Total Economic Impact
Cost Savings And Business Benefits Enabled By Sharedien
A FORRESTER TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY COMMISSIONED BY Sharedien, June 2025
Total Economic Impact
A FORRESTER TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY COMMISSIONED BY Sharedien, June 2025
With growing volumes of digital content and a need for omnichannel delivery, efficient rich-media asset management is critical to successful digital execution and the delivery of a consistent brand experience. Sharedien’s digital asset and content management (DAM) solution helps organizations centralize, streamline, and govern their access to assets throughout their content lifecycle. It enables the quick retrieval of assets, seamless collaboration, and consistent usage across teams, ultimately leading to faster time to market, reduced efforts, and improved revenue performance.
Sharedien is a cloud-native digital asset management platform that helps organizations centralize, manage, and distribute their digital assets. The platform supports a wide range of formats and leverages AI-powered search and content generation, metadata tagging, workflow automation, and role-based access control to ultimately streamline content collaboration and governance, enhance discoverability, and improve operational efficiency.
Sharedien commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying Sharedien.1 The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of Sharedien on their organizations.
To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed two decision-makers — a brand and advertising marketing division manager and a content asset manager — who have experience using Sharedien at their organization. Forrester used this experience to project a three-year financial analysis.
Interviewees said that before implementing Sharedien, their organization relied on a combination of a file system database and a web-based media assets management (MAM) solution. This fragmented environment lacked a centralized repository for digital assets, resulting in low user adoption and inconsistent asset management practices. Digital content was stored across multiple locations and folders, resulting in lengthy retrieval times, slower collaboration, and a risk of asset loss. Additionally, the previous solutions did not scale with growing content demands and volumes and also failed to meet the organization’s security requirements through unauthorized access to assets.
After the investment in Sharedien, the interviewees’ organization obtained a centralized and scalable repository for all digital assets and improved asset accessibility and findability across teams. The platform enabled role-based access control, allowing users to retrieve content based on their responsibilities and provided secure access to external suppliers and agencies to support collaboration. In addition, it introduced workflow automation and aligned with the organization’s security requirements. Key results from the investment include improved team collaboration and efficiencies and time savings in asset search and retrieval, cost elimination from legacy systems, and enhanced internal and external collaboration.
Quantified benefits. Three-year, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for the interviewees’ organization include:
Asset search efficiency improvements of 10% over three years. With Sharedien, the company’s users working with digital content save time searching and retrieving the assets they need. These efficiency improvements reach 10% of time savings for all users by Year 3. Over three years and with a total of 1,050 internal users in marketing and buying departments, the organization experiences efficiency improvements for asset search that are worth €3.7 million.
Elimination of legacy solution costs worth €522,000. With the transition to the cloud-native Sharedien platform, the interviewees’ organization eliminated costs associated with the previous solutions.
Unquantified benefits. Benefits that are not quantified for this study include:
Improved user experience and adoption. The introduction of Sharedien’s platform as a centralized repository for all digital assets improved the company’s user experience. Interviewees said that the solution’s simple interface led to easier access to content and a higher adoption rate across teams.
Streamlined collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. Sharedien’s collaborative workspaces enabled internal and external users to manage projects, submit requests, and update content directly within the platform. This reduced reliance on separate communication tools and improved coordination across users.
Increased efficiency through workflow automation. Sharedien’s automation capabilities allowed the interviewees’ company to streamline previously manual workflows, reducing repetitive tasks and increasing efficiency across content-related processes.
Strengthened security and access control. Sharedien met the organization’s security standards by offering role-based access, digital rights management capabilities, and improved control over asset sharing. Interviewees said this reduced the risk of unauthorized access and improved confidence in asset protection.
Improved campaign adoption and consistency. With a single source of truth for media assets, marketing teams accessed approved content more quickly and consistently, improving campaign adoption and alignment.
Costs. Three-year, risk-adjusted PV costs for the interviewee’s organization include:
Implementation efforts of €115,000. Interviewees reported that internal teams led the deployment of Sharedien with total implementation efforts worth €155,000.
Solution management costs of €803,000. The company allocated internal resources to manage and maintain the Sharedien platform, including automation setup and vendor relationship management, resulting in a three-year cost of €803,000 over three years.
Licensing costs of €645,000. Ongoing licensing costs for Sharedien included the enterprise XL subscription, access for internal and external users, integration capabilities, support service, and storage, totaling €645,000 over three years.
The financial analysis that is based on the interview found that the decision-makers’ organization experiences benefits of €4.2 million over three years versus costs of €1.6 million, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of €2.6 million and an ROI of 168%.
Return on investment (ROI)
Benefits PV
Net present value (NPV)
Payback
| Ref. | Benefit | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atr | Asset search efficiency improvements | €238,680 | €1,377,000 | €3,084,480 | €4,700,160 | €3,672,414 |
| Btr | Legacy solutions cost savings | €170,000 | €212,500 | €255,000 | €637,500 | €521,751 |
| Total benefits (risk-adjusted) | €408,680 | €1,589,500 | €3,339,480 | €5,337,660 | €4,194,165 |
Evidence and data. Interviewees shared that prior to using Sharedien at their organization, searching for assets was a time-consuming and manual process. Users often had to send multiple emails, request links, and coordinate across teams to locate the right files. This inefficiency disrupted both internal workflows and hindered collaboration with external partners. The brand and advertising marketing division manager described the previous process as fragmented and inefficient. He noted: “In the past, there were a lot of emails, questions, transfer links, and communications that were shared across team members and partners.” Interviewees also noted that Sharedien:
Reduced time spent searching for assets. The same interviewee explained that Sharedien’s centralized repository and intuitive asset search enabled users to quickly locate and manage assets without needing to rely on others. He said: “With Sharedien, you can find the right assets, you can discuss it, you can address issues, you can market, you can add information. You don’t need to ask someone to do it, you don’t need to think about where the asset is. This is key for us.”
Simplified workflows through a unified system. The content asset manager highlighted the benefit of working within a single platform for their digital assets needs. She said: “For users it’s much faster to work on one system where they can retrieve the assets. It’s much easier for everyone working on content.” The brand and advertising marketing division manager added: “With Sharedien, everything is centralized, so users can first search for everything they need before purchasing a picture or starting a photo shoot. There are savings from this.”
Saved time due to improved search efficiency. The brand and advertising marketing division manager highlighted the time savings for marketing and buying department users. He stated, “With Sharedien, users are saving from 5% to 10% of their time just from searching for the assets they need.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview6/18/2025s, Forrester assumes the following:
The deployment of Sharedien gradually increases over time.
The number of internal users is 150 in Year 1, 600 in Year 2, and 1,050 in Year 3.
The number of marketing users is 150 in Year 1, 450 in Year 2, and 525 in Year 3.
The number of buying users is 150 in Year 2 and 525 in Year 3.
The fully burdened hourly rate for a marketing department FTE is €39.
The fully burdened hourly rate for a buying department FTE is €33.
There are 1,920 working hours per year per FTE.
The organization has a 50% productivity recapture rate, which means that 50% of the time saved through asset search is used for productive work.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:
A company’s previous environment.
The number of users and their roles.
The salary rate of users.
The deployment use cases and rate.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of €3.7 million.
Yearly hours saved per user by Year 3
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Sharedien users (internal) | Interview | 150 | 600 | 1,050 | |
| A2 | Time savings with Sharedien | Interview | 5.0% | 7.5% | 10.0% | |
| A3 | Hours saved per year per FTE | A2*1,920 hours | 96 | 144 | 192 | |
| A4 | Marketing department users | Interview | 150 | 450 | 525 | |
| A5 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a marketing FTE | Composite | €39 | €39 | €39 | |
| A6 | Subtotal: Efficiency savings for marketing FTEs | A3*A4*A5 | €561,600 | €2,527,200 | €3,931,200 | |
| A7 | Buying department users | Interview | 0 | 150 | 525 | |
| A8 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a buying department FTE | Composite | €33 | €33 | €33 | |
| A9 | Subtotal: Efficiency savings for procurement buying FTEs | A3*A7*A8 | €0 | €712,800 | €3,326,400 | |
| A10 | Total efficiency savings | A6+A9 | €561,600 | €3,240,000 | €7,257,600 | |
| A11 | Productivity recapture | TEI methodology | 50% | 50% | 50% | |
| At | Asset search efficiency improvements | A10*A11 | €280,800 | €1,620,000 | €3,628,800 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓15% | |||||
| Atr | Asset search efficiency improvements (risk-adjusted) | €238,680 | €1,377,000 | €3,084,480 | ||
| Three-year total: €4,700,160 | Three-year present value: €3,672,414 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees said that migrating their digital asset management to the cloud-native Sharedien platform enabled their organization to eliminate costs associated with maintaining legacy systems solutions. These previous solutions were embedded in the older environment and incurred ongoing expenses.
Cost elimination from decommissioned legacy tools. The brand and advertising marketing division manager explained that the transition to Sharedien allowed their organization to fully retire its previous solution. He stated: “With the move to Sharedien, we were able to eliminate costs from our previous solutions that were bonded within the environment. We were able to save from €200,000 to €300,000 when we fully removed the solutions.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
The organization gradually decommissions its legacy digital asset management solutions over a three-year period. The decommissioning rate is 67% in Year 1, 83% in Year 2, and 100% by Year 3.
The total annual cost of the legacy solutions is €300,000.
Cost savings are realized proportionally as the legacy systems are phased out.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this benefit:
The organization’s previous environment.
The decommissioning rate.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of €522,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Legacy solutions cost | Interview | €300,000 | €300,000 | €300,000 | |
| B2 | Decommissioning rate | Interview | 67% | 83% | 100% | |
| Bt | Legacy solutions cost savings | €200,000 | €250,000 | €300,000 | ||
| Risk adjustment | ↓15% | |||||
| Btr | Legacy solutions cost savings (risk-adjusted) | €170,000 | €212,500 | €255,000 | ||
| Three-year total: €637,500 | Three-year present value: €521,751 | |||||
The interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that the organization experienced but was not able to quantify:
Improved user experience and adoption. Interviewees mentioned that the adoption of Sharedien as a centralized repository for digital assets greatly improved the user experience. They noted that the platform’s simple interface and navigation make it easier for users to access and manage content. The brand and advertising marketing division manager said: “[Sharedien] is easy and convenient. … This definitely helps making it a commodity tool.” He further added: “We did some research and interviews with user groups on their experience with asset management. Before, it was a pain; [after Sharedien], it isn’t anymore.”
Streamlined collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. Interviewees noted that Sharedien’s collaborative workspaces enable internal teams and external partners to manage projects, submit requests, and update content directly within the platform. This reduced the need for emails and manual coordination, ultimately improving collaboration. The content asset manager said: “Something very good for us during the process of new photo shoots is the trigger you can select to let everyone know there is something new upcoming. Suppliers get this trigger to know there is a workspace for them they have to use. Nobody has to send emails or calls. They automatically receive their access to the project on Sharedien.”
Increased efficiency through workflow automation. Sharedien allowed the interviewees’ organization to automate previously manual tasks, improving operational efficiency and reducing repetitive work. The brand and advertising marketing division manager said: “It’s easy to automate certain tasks with Sharedien. This is a great addition for us, and it’s easy to implement these automations.”
Strengthened security and access control. Interviewees said that Sharedien’s platform supports their organization’s security standards through role-based access, digital rights management, and controlled asset sharing. This reduced the risk of unauthorized access and increased confidence in how digital assets are protected and distributed. The content asset manager said, “One of the problems we had before was security … and Sharedien met our needs from that aspect.”
Improved campaign adoption and content consistency. Interviewees mentioned that, with a single source of truth for their digital assets, marketing teams could access approved content more quickly and consistently. This improved campaign execution and ensured brand alignment. The brand and advertising marketing division manager said: “Sharedien makes adoption of campaigns easier. User can drop assets directly on the platform for online marketing display. Everyone knows where it is, which makes it much easier for everyone.”
The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement Sharedien and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:
Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for content generation. Interviewees mentioned that Sharedien’s generative AI (genAI) tools can enable them to automatically modify visual assets, such as changing a photo’s background, without the need for manual intervention or additional photo shoots. They emphasized the potential to reduce the number of photo sessions and decrease dependency on external resources, resulting in potentially faster turnaround times and cost savings.
Centralizing third-party and vendor assets. Interviewees noted that Sharedien provided a centralized repository for storing assets from third-party vendors on their digital commerce platform. The content asset manager said: “Some of our clients ask if they can store assets in our system. For us, it’s very important to store these as it’s part of our organization’s history. We have to be very flexible to let every possibility happen when it comes to assets and who can store and access them.”
Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).
| Ref. | Cost | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ctr | Implementation efforts | €115,000 | €0 | €0 | €0 | €115,000 | €115,000 |
| Dtr | Solution management cost | €0 | €220,000 | €330,000 | €440,000 | €990,000 | €803,306 |
| Etr | Licensing cost | €0 | €210,000 | €262,500 | €315,000 | €787,500 | €644,515 |
| Total costs (risk-adjusted) | €115,000 | €430,000 | €592,500 | €755,000 | €1,892,500 | €1,562,821 |
Evidence and data. Interviewees described their organization’s implementation efforts for the Sharedien platform. They noted that internal resources were used to deploy the platform initially without reliance on external consultants or third-party services.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
Two IT FTEs were dedicated to the initial deployment of Sharedien.
The deployment lasted six months.
The average fully burdened annual salary for an IT FTE is €100,000.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these costs may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this cost:
The complexity of the organization’s previous environment and ecosystem.
The salaries of implementation team members.
The scale and pace of the implementation process.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of €115,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | Implementation time (years) | Interview | 0.5 | |||
| C2 | IT FTEs dedicated to implementation | Interview | 2 | |||
| C3 | Fully burdened annual salary for an IT FTE | Interview | €100,000 | |||
| Ct | Implementation efforts | C1*C2*C3 | €100,000 | €0 | €0 | €0 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑15% | |||||
| Ctr | Implementation efforts (risk-adjusted) | €115,000 | €0 | €0 | €0 | |
| Three-year total: €115,000 | Three-year present value: €115,000 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees shared the following insights into the ongoing management of the Sharedien platform:
Initially, two FTEs were responsible for managing the solution, including creating automations information content for users.
Over time, two additional FTEs were added to support platform operations and scalability.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
Two FTEs were dedicated to Sharedien management in Year 1, three in Year 2, and four in Year 3.
The average fully burdened annual salary for an FTE is €100,000.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these costs may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this cost:
The organization’s volume of assets.
The organization’s ecosystem and integrations with other solutions.
The number of users accessing the platform.
The diversity and complexity of Sharedien use cases.
The salary rate of FTEs managing the platform.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of €803,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | FTEs dedicated to platform management | Interview | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| D2 | Fully burdened annual salary for an FTE | Interview | €100,000 | €100,000 | €100,000 | |
| Dt | Solution management cost | D1*D2 | €200,000 | €300,000 | €400,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↑10% | |||||
| Dtr | Solution management cost (risk-adjusted) | €0 | €220,000 | €330,000 | €440,000 | |
| Three-year total: €990,000 | Three-year present value: €803,306 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees described their licensing costs associated with the Sharedien platform. They reported using the enterprise XL subscription of Sharedien, which includes:
An enterprise service plan.
Access for both internal and external users.
Integration hub capabilities.
Sharedien support and monitoring services.
Storage usage.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interview, Forrester assumes the following:
The organization is subscribing to Sharedien’s enterprise XL plan.
The organization has 1,500 users: 1,050 internal users and 450 external partners.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these costs may not be representative of all experiences. The following factors may impact this cost:
The organization’s number of users.
The organization’s volume of assets.
The Sharedien subscription plan.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of €645,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Licensing cost | Interview | €200,000 | €250,000 | €300,000 | |
| Et | Licensing cost | E1 | €200,000 | €250,000 | €300,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↑5% | |||||
| Etr | Licensing cost (risk-adjusted) | €0 | €210,000 | €262,500 | €315,000 | |
| Three-year total: €787,500 | Three-year present value: €644,515 | |||||
| Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs | (€115,000) | (€430,000) | (€592,500) | (€755,000) | (€1,892,500) | (€1,562,821) |
| Total benefits | €0 | €408,680 | €1,589,500 | €3,339,480 | €5,337,660 | €4,194,165 |
| Net benefits | (€115,000) | (€21,320) | €997,000 | €2,584,480 | €3,445,160 | €2,631,344 |
| ROI | 168% | |||||
| Payback | 14 months |
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Year 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. PV calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
From the information provided in the interview, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in Sharedien.
The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that Sharedien can have on an organization.
Interviewed Sharedien stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to Sharedien.
Interviewed two decision-makers from the same organization with experience using Sharedien at their organization to obtain data about costs, benefits, and risks.
Constructed a financial model representative of the interview using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewee.
Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.
Benefits represent the value the solution delivers to the business. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and costs, allowing for a full examination of the solution’s effect on the entire organization.
Costs comprise all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the solution. The methodology captures implementation and ongoing costs associated with the solution.
Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. The ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”
The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PV of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.
The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.
A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.
The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.
The breakeven point for an investment. This is the point in time at which net benefits (benefits minus costs) equal initial investment or cost.
Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Related Forrester Research
Strategic Technology Selection Guide For Digital Asset Management Systems, Forrester Research, Inc., April 28, 2025.
Key Insights From The Forrester Wave™: Digital Asset Management, Q1 2024, Forrester Research, Inc., March 4, 2024.
1 Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Readers should be aware of the following:
This study is commissioned by Sharedien and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.
Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in Sharedien.
Sharedien reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict Forrester’s findings or obscure the meaning of the study.
Sharedien provided the customer name for the interview but did not participate in the interview.
Alexis Ouelhadj
June 2025
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