Acquia DAM
Move Faster. Stay On Brand.
About Acquia DAM
Acquia DAM is the rebranded Widen Collective – a DAM platform with roots dating back over 20 years (Widen was founded in 1948 as a prepress company and evolved into a DAM software provider). Acquia (known for its Drupal CMS platform) acquired Widen in 2021, integrating this DAM into the Acquia Digital Experience Platform. Today, Acquia DAM retains Widen’s legacy of robust features, offering a highly configurable metadata system for custom tagging and taxonomy, AI-powered auto-tagging to make assets instantly findable, and syncing across 50+ integrations via API and pre-built connectors. The platform is modular, consisting of six main apps: Assets (central library), Entries (product content management for 360º product views), Insights (asset analytics), Portals (branded asset portals for specific audiences), Templates (web-to-print templating), and Workflow (review and approval workflows). This breadth makes Acquia DAM not just a file repository but a complete content hub for enterprises.
Having been founded as Widen in 1997 in Wisconsin, the platform benefits from decades of DAM expertise. It’s trusted by marketing departments and product teams in industries like retail, manufacturing, and consumer goods to handle large libraries (including 8K video, 3D files, etc.) with security and scalability. Strengths frequently cited include its ease of use for non-technical users, strong user permission controls, and the ability to configure the system to business needs without starting from scratch. Acquia DAM is often chosen by enterprises that need to support complex content workflows (e.g., multi-channel marketing, global brand management, product information management) while maintaining brand consistency and rights management across thousands of assets.
Acquia DAM Pricing
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Acquia DAM uses a custom pricing model tailored to each client’s needs. There are no public price lists. Instead, Acquia will assess factors such as the number of users, storage volume, and modules (e.g., you might license the DAM core, with add-ons for PIM, Templates, or additional integrations) to provide a quote. In general, it’s considered a premium enterprise solution, so pricing will reflect that. There is no free tier, but Acquia may offer a sandbox or trial period for evaluation if you work with their sales team. According to third-party data, Acquia DAM plans often start in the five-figure annual range, scaling up based on usage. If transparency or self-serve pricing is important, you won’t find that on their website, and you’ll need to contact Acquia for a custom proposal.
Acquia DAM Reviews
"Overall, this is a great tool to share all our many photos and visual assets. It creates a nice visual and the download options are great." Source
"The searchable option and the ability to organize all of our thousands of assets. As well as the ability to download these assets in different file formats." Source
"I like the ease of use for users. I use the platform frequently, almost every day along with my coworkers. I enjoy the filtering options and the Acquia Team, specifically Aiden, have been incredibly helpful.” Source
"More and more technical issues and outages. Declining service. Dismissive and unhelpful during offboarding." Source
"Before Widen was acquired by Acquia, the training and customer support were incredible. Unfortunately, there has been a steady decline in service since the transition." Source
"The process of uploading and tagging is tedious. It is absolutely near impossible to get users to add photos to the system because the process is a barrier to entry." Source
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Acquia DAM FAQs
What is Acquia DAM
Acquia DAM (formerly Widen) is a cloud-based digital asset management system for businesses to centrally store, manage, and distribute digital content. It’s essentially a secure, searchable library for all your brand’s assets (images, videos, documents, product media, etc.), combined with tools for metadata tagging, workflow approvals, and asset analytics. After Acquia’s acquisition, it’s now part of the Acquia digital experience suite, often used alongside Acquia’s CMS and marketing tools.
What are the key features of Acquia DAM?
Acquia DAM offers a broad feature set: robust metadata management, advanced search, version control and asset history, review and approval workflows (with annotations and notifications), brand portals for sharing collections with external stakeholders, analytics/insights on asset usage, and a REST API & integrations that connect with 50+ popular apps (Adobe Creative Suite, CMS platforms, project management tools, etc.). It also supports rich media (large images, 8K videos, 3D models) and even offers product information management capabilities through its Entries module.
Who uses Acquia DAM?
It’s primarily used by mid-sized to large enterprises. Typical users include marketing teams, creative operations, and product or content managers in sectors such as retail, e-commerce, consumer goods, manufacturing, higher education, and healthcare. Any organization that produces a lot of digital content across various channels (and needs to ensure consistency and compliance) is a candidate. For instance, Acquia DAM is popular among global brands that need to empower regional teams with approved assets, as well as among companies with rich product catalogs that require managing all related media in one place.
Is Acquia DAM part of Drupal or separate?
Acquia DAM is a separate product from Drupal. Acquia is the company that commercially supports Drupal, and it has a suite of products (Acquia DXP), including Acquia DAM. You do not need to use Drupal CMS to use Acquia DAM – it can function independently and integrate with non-Drupal systems as well. However, if you do use Drupal, Acquia DAM has tight integration to allow for easily inserting DAM assets into Drupal sites. Acquia DAM was originally a standalone DAM solution and remains a distinct platform that can integrate with various environments.
How does Acquia DAM pricing work?
Acquia DAM is sold via subscription (SaaS). Pricing is quote-based, typically considering the number of user seats, the amount of storage or number of assets, and the specific modules or applications you need. Acquia might offer packages (for example, a base DAM package and optional add-ons like PIM or additional portals). There isn’t a public price sheet. Instead, you’ll engage with Acquia’s sales team for a custom quote. As a guideline, Acquia DAM is comparable in cost to other enterprise DAMs. Smaller teams might find it expensive, whereas enterprises often budget for it as part of their marketing/IT spend. There is no free version, but a proof-of-concept can typically be arranged upon request. Also, Acquia often bundles DAM as part of its larger Digital Experience Platform deals, which can influence pricing if you’re an Acquia CMS/hosting customer.
Does Acquia DAM offer training or support?
Yes. As an enterprise solution, Acquia DAM comes with extensive support and services. They provide training resources, a community forum, and dedicated account managers to help with implementation, metadata configuration, and user training. Additionally, they offer an online knowledge base and can connect you with DAM strategists if needed. Ongoing support is available at various levels, depending on your contract.
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