for your customers by allowing them the ability to customize marketing pieces, etc. It also works great to allow for images to be downloaded by your customers for use on their website, in mailers and marketing pieces to name just a few. For our particular business, it allows our customers more hands on and can help to save them valuable time!
Purchased Date: N/A
Creative Services Supervisor, Zebra Technologies
June 11, 2010
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Pros
Ease of search and ability to reformat images and video on the fly. You may have an asset in the collective in one format, but request it be delivered in another. Widen reformats for you.
Cons
Doesn't have the ability to assign keywords to more than one asset at a time.
Overall
We've been using it for well over a year and it haas been great. The feedback we've gotten has been positive and has allowed us to better share assets globally.
> Vendor Responses
11/08/2010 by Widen
Purchased Date: N/A
Graphic Desiger, Young Living Essential Oils
June 10, 2010
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Pros
Love the feature that I can view with the large thumbnail and add to the cart before I download the images.
Capability of tag the individual file and images, group them in the same event folder.
Love the searching engine.
Cons
Some of the menu tab is harder to find.
Overall
Overall the site function is easy to use and suites my need to uploading and downloading files
Purchased Date: October 01, 2009
Sr Associate, Innovation Focus/LIFEbytes Online
June 10, 2010
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Pros
Lightweight, flexible, well-supported. Very easy to implement for special uses.
Cons
Occaisional glitches, sometimes the complexity can be overwhelming
Overall
Great support, very flexible.
Purchased Date: June 01, 2009
Creative Services Manager, Great Wolf Resorts
June 10, 2010
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Pros
Customer service is excellent!
Cons
Some of the features are not as customizable as we had hoped.
Overall
Widen has most definitely improved our company's organization with creative assets and routing of creative projects.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2009
Photographer, Grand Valley State University
June 10, 2010
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Pros
Widen is a fairly easy and efficient way to store, archive, and distribute photographic files. In the year that I have been using Widen, it has changed the way I work. Now when I receive a request for a specific photo, I don't have to resize it and make sure it is the appropriate size to fit into an email. I just choose the file I want, send it to the recipient and they download it directly from the site instead of through e-mail. This is especially helpful to those who are always battling an in-box size limit! It has also made it easier to work off-site. Say I am out of the office on assignment or home sick. If I see a request come in, I can log onto Widen from anywhere and send the requests files out at any time! The search features also work great for us. Users throughout the university can now directly search for whatever type of photo they are looking for instead of requesting it through our department by phone or email.
Cons
Though I love Widen there have been a few minor issues we have encountered. The first is that it is a little hard to understand at the beginning. The back end of the program seems complicated to a new user. However, we have now figured everything out and so this really is no longer an issue for us. The other issue I sometimes run into is that the processing can be a bit slow. There are times when I upload my files and then cannot see the previews of my files for quite some time. This can be a problem when I am trying to identify people in the photograph to add their names to the keywords. The only way around this currently is to be patient and go work on something else for a while.
Overall
Overall I would definitely recommend Widen to any company that has a large amount of photo files that they need to store and easily be able to send to others, either internally or externally.
Purchased Date: October 01, 2009
Graphic Designer, Avelle
June 10, 2010
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Pros
Fast
Organized
Efficient
Helpful Staff
Constant improvements
Ease of use
Easy to send files to others
Cons
Sometimes features are not activated unless you request but everything I've requested was activated very quickly.
Overall
The Widen Collective has made my day to day searches for high resolution images so much easier than it used to be when I was searching multiple servers in our company. Typing in a single style number and having all of the results for the product show up is great. I also like that it's so fast. One of my favorite features is that the collective allows me to send these files to people outside the company for PR use. It's much easier than sending multiple files or loading to FTP sites. I would definitely recommend the Widen Collective to anyone who deals with a large volume of high resolution images.
Purchased Date: N/A
Photography Coordinator, Grand Valley State University
June 10, 2010
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Pros
Widen has really helped us bring together our photo archive and creates one organized place for everything to be. We can be confident that our files are safe with this product, which is a concern we have had for many years. It is also very nice to be able to access our files from any location and send them easily through the internet. The customer service people are very helpful and are always available when we run into problems.
Cons
The backside of the program can be a bit tedious and hard to figure out. We have been using the software for about a year now and I am just beginning to really figure out the ins and outs of it.
Overall
Overall, this product has really helped us and we will continue to use it in the future. Many other departments have used our site and are now adding their photos as well.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2001
web content admin, HON
April 14, 2010
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Pros
I really like the ease of use once you get used to the admin tools - this was a challenge at first since there was no formal documentation - but the staff at Widen made this a cinch
Cons
Some of the reporting and bulk insert features that I would need are not available from the front end of the application
Overall
good stuff
Purchased Date: February 01, 2007
Sr. Marketing Comm Mgr, InSinkErator
March 30, 2009
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Pros
Great customer support. Reliable service. Easy access to support via phone or online chat.
Cons
System seems to move a little slow. This could be our internet line.
Overall
Solid company. Trained employees. Convenient service network. Great system for the non-techinical person. Nice tech support.
Purchased Date: February 01, 2008
Marketing Communications Project Manager, Brocade
August 26, 2008
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Pros
In a manner of a few short weeks, we were fully up and running on Widen. It was a seamless switch and we extended our user base instead of loosing users during this time.
Cons
There were very few issues if any. I only disliked the Shopping cart analogy as people wondered if they needed to pay.
Overall
Highly Recommend Widen! They are a feature rich, and wonderful service to work with. The account managers and Implementation consultants were awesome and we never skipped a beat.
Purchased Date: June 01, 2008
Marcomm manager, MTI
August 26, 2008
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Pros
Incredibly intuitive interface, easy to set up and administrate.
Cons
Shoppin cart model confusing to users who think they are going to be charged.
Overall
Highly recommended