International Fund for Agriculture Development

Since 1973, IFAD has provided the US $23.2 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached an estimated 518 million people. They work in countries where poverty and hunger are at it’s deepest and strive to use agriculture to connect farmers and civilians to markets that enable them to earn more. They need to use Asset Bank to share images to partners and organisations around the world that support their work.

IFAD digital asset management
About

At the time IFAD approached Asset Bank, they were using an antiquated system of CDs and FTP servers to send images to colleagues and partners. 

 

Head office

Rome, Italy 

 

Digital transformation 

A successful move to digital image libraries means IFAD's work reaches a wider audience  

 

Long-time client 

IFAD has been with Asset Bank for over 10 years 

INTRODUCTION

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) work with rural people in developing areas enabling them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives.

Agriculture is a proven solution for poverty reduction and IFAD’s work is essential in maintaining and improving the communities in some of the world’s poorest countries. The use of images highlights their cause and provides content for partners who support their work.

the challenge 

Pre Asset Bank, IFAD’s used an internal image bank. It was the last in a long line of steps needed to make the move from an analogue to digital photo library.

digital asset management IFAD
the challenge 

IFAD had an online archive but didn’t have a way of storing high-resolution images together with their data and thumbnails.

When internal and external clients requested images by email, the IFAD image management team would literally have to take the CDs off the shelf and upload them to an FTP site. They also needed to give instant access to their internal and external graphic designers who were also using CDs. Lastly, IFAD needed a way to easily share images with colleagues and global development partners all over the world.

Why Asset Bank?

IFAD did in-depth research on the best way to develop an image bank. They reviewed what their partner UN organisations were using as well the top photo agencies in the industry.

After deciding that they needed to use a specialist Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, they searched the market and ultimately decided that Asset Bank was the vendor that came closest to their needs. We offered a reasonable price and were able to host on the cloud to keep costs down. After a few development requests, an Asset Bank was designed to suit their needs and was installed in late 2010.

The results

IFAD has been live with their Asset Bank bank for over ten years. Since installation, they’ve added photo essay functionality, customised the ecard feature and incorporated the Facebook-like feature. They added some enhanced reporting functions and created a FAQ section for user support. Most importantly, they were able to kiss goodbye to using CDs!

Susan Beccio, Photo Editor

"Asset Bank is the best low-cost option on the market. It serves the purpose that we need it to serve. It's very intuitive and has great features that make our work easier.

IFAD DAM

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