Canto Cumulus Replacement and Migration

Nextware can help you to replace your on-prem Canto Cumulus solution and migrate your data to a new off-the-shelf or custom DAM

The future of Cumulus is ... better!

Canto announced that its on-premise Cumulus Enterprise solution will no longer be distributed past September 1st, 2021. There will be no new versions of Canto Cumulus (only maintenance and bugfix updates) and Cumulus Enterprise support will end on December 31st, 2023. In other words: it is high time to find a replacement for you existing Cumulus solution. This applies to the backend of Cumulus as well as its front-end web interface “Portals” and “Web Client”. It also means migrating your valuable DAM assets and metadata over to a Cumulus Alternative such as NetX, Asset Bank, or Extensis Portfolio. As an experienced DAM integrator as well as a custom software development and IT services powerhouse, we are in the unique position to help you along this path to your new DAM future.

Nextware will work with just about any off-the-shelf DAM solution you can imagine.
Or make that a fully customized DAM through our other core services:

There are many new DAM Approaches

We help you decide the best approach: a new off-the-shelf DAM solution, building a modular hybrid/cloud DAM using existing AWS or Azure services or developing a completely custom DAM. Nextware has expertise with all three solution approaches. In terms of deployment, this can happen in-house, hybrid (part on-premise, part cloud) or entirely in the cloud. See our matrix for possible solution-deployment approaches. To determine the best Cumulus alternative that meet your needs, Nextware will look at your current Cumulus DAM setup and requirements as well as your legal framework and regulatory restrictions, but also your future goals to help you decide which approach works best for you.

A Unique Chance for a Brighter Future

Disruptions are times of opportunities. Cumulus is a good and robust DAM, but it does have serious shortcomings: no external/separate indices, upper limits for database sizes, no external/separate thumbnail storage, only basic reporting, no external/separate preview derivatives, a proprietary and thus closed database format, no load-balancing for the application server, no easily managed centralized metadata scheme, web clients that are very tricky to expand and customize, lack of disaster recovery and failover features, and a very basic workflow engine … just to name a few. As experienced Cumulus partners we know these issues all too well. Thus we can ensure that a new DAM solution, especially a modular cloud DAM or a modular custom DAM, can do away with all these shortcomings.

We are Cumulus and DAM Experts

We are the partner you are looking for, because we know how Cumulus works … and how it comes short. So we understand exactly how your workflows, assets and metadata need to be exported and migrated to a Cumulus alternative, so that you not only have the same, but a much better experience. We can also help you asses the complexity and cost of the initial implementation of the new DAM solution, its initial (purchase/development) cost, its long-term cost and the maintenance it will require. The matrix shown next gives you a rough idea of how the different solution approaches may compare to a standard Canto Cumulus Enterprise implementation.

Full Needs & Risk Analysis

Every one of our decisions will be driven by your requirements. In other words: we are solution-agnostic and not tied to any one DAM vendor that we will try to sell to you. When we evaluate solution and deployment options, we will be fully transparent about the advantages, disadvantages and risks of each approach, not just short-term, but also long-term. Our goal is to leave you with a DAM solution that fulfills your current needs, but leave ample room for expansion and integration. That also means that we look beyond just DAM … how about your ECM, CMS, MAM, CRM and PIM needs? What does your larger solution environment look like, what do other teams, departments or divisions already use and how can we work with them in synergy?

Don’t delay your Cumulus replacement and migration until it is too late.

Let us help you find the best Cumulus alternative.