Image ![University of Kansas logo](/sites/default/files/styles/case_study_stat_logo/public/media/image/2022-01/University-of-Kansas-Woodmark.png?itok=PtRtVSLf) # University of Kansas Acquia DAM (Widen), including the Assets and Insights applications. [Visit University of Kansas Website](https://ku.edu/)Image ![Aerial photo of two individuals standing by windows looking at textbooks](/sites/default/files/styles/case_study_stat_hero_desktop/public/media/image/2022-01/GettyImages-941518696.jpg?h=b1a91ebe&itok=HOaJ5DjY) Industry Education Products - [Acquia DAM ](/products/acquia-dam) 43 K downloads in the last 12 months 8 K uploads in the last 12 months 8 K searches in the last 12 months ## The Client The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, and several satellite campuses across the state. Image ![Collage of three images of students at a table, a university building and students celebrating](/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg_full_width_desktop/public/media/image/2022-01/University-of-Kansas-header-graphic.png?h=bde28bee&itok=-gKDBzoG) ## The Situation The KU marketing team shares creative assets with a wide range of individuals — both on and off campus. ## The Challenge KU’s first image management system was built in-house in the late 90s and was replaced by a more sophisticated open source solution about a decade later. Tim Seley, KU’s Associate Director of Digital Media, shared that both of these platforms were initially supported by their IT department. “As priorities changed, IT just didn’t have the time or the resources to keep supporting an open source- solution or a self-built solution,” he said. The existing platform had grown so unusable that simply locating the right image was difficult. “Frankly, what happened is we just stopped doing some of the things that we wanted to do,” Tim said. “When our system quit working, we just said ‘sorry, we can’t do x-y-z anymore.’” ## The Solution Tim’s team began exploring possible digital asset management (DAM) solutions, and implemented Acquia DAM in 2018. “I think it’s pretty clear that a DAM makes perfect sense in a university setting because you have such a large community of people that want access to images,” Tim said. #### User-friendly system “Design matters to us,” Tim said, “and a system that looks really good, is very responsive, and does what you expect it to do — it’s important.” Acquia DAM’s ease of use empowers teams across campus and beyond to access content on their own. In addition, it minimizes the time required to get new users up and running. “You can train anybody on \[Acquia DAM\] in an hour or less,” he said. #### Reduce login barriers KU implemented single sign-on (SSO) functionality to further enhance ease of access to content in Acquia DAM. “Single sign-on has been great because setup was a breeze, and now any user that’s part of the KU infrastructure can easily access the system,” Tim said. #### Robust roles and permissions KU uses roles and permissions to control how different user groups interact with content in the DAM system. This helps ensure that only approved assets can be viewed and shared by certain users. “One of the things that drew us to \[Acquia DAM\] was how flexible it was in terms of asset roles and security,” Tim said. And as their distribution needs grow, Tim hopes to explore Portals as an option for sharing curated groups of assets to specific user groups. ## The Results #### Effective content distribution Acquia DAM provides all users with a single location for creative content. “Having one central place where we can send them or they can browse on their own without the help of a photographer has been super, super helpful,” Tim said. And tools like share links have further streamlined content distribution. “If we photograph a concert, or a classroom, or whatever the thing may be, it’s really easy to quickly and effectively distribute those images across campus, regardless of where they’re coming from,” Tim said. #### Better quality of work Easy access to creative content has allowed teams across campus to spend less time searching for assets, and more time on other work. “For us, it’s definitely been a tool that we can use to increase efficiency. And then that in turn also helps the final product, so the work we do is improved as a result,” Tim said. #### A partnership After years of limited availability from their IT department, KU was excited about all of the guidance that Acquia provides before, during, and after implementation. “Having a staff that supports you means you don’t have to worry about losing your images, losing your library, or something going down at a critical time.” With help just a phone call, chat, or email away, Tim knows that Acquia is a partner in achieving their current and future DAM goals. ## Additional Resources [View More Resources](/resources) [ ![](/themes/custom/juice/images/resources/card/Case-Study/orange-to-blue-icon.png) Case Study min ###### University of Georgia The University of Georgia consolidated 1M digital assets in Acquia DAM with a 6-type metadata model, lifting creative output and team UX. ](/resources/customer-stories/uga-organizes-1m-assets-acquia-dam) First Name Last Name Email Company Job Title Country Country AfghanistanÅland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua & BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAscension IslandAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia & HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCanary IslandsCape VerdeCaribbean NetherlandsCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicCeuta & MelillaChadChileChinaChristmas IslandClipperton IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongo - BrazzavilleCongo - KinshasaCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzechiaDenmarkDiego GarciaDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard & McDonald IslandsHondurasHong Kong SAR ChinaHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacao SAR ChinaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmar (Burma)NamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorth MacedoniaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinian TerritoriesPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandsPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRéunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé & PríncipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia & South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSt. BarthélemySt. HelenaSt. Kitts & NevisSt. LuciaSt. MartinSt. Pierre & MiquelonSt. Vincent & GrenadinesSudanSurinameSvalbard & Jan MayenSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad & TobagoTristan da CunhaTunisiaTürkiyeTurkmenistanTurks & Caicos IslandsTuvaluU.S. Outlying IslandsU.S. Virgin IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamWallis & FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe State - Select -AlabamaAlaskaAmerican SamoaArizonaArkansasArmed Forces (AA)Armed Forces (AE)Armed Forces (AP)CaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarshall IslandsMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMicronesiaMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthern Mariana IslandsOhioOklahomaOregonPalauPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirgin IslandsVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming Marketing Opt-In Yes, I would like to receive updates and information about Acquia's products, events, webinars, and more. 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