Acquia DAM vs. OpenAsset DAM: Which is right for AEC firms in 2026?
Nov 15, 2023
5 min
Last updated: July 21, 2026
If Acquia DAM is on your shortlist alongside OpenAsset DAM, you’ve already narrowed the field to two very different approaches to digital asset management (DAM).
For architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms, the question usually goes beyond storage, search, or file sharing. Your team needs to manage project photography, qualifications packages, employee resumes, and proposal content while keeping information connected to the systems you already use. The way a DAM organizes that information can affect everything from proposal turnaround times to how quickly your team can respond to new opportunities.
Acquia DAM is a well-established platform used by marketing and digital experience teams across a wide range of industries. OpenAsset is built specifically for AEC firms, with project-based asset management, employee and resume management, and integrations with the project management and business development platforms AEC firms use most.
This comparison looks at how the two platforms differ in practice, including industry focus, integrations, AI capabilities, pricing considerations, and overall fit. By the end, you should have a clearer sense of which platform aligns with the way your firm actually works.
Key takeaways
- OpenAsset is purpose-built for AEC firms with project-based organization, employee/resume management, and integrations like Procore and Deltek. Acquia DAM is a general-purpose DAM for marketing teams across industries.
- Only OpenAsset offers proposal-specific support through Shred, including RFP analysis, AI-assisted drafting, and Go/No-Go evaluation, enabling AEC marketers throughout more of their workflow.
- Choose OpenAsset if your work revolves around projects, proposals, and pursuits. Choose Acquia DAM if your assets are organized around brands and campaigns, or if you’re already invested in the Acquia/Drupal ecosystem.
- OpenAsset leads slightly on overall reviewer sentiment (4.7/5 vs. Acquia’s 4.4/5 on G2; 94% vs. Acquia’s 90% on SelectHub), and dominates on AEC-specific reviewer sentiment, reflecting its focus on the built environment industry.
What is OpenAsset?
OpenAsset is a DAM and proposal platform built specifically for AEC firms. OpenAsset DAM gives marketing and business development teams a centralized library for project photography, renderings, and other visual assets organized around projects. Employee profiles and resumes live in the same system, making it easier for proposal teams to pull approved images, project information, and staff qualifications into a response without jumping between multiple tools.
OpenAsset is designed around the way AEC firms pursue work. Its metadata structure, search capabilities, and templates help teams quickly locate relevant project experience, employee qualifications, and visual assets when proposal deadlines are tight.
“This is the only DAM that is tailored to AEC,” wrote Amy B., an enterprise-level reviewer on G2, the peer-review platform for business software.
More than 1,000 AEC firms use OpenAsset to manage digital assets and support proposal development.
OpenAsset also includes Shred, an AI-powered proposal solution built for AEC teams. Shred helps firms search past proposals, evaluate new opportunities, and draft content using their own project history. Those capabilities are covered in detail in the AI capabilities section below.
What is Acquia DAM (formerly Widen)?
Acquia DAM is a digital asset management platform built for marketing and digital experience teams across a wide range of industries. It’s part of the broader Acquia Digital Experience Platform, which is closely tied to Drupal, the open-source content management system Acquia helps develop and support.
Acquia DAM helps organizations store, organize, and distribute brand assets, creative files, and marketing content from a centralized library. The platform is designed to support teams managing websites, campaigns, and digital experiences across multiple channels.
As of 2026, Acquia DAM integrates with marketing, content, and creative tools. It also offers AI-powered capabilities for tasks such as asset tagging, search, and content organization.
Acquia DAM is used across a wide range of industries, including healthcare, retail, consumer goods, and manufacturing.
How do OpenAsset DAM and Acquia DAM compare on AEC-specific capabilities?
OpenAsset DAM and Acquia DAM share the same DAM fundamentals — asset storage, search, and organization. However, only OpenAsset DAM is tailor-made for the AEC industry.
Therefore, the biggest differences between the two digital asset management systems appear at the workflow level.
| Capability | OpenAsset | Acquia DAM |
| Industry focus | Purpose-built for AEC firms | General-purpose, multi-industry |
| Project-based organization | Assets organized around projects | Organized by brand and campaign, not project |
| Employee and resume management | Built-in employee and resume management | Not a core feature |
| AEC integrations | Procore, Deltek Vision/Vantagepoint, Affinity, Unanet/Cosential | Not offered |
| Proposal Support & Proposal AI | Shred: Intelligent RFP analysis, AI drafting based on your past work & RFP requirements, AI Chat, Go/No-Go Analysis | Not offered |
| General DAM AI (tagging, search) | AI-assisted tagging and visual search | AI-assisted tagging and search |
Integrations
OpenAsset connects directly to the systems many AEC firms already use to manage projects, proposals, and business development efforts. Integrations with Procore, Deltek, Affinity, and Unanet help keep project information, employee data, and proposal content connected across platforms.
As Alexis A., a Marketing Operations Manager at a mid-market firm, says in a G2 review:
“The integration with Vantagepoint streamlines access to project data, making the overall pursuit and proposal process more efficient.” — Alexis A., G2 Review
Acquia DAM takes a different approach. Its integrations focus on marketing, content, and creative workflows, with connections to tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Google Drive, SharePoint, and WordPress.
Neither approach is inherently better. Firms focused on brand management and digital experiences will find more value in Acquia’s integration set. AEC firms that run proposals through Procore or manage pursuits in Deltek will find OpenAsset’s integrations directly relevant to their day-to-day work.
AI capabilities
Both OpenAsset and Acquia DAM offer AI-powered features that help teams organize and find content more efficiently. Automated tagging, search enhancements, and similar asset-management capabilities have become standard features in modern DAM platforms.
The biggest difference is that OpenAsset extends AI beyond asset management through Shred, its proposal-focused AI solution for AEC firms. Shred integrates directly with OpenAsset DAM, allowing firms to draft proposals based on their existing library of images, past projects, boilerplate text, resumes, and past proposals.
Shred includes three core capabilities:
- Proposal Studio, which allows AEC marketers to input their RFP and have the requirements extracted by AI. Then, the platform uses your existing library of project experience, firm knowledge, and assets like images, resumes, and past proposals (integrated via OpenAsset DAM) to help you draft a new proposal.
- AI Chat, which allows teams to search and interact with information from past proposals to confirm information, find proposal content, and tweak copy for different proposal sections.
- Customizable Go/No-Go Analysis, which helps firms evaluate new opportunities against established pursuit criteria.
For example, an AEC proposal writer could ask Shred’s AI chat to surface relevant healthcare projects in a specific market, identify past proposal content related to similar pursuits, and use that information to accelerate first-draft development.
Alternatively, a proposal manager could input an RFP for a project to build a hospital, and have Shred surface relevant content and make suggestions for copy, images, past projects, and employee bios to input to specific sections in the proposal.
Shred is powered by Claude, Anthropic’s AI model. Customer data is never used to train public models. If you want to learn more about how Shred works and it’s full capabilities, watch the 2026 product tour below.
Acquia DAM’s AI capabilities remain focused on asset management tasks such as tagging, search, and content organization. Those features can improve efficiency for marketing teams, but they’re not designed around proposal workflows or pursuit management.
How does pricing compare between Acquia DAM and OpenAsset?
Neither OpenAsset nor Acquia DAM publicly publishes pricing, so you’ll need to request a quote to understand the total cost for your organization.
That said, the factors that influence pricing differ between the two platforms.
Acquia DAM is designed as a general-purpose enterprise DAM that serves organizations across many industries. For companies already invested in the broader Acquia ecosystem, pricing discussions may include additional products and services beyond digital asset management.
OpenAsset is built specifically for architecture, engineering, and construction firms. Its pricing is centered around the workflows AEC firms use every day, including project-based asset management, employee and resume management, proposal support, and integrations with common AEC platforms.
When evaluating either solution, it’s worth looking beyond the base subscription cost. Ask each vendor how integrations, user access, implementation requirements, AI capabilities, and proposal-related functionality affect your total investment.
For many AEC firms, the most useful comparison isn’t the quoted price itself, but how much time the platform can save across proposal development, asset management, and business development workflows.
What do real OpenAsset and Acquia DAM customers say?
Customer reviews can provide useful context when evaluating software, but it’s important to look beyond the overall rating. The types of organizations leaving those reviews can be just as important as the scores themselves.
As of June 2026, OpenAsset holds a 4.7/5 rating on G2 across 204 reviews, while Acquia DAM holds a 4.4/5 rating across 631 reviews. OpenAsset also holds a 94% user sentiment score on SelectHub, a software comparison platform, compared to Acquia DAM’s 90%.
The ratings are close. The reviewer profiles are not.
OpenAsset’s reviews come primarily from AEC professionals, including architects, engineers, proposal coordinators, business development managers, and marketing teams responsible for managing project information and pursuit materials. Acquia DAM’s reviews come from a broader mix of industries, including e-learning, healthcare, IT, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, and retail, with no AEC reviewers present in the sample.
That distinction matters because AEC firms often have unique requirements around project-based asset management, employee qualifications, proposal development, and integrations with systems such as Deltek and Procore. A positive review from an AEC marketing team may provide more relevant insight for an AEC buyer than a review from a marketing department in a different industry.
Examples of firms using OpenAsset include:
- HKS, a global architecture firm, uses OpenAsset to make asset contributions and management more accessible across teams.
- Nitsch Engineering reports that OpenAsset helped the firm reduce the time spent finding and preparing images for proposals, presentations, and award submissions.
- JHL Constructors uses OpenAsset alongside Procore to help sales and marketing teams manage and prioritize project photography.
What AEC reviewers say about OpenAsset
Many OpenAsset reviews highlight the platform’s AEC-specific focus and integration capabilities.
Kevin B., a Proposal Coordinator at a mid-market AEC firm, wrote on G2:
“Since it is tailored to my industry (AEC) it is the best product to have our database of resumes and people resumes as well as other digital assets.” — Kevin B., G2 Review
Abbe N., Director of Marketing at a mid-market firm, highlighted OpenAsset’s integration ecosystem:
“OA seamlessly integrates with InDesign, Deltek, and Knowledge Architecture’s Synthesis platform.” — Abbe N., G2 Review
OpenAsset customers have reported up to a 75% reduction in time spent searching for assets and up to a 30% reduction in proposal preparation time after implementing the platform.
Who is OpenAsset the right fit for, and when does Acquia DAM make more sense?
Both OpenAsset and Acquia DAM can help teams organize and manage digital assets. The better choice depends on how those assets are used throughout your organization.
Acquia DAM is likely the better fit if:
- Your organization already uses Drupal or other Acquia products.
- You want a DAM that integrates closely with a broader digital experience or marketing technology ecosystem.
- Your assets are primarily organized around brands, campaigns, and content marketing initiatives.
- Your team needs a flexible DAM platform that can support a wide range of industries and use cases.
OpenAsset is likely the better fit if:
- You’re an architecture, engineering, or construction firm that organizes assets around projects.
- Your marketing and business development teams regularly create proposals, qualifications packages, and pursuit materials.
- You need employee and resume management alongside project information and visual assets.
- You rely on platforms such as Procore, Deltek Vision, Deltek Vantagepoint, Affinity, or Unanet/Cosential as part of your workflow.
- You want AI tools that support proposal development and pursuit decisions, not just asset organization and search.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to how your firm organizes work.
If your assets revolve around brands, campaigns, and digital experiences, Acquia DAM may be the better fit. If they revolve around projects, proposals, and qualifications materials, OpenAsset’s AEC-specific approach may provide more value.
Frequently asked questions about Acquia DAM vs. OpenAsset DAM
Is OpenAsset better than Acquia DAM for architecture firms?
OpenAsset is often the better fit for architecture firms whose work is organized around projects, proposals, and qualifications materials. The platform was built specifically for AEC workflows and includes capabilities such as project-based asset management, employee and resume management, and integrations with commonly used AEC systems.
Acquia DAM may still be a good choice for architecture firms that are already invested in the Acquia ecosystem or primarily manage assets around brand and marketing campaigns rather than projects.
Does Acquia DAM integrate with Procore or Deltek?
As of 2026, Acquia DAM does not offer native integrations with Procore, Deltek Vision, or Deltek Vantagepoint. OpenAsset offers integrations with these platforms, allowing firms to connect project information, proposal content, and digital assets across systems.
Is OpenAsset only for architecture firms?
No. OpenAsset is used by architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as well as some organizations in adjacent industries. The platform is designed for firms that manage large volumes of project-based assets and rely on proposals, qualifications packages, and business development materials to win work.
What does Shred add to OpenAsset DAM that a standard DAM doesn’t offer?
Shred extends OpenAsset beyond traditional DAM functionality by providing AI tools designed specifically for proposal workflows. These include AI Chat for searching past proposal content, Go/No-Go Analysis for evaluating opportunities, and Proposal Studio to help teams draft proposal content.
Companies with well-organized project data and asset libraries typically see the greatest benefit from these tools, since Shred relies on existing firm knowledge stored within OpenAsset.
What are the best Acquia DAM alternatives for AEC firms?
For architecture, engineering, and construction firms, OpenAsset is one of the most purpose-built alternatives to Acquia DAM. Key differentiators include project-based asset organization, employee and resume management, AEC-focused integrations, and proposal-specific AI capabilities through Shred.
Organizations focused on marketing content and digital experiences may prefer a general-purpose DAM. AEC firms centered on projects and proposals typically benefit from a platform designed for that work specifically.
Choosing between Acquia DAM and OpenAsset
Before making a decision:
- Review how your assets are currently organized. Are they tied primarily to projects or to brands and campaigns?
- Identify the systems your team relies on most heavily, including platforms such as Deltek, Procore, and Unanet.
- Compare current customer reviews, paying attention to reviewer roles and industry background, not just overall ratings.
- Evaluate how employee and resume management fits into your proposal process.
- Request demos from both vendors and assess how each platform supports your firm’s day-to-day workflows.
If you’re exploring DAM solutions for architecture, engineering, or construction firms, you may also find these resources helpful:
Eric Liou is the Chief Product Officer at OpenAsset, where he leads product vision and strategy across product management, design, and AEC marketing innovations. With extensive experience in product leadership, he has built a strong track record of advancing AI-driven solutions that enhance efficiency, collaboration, and impact for industry professionals.
At OpenAsset, Eric is focused on building tools that streamline workflows and empower AEC firms to succeed in an evolving landscape. He is passionate about the intersection of technology and user experience, and is committed to delivering the next generation of AI-powered solutions tailored to the unique needs of AEC professionals.
