DEAR DR. DAM:  I’m Marcia, the Creative Director for an advertising / media agency.  I’m in search of a digital asset management system that can help us manage a rapid influx of photography and videos to be produced in the very near future.  I need something that can go live in 30 days.  Can you recommend a DAM system with strong video handling capabilities?  We have about 20,000 images that we’re currently storing locally with a file folder and tagging convention, but we basically have little organization.  We’re anticipating a rapid increase in photo and video production and need a globally accessible media management solution to match our clients growing needs as they currently have no way to manage the growth.  Our requirements include: global access via web browser, robust security, functionally fit (easy to use), simple uploads, Mac and PC compatible, and strong collaboration engine. 

DEAR MARCIA-MARCIA-MARCIA:  No sweat, the Widen system has you covered.  Because it’s SaaS, your client will have no problem with the scalability demands.  That will save you the need for more capital expenditures on hardware internally and you will only pay for what you use when you need it.  Photography and video handling is Widen’s forte.  Widen’s project collaboration application will allow you to route project media for comment and approval tracking before releasing to the digital asset library.  If you’re working with PDF documents, you can take advantage of the Adobe Acrobat Pro Shared Review and markup tools.  If your client is in need of a more robust photography workflow management application, Backdrop is a photography routing and approval application that has the ability to configure the automated routing actions and notifications according to custom workflows.  As for video handling, the Widen VAM system will allow you to ingest your highest definition video files, offer you full file previewing and then transcode to any desired format on-the-fly.  Your client may take interest in the newly released digital asset embed links for publishing videos and photography to online channels.  Embed links offers several repurposing benefits without chewing up bandwidth for downloads.  Nonetheless, Widen will have you up and running with a fully functional DAM system in less than 30 days that will help with the video management needs.

Many of us here at Widen work on pro bono projects for local organizations such as Forward Lymphoma and Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation.  Some of us volunteer.  Some are asked.  Some are directed.  And why do we do it?  For many of us it’s the feeling of contributing to the greater good.  To do something that makes a difference in the lives of friends, our community, and our world.  We work in marketing, IT, sales … and we talk about digital asset management, software as a service, photography, prepress, and all the other things in our normal 8 to 5 world.  But then we have those moments where we are helping to raise money for lymphoma research.  Providing PR resources for breast cancer awareness.  Doing something more than our normal routine … leaving a positive mark on the world more than directing marketing campaigns, more than adding new clients, more than looking at the bottom line.  Instead, our return on investment becomes saving lives.  Curing lymphoma.  Curing breast cancer.  Isn’t that a return on investment that makes pro bono work important?

Al and I have an article featured in the December 2008 edition of the Journal of Digital Asset Management titled: A new type of digital asset: The screencast video. 

A screencast video, as Widen defines it, shows the use of a software application or window to the desktop and “motion” (at least 8 frames per second) as opposed to still screen captures.

The article provides a look into the production and use of screencast videos, particularly screencast demos for the purpose of educating audiences about the functionality and user interface with software applications. Screencast videos are not only a new and emerging type of digital asset, but are also a perfect use case for digital asset management systems to catalog and publish assets to new media channels and social media outlets for maximum use and discoverability.

Topics covered in the article include:

• What constitutes a screencast video?
• How does Widen use screencast videos?
• How does Widen create screencast videos?
• How do Widen catalog these assets for maximum use and discoverability?
• How does Widen “publish” these assets?
• A checklist for ideation, creation, management, distribution, and archiving of screencast videos.
• What does the user activity tell us regarding the value of these videos?
• What’s the business case?

Screencast videos have proven to be an efficient and effective method of communicating the business value of new or complex processes that are often difficult to visualize by an end user.  That’s why they are so beneficial in educating our customers’ end-users to enable the adoption of new systems and processes. 

View the full article from Palgrave Macmillan.

View some of Widen’s screencast demo videos at www.widen.com/demo.

Did you know that approximately 80% of women in the workforce fall into only 20% of the industry categories tracked by the federal government?  That means that there are MASSIVE amount of industries out there that are underrepresented by women – including the prepress / premedia sector.  What is Widen Enterprises (an industry leader in software as a service and prepress) doing to change this?

Widen has partnered with Madison Area Technical College (MATC) in assisting in the education of non-traditional female students in prepress technical careers. As part of MATC’s Tools for Tomorrow: Women in Trades and Technology Program, Widen has welcomed three women to its Madison facility to learn about career opportunities within the prepress industry.  I spoke with Nancy Nakkoul, Program Coordinator at MATC and she offered a great perspective of why this type of experience is important.  She said, “This type of opportunity gets students thinking beyond the classroom and allows them to envision themselves working in a particular industry. Thanks to companies like Widen, these women get an up-close and personal look at the variety of jobs available in the prepress industry.”

The Tools for Tomorrow Program encourages women to consider a vocation in the fields of high-skill construction, or industrial and technical fields, and then offers a network of services and education related to those industries. Widen’s more than sixty years as a leader in software technology, prepress and color industries provides an invaluable glimpse at technical careers in this sector. By offering a full day of job shadowing, Widen’s prepress professionals provide a first-hand perspective of the industry and help women to network with people already working in the field.  Nikkie Keck, a Widen Digital Sampling Specialist, was one of the prepress employees who met with the MATC students.  She offers a fantastic perspective as she went through a similar program at MATC several years earlier.

Students enrolled in the program got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Widen facility and spent several hours rotating between three distinct production and prepress areas, learning about the specific responsibilities of each operation.

• In the Production Art department, students learned about reviewing paperwork, project requirements, creating templates, marketing and design implications, and quality control processes.

• In the Digital Sampling department, students were shown Widen’s involvement and responsibilities to clients like Reebok, and learned about workflow from initial capture to neutralization and team-specific colorization and graphic application.

• Finally, in the Color department, students saw a demonstration of high-end color retouching and color correction, and saw a variety of ways images are manipulated for web and print.

Thanks MATC for offering this program!  We here at Widen are more than happy to help.  To learn more about Tools for Tommorrow - click here!  To learn more about Widen's premedia world - click here!

Widen’s expo and technology track presentation at the Henry Stewart LA Digital Asset Management Conference will feature a sneak peak at the new digital asset Embed Links technology.  If you’re planning to go to the LA show, be sure to check out a live demo of embed links in action at Widen’s booth #117. 

Embed links enable Widen Digital Asset Management users and online marketers to tie image and video assets to online mediums via unique web address, without placing the file in another location.  Every time a page loads that contains the embed link, data is transferred from the Widen DAM system to the online channel.  Embed links allow content consumers to instantly connect with rich media objects and ensures the latest content updates are always on display.


Marketing benefits of digital asset embed links include:

• One master repository for all images and videos used online
• All asset updates made in the Widen DAM system are dynamically published to an infinite number of online channels
• On-demand infrastructure scalability and “pay for what you use” services
• Consistent and accurate use of assets across all online channels

I'll be presenting "What's new in DAM SaaS" covering DAM as the foundation for online media publishing with embed links and the concept of “One Internet – One File” during the Technology Track at 2:15 on Monday, November 10.  My presentation will also include a look at DAM SaaS 2.0 with managed services on the client site using the Widen Appliance to accommodate internal creative workflows and will include an inside look at what “service” really means to a SaaS client using several customer case studies.  I'll be sitting in on the panel for the Brand&Marketing Asset Management Vendor Shootout at 1:15 on Tuesday, November 11. 

Widen has two customers presenting case studies at the DAM Conference:

Manny Cuevas, Director of Sales & Marketing for Level III Services, Inc. will talk about how the Widen hosted DAM system is used to deliver value-added services at 2:15 on Tuesday, November 11.

Stephanie Ruff, Marketing Specialist for Motorola, Inc., will present "What We Achieved with Enterprise DAM," addressing the challenges, business objectives and solutions to an enterprise-wide deployment of a DAM solution at 3:15 on Tuesday, November 11.

I hope to see you at the conference.

View the full conference program for Henry Stewart LA 2008

If you were in attendance last week at the Henry Stewart Business Briefing on Digital Asset Management in Chicago, Widen thanks you for taking the time to learn more about the challenges, opportunities, problems and solutions with DAM.  We hope you found the event to be very helpful in your quest for a digital asset management solution implementation or expansion.  If you were unable to attend, we extend the invitation to learn more from the presentations archive.



The even featured several keynote speakers and case studies, including:

• An Introduction and “How To” from Michael Moon, President&CEO of Gistics
• Benefits and ROIs from Mary Yurkovic of Playboy
• Evaluating and Selecting DAM Technologies from Tony Byrne of CMS Watch
• Digital Asset Management Deployments from Frank Chagoya of Leo Burnett
• Critical Importance of Metadata from Philip Spiegel of National Geographic
• Common and Less Common Problems and Solutions from Doug Rammel of Synapse Operational Systems and Solutions, formerly of The adidas Group

Widen’s participation included a vendor presentation by Matthew Gonnering, VP of Sales and Marketing title “The Repurposing Department of Repurposing,” covering:

• The epicenter of all digital media no matter where it is used
• One true central source of digital media linked up to the world with the concept of “one internet, one file” via digital asset embed links
• Publishing images and video without straining internal infrastructure
• The matrimony of DAM and web content management
• How SaaS providers enable scalability on-demand

A customer of Widen, Jim Scarlata of Knaack LLC, Division of Emerson Electric Company, presented a case study titled “Extending the Brand Experience through DAM,” covering:

• How brand asset management software helped Knaack marketing implement and launch the new system enterprise-wide quickly and seamlessly
• Using DAM as a Platform Technology, Not Just an Application
• Brand Consistency on a Global Scale
• Building Equity in Brand Centralization

Contact marketing@widen.com for full access to the presentations from Doug Rammel, Matthew Gonnering and Jim Scarlata.  Video segments of the Widen presentations coming soon.  View the full presentation archive from Henry Stewart at http://www.damusers.com. 

Bryon Zimmerman googled himself the other day and saw his name and face all over the web courtesy of Widen.  We said to Bryon, “You know, Bryon, you volunteered to be a video case study to express the value of digital asset management solutions for agencies, marketing organizations and creative groups.”  With that said, of course his face, name and video segments are everywhere because we (the Widen marketing team) use our own web based DAM technologies to publish our digital assets to the web.  

That’s digital asset optimization (DAO) – Widen style.  With the help of our DAM SaaS platform, our marketing team is able to repurpose the videos with just a few clicks to our own website, our blog hosted by Compendium Blogware, YouTube and other online destination sites.  Within the Widen hosted digital media management system, we manage all our videos in one location – both the file and metadata (keywords, descriptions, file details, etc.), repurpose the file in multiple formats on-demand and deliver the file to multiple people and destinations in just a few simple clicks.

What’s even more impressive is the use of digital asset embed links to display images and videos across multiple websites, blogs, press releases, campaign landing pages, e-commerce sites and many other online locations.  Anytime we need update the file in our DAM system, the videos and images are dynamically updated across all the channels in which they are published.  There’s no need to create separate libraries or locations for assets to be published elsewhere.  Updates are simple, painless and one time – one internet, one file.  

Keep your eyes and ears open for more video segments from Bryon Zimmerman talking about Widen and digital asset management for agencies and marketing organizations.  Thanks Mr. Zimmerman and ZDO for helping us show the power of DAO.

Guest Blog Post from Amanda Jenny, Widen Client Services Assistant, regarding Widen color management and prepress services

Reebok has recently entered into a partnership with Topshop and will launch collections in its London stores. This will be the first time the company has focused on fashion retailing within this area.

Many women find sportswear shops boring and unappealing and Topshop offers the perfect environment to increase sales in this new channel of retailing. The new collections will be promoted by Jamelia (an English R&B singer), which will include a NFL American football range.

Guest Blog Post from Amanda Jenny, Widen Client Services Assistant, regarding Widen color management and prepress services

Reebok International Ltd. has joined forces with women's clothing retailer Limited Too in an effort to reach the "tween-age" girls market.

The partnership calls for Reebok to sell its products in Limited Too's stores, on its web site, and through its catalogue, which is mailed to more than 4 million girls several times per year. The partnership is designed to connect the Reebok brand to trend-setting girls between the ages of seven and fourteen.

"Limited Too is widely considered the retail authority on fashion for 'tween girls," Jan Sharkansky, vice president and general manager of Reebok women's division said in a statement.

Sarah Cronn, Prepress Apprentice

What does 60 years of Widen mean to me?  In celebrating our 60th anniversary, I would have to say that to me, Widen means change, it means growth, it means advancement.

On July Fourteenth, in this year, Two Thousand and Eight my cohort and I embarked on an incredible journey.  The journey continues with a great many successes, lessons, hard work and laughter.  I am one of the Apprentices to the Prepress Services division at Widen Enterprises.  It is quite exciting to be a part of such an experience as we celebrate Widen's 60th year in the Prepress Industry.  As technology changes, so arise new demands, knowledge and fresh approaches.  Two Apprentices, new to the industry – you cannot get more fresh than that.

Just two and a half months ago we were introduced to the functions of the Premedia Services Division.  We began working in the Digital Photography Studio alongside Widen's photographers.   This entrance gave us a primer into the procedures followed at Widen.  Pouring the foundation for the Widen workflow, we were showed the "hows" and "whys" that enable Widen to thrive supplying high quality marketing communications in a competitive market.

From the studio to the machine.  We began with photography, processing the digital images or passing them onto other departments to work their magic.  The machine became a more integral part of our day, a more important tool to our set of growing skills.  We began working with members of Quality Control, the members of Quality Control would introduce us to our next great adventure, our skill sets expanding.

Skill sets expanding, ah I like the sound of that.  Learning is a great joy of mine, and in an industry like Prepress that attitude is an asset as well.  With the many developments in technology over the past 60 years (even 10 years), openness to change and acceptance of the "new" and the "now" are a must. Acceptance becomes practice, practice becomes proficiency.  I think of it as variety, as they say, it is "the spice of life".  Learning new techniques I can apply to my set of skills impacting my work day as well as my personal work gives me that variety I strive for.  Only two and a half months in and I look at all I have learned, the small details, the bigger themes and I know there is much more to come.

The journey continues… I look forward to the new territory thus far unrevealed to me at Widen.  To me, Widen will continue to mean advancement, as I learn and progress, Widen will continue to mean change as it grows to meet the ever volatile market it has thrived in for the past 60 years.

Tom Schmidt, Executive Vice President

This all started when Mark Widen and his dad Arthur started a company to create copper and zinc engravings 60 years ago.  This has emerged to one of the leading hosted providers in a global market plus one of the top prepress services providers in the US.  I can only speak to the last 25 years.  There are a few with longer exposures, Reed, Terry Vial and more that have witnessed a transition of seeing Wacho in a rubber apron, goggles and brush… dot etching film, to being one of the first installs of Scitex, on to Visionary, Widen Collective DAM SaaS, to ???

In those 60 years one element that has always been strong is the quality of the people who comprise the company.  Remember the day when our production supervisor announced that he was going to start his own company and take six other employees with him. The crew that was left stepped to the plate and compensated.  Today, if you examine the biography of current employees, they have varied experiences always stepping to the plate to meet the new technology, being creative in its implementation.

After 25 years, the most significant thing I remember is it has always been “FUN”, wouldn’t trade it for any other vocation.  There are not a lot of people that can’t say that about their vocation, glad that I am one who can.  For those in the pipeline, everyone should be excited on what’s going to happen next!

…What is going to happen next?

Jennifer Kutz, Customer Service Coordinator

I joined Widen September of 2005, a fresh-faced 25 year old.  I started
right out of college in prepress services / color management at my hometown printer, naïve and inexperienced and slowly realized there was no place to go, stripping film and making plates, the technology had transferred to digital and the company I worked for was still part of the "old world" ... it was time for a change.

After some searching I found an opening at Widen, a company I had actually toured on an "industrial visitation" while in college.  The title of the opening was data entry, but needless to say years later I've learned there is so much more to this position.

I have been working on the Reebok/Adidas account for over three years now and have learned so much about a niche that I never knew existed in digital sampling.  Now browsing the internet, I can't help but see retail websites that still shoot each color of every garment and think "wow we could save them a ton of money and headaches," but we'll reach them all one customer at a time.

Mark Pajari, Widen Color Manager

Wow!  Widen is 60 years old this year.  Many graphic communications companies have come and gone in that time.  Often, the reason many companies go out of business is that they fail to change.  Conversely, some companies change too fast.  Change for the sake of change is usually never good.  Widen has been successful by staying on the leading edge of technology, making sound business decisions - diversifying our services, and employing some of the best minds in the industry.  If you don’t maintain dedicated, talented people on your floor, you won’t last.

Which made me wonder if there are other notable people that are celebrating their 60th birthday that have at one time worked in the graphic communication business.  I started to do a little digging, and here is what I found out...

Samuel L. Jackson – December 21, 1948
Way before he played Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, Jackson worked in the marketing department at McDonald’s Corporation where he came up with the print campaign for the “Royale with Cheese” burger.

Terry Bradshaw – September 2, 1948
Shortly after joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1970, Bradshaw jokingly ripped off the number 12 on his jersey, stitched on the number 15, and replaced “Bradshaw” with “Starr” on the back of his jersey.  Little did he know, this act would become the model for Widen’s own digital sampling technique where we create many different versions of jerseys from one piece of apparel.

Teller – February 14, 1948
In 1974, Teller, from the illusionist team of Pen and Teller, was fired from a prepress services job at the Kankakee (IL) Tribune for talking too much on his 3rd shift job of making Dylux proofs.

Olivia Newton-John – September 26, 1948
In 1969, back when she was known only as Olivia Newton, Newton worked for the Nabisco company where she proofread packages of Fig Newtons.

Todd Rundgren – June 22, 1948
In 1973, Rundgren was litho stripper at Big AL’s Litho in Butte, Montana.  One day he got up and said “I don’t want to work.  I just want to bang on the drum all day.”  He was let go immediately, and the rest is history.

Ted Lange – January 5, 1948
Before he became known as “Isaac the bartender” on ABC’s “The Love Boat,” Lange worked as a DAM tour guide at Hoover DAM.  This was before DAM SaaS.

Stevie Nicks – May 26, 1948
Before she joined Fleetwood Mac, Nicks was an animator for Universal Studios. It was there that her silky, gravely voice would eventually land her a job as the voice of the popular cartoon character, “Popeye.”

Prince Charles – November 14, 1948
Chuck once flipped through a Lillian Vernon catalog printed at a Quad Graphics plant in Saratoga Springs, NY, stopping for a moment on the page showing an oversized pair of red musical earmuffs that played “God Save the Queen” for $19.99. 
       
Michael Richards – July 23, 1948
Richards is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Cosmo Kramer on NBC’s “Seinfeld” from 1989-1998.  He also is known for his outburst during a comedy routine in 2006.  Richards is now a door-to-door Digital Asset Management salesman on the north side of Scranton, PA.

Karin Schei, Marketing Coordinator

Target in sight, ready, aim, fire…  As you let go of the arrow – you hope it lands right where you direct it.  The ideal spot – a direct hit in the middle – a bull’s-eye on the target.  Organizing your digital assets is like hitting that bull’s-eye, you don’t want to start flinging arrows just anywhere.  You do your research, talk to representatives, experiment and narrow your choices, and then you make a buying decision.  To you – managing your digital assets is like that bull’s-eye - not just anyone can hit it, nor can just anyone use them.  With many organizations, controlling digital assets means that only those with special roles and permissions can access your collection of branded images, logos, videos, etc.  What makes Widen unique in the quest to hit the bull’s-eye is that our company has invested 60 years into assisting customers.  We started in prepress services, and still offer that aspect to our clients, but we are now building for the future through assisting marketing and creative teams to create, manage and distribute digital media.  As technology continues to move forward, so does Widen – and it’s certain that Widen will be on target for the next 60 years.

Ben Johnsen, Sales Representative
 
One of the best selling points Widen has to offer is how we got into this DAM thing.  It might sound like a surprise, but digital asset management has not been around for the last 60 years.  Hence the word “digital.”  Widen’s roots are in prepress services.  It is here that Widen saw a need for a solution to help clients manage and distribute their valuable digital assets.  This is how we came into the Digital Asset Management industry.  We knew what we needed and what our clients needed before DAM was an industry.  By understanding how to create, manipulate and manage large volumes of media we were able to create an amazing digital asset management solution.  It’s easy to navigate, download, search, and send digital media files to others now because that’s what our clients have helped us create over the last 20 years.

Karin Schei, Marketing Coordinator

Staying ahead of changing customer needs and industry technology advancements is how Widen has carved a niche over the last 60 years.  That’s right, in 2008, Widen is celebrating the big 6-0, which means 60 years of continuous operation and success.  But Widen hasn’t always been where it is today.  In fact, in 1948 there were just three employees, who were focused on photographic engraving.  Today, Widen has roughly 100 people working diligently behind the scenes to handle prepress services and software-as-a-service functions tied to digital asset management.  And with each year that goes by, Widen continues to get stronger.  Thanks to the talent behind the scenes and a genuine passion for the products and services we provide our clients.  In our minds, the customer comes first and if you don’t feel like you are getting that respect, we listen and do what it takes to make sure you are happy and a successful part of the Widen Family. It’s those efforts and a dedication that has gotten Widen where it is today and it’s certain those same values will be the foundation to 60 more years of success.

Ed Smith, Color Assurance Manager

I have been in the color management and prepress services industry for 35 years and have seen much change in those 35 years. I know first hand what it takes to stay current and compete year after year.  In those 35 years I've worked in six companies and had to change jobs to stay ahead.  So what Widen means to me is stability, future, strength and sound judgment.  The best job I've ever had!

Amanda Jenny, Client Services Assistant

I started at Widen just over a year ago.  At that time I was an inside sales rep.  As a newbie to the company, I had a lot to learn about what exactly an employee of Widen did.  I worked specifically with the digital asset management software and the integration with Salesforce.com.  About nine months ago a position working with the Reebok account opened up.  I now work solely on that account and deal more with the prepress services that Widen offers.  I still get a healthy dose of DAM as Reebok uses the Collective to manage and store their digital assets.  Basically, Widen has two sides – Prepress and Software – however, both sides are about serving customers to best represent and protect their image and brand assets.

Mark Kuether, QA Engineer

When I interviewed with Widen this summer, there were many things which attracted me to the company.  The workplace was neat and clean.  The atmosphere seemed to be casual.  Everyone was focusing on their work which tends to happen when people truly enjoy their work.  There was one aspect, however, that was pervasive throughout the company.  Upon entering the building, I was immediately presented with a hallway completely covered with client names illuminated with bright white lights.  As I walked through the building, pictures of customer’s products, logos, and designs adorned the walls.  I was in a company whose bread and butter was prepress services and digital asset management software.  It was clear that they took pride in their work.  However, there was more to it than just pride.

After starting as a QA Engineer, there was a whirlwind of information that was near impossible to absorb at once.  I was introduced to company officers and personnel.  I was given a tour with a description of the different types of work that Widen did.  I was introduced to the people I would be working with, and given a brief overview of the products I would be supporting.  Coming from a business software background, there were a lot of new things for me to learn.  I tried to stay patient while I slowly learned the different aspects of the business.

As time progressed, an underlying cultural aspect began to become clear.  It was Widen’s relationship with the customer.  You could say that Widen values its customers, but it goes further than that. Customers aren’t faceless entities that purchase things from a shelf.  They are people using the services we provide.  Their names are well known throughout the company.  Our day to day work centers on them.

Customer focus can be a very subtle thing.  Having worked with other companies, I’ve seen when it’s truly there, and when it’s truly not.  It comes out in the small day to day activities we perform when we come to work.  It comes out when day to day discussions center on service, and not profit.  It comes out in our environment in which we work.  Over time, I noticed that all those pictures have the customer’s name on them.  They are not strictly about Widen’s pride in its work, but also about its pride of having those customers.

True customer focus is one of the things that will ensure success for a company for the longer run.  Coming from the software industry, a successful company is marked by five or ten years of business.  Giants in the commercial PC market are no more than 35 years old at most.  When I think of a company with a successful 60 year history, some things become clear.  The company must be willing to change as the market, technology and the world change around them.  They must have a long term vision and must be willing to invest in that future today.  Those were two other things that drew me into Widen.  As technology had availed itself, Widen embraced it to serve its customers better.  Change is not a reaction to the times, but an opportunity for growth in the future.

Four weeks after I’ve started, I can say that my work is quite dynamic.  The products I work with are being improved and enhanced every day.  My focus is not on a static part, but changes with our clients’ needs.  It makes for an exciting experience while I learn more about this new business.  With 60 years at my back, I look forward to growing with Widen, and seeing what the future holds.

Widen has positioned product advancements and new product developments along the information lifecycle and continues to take a progressive stance on meeting the unarticulated demands of the marketplace.  The progressive nature of Widen is an integral part of the business and is a trait embedded in the organizational culture. 

Widen matches several different product offerings with the three components of the information lifecycle to meet the demands of the marketplace.  The Widen product offering matched to the three components is as follows:

• The creation of digital media utilizes Widen premedia services in the form of photography, color retouching, color management, image preparation, and page production.
• The management of digital media involves the use of Widen software services for approval, collaboration, and centralization.
• The distribution of digital media employs Widen software services to publish files into various channels while simultaneously enabling channels to obtain digital media through self-service access.

The history of Widen is rich with a balance of innovation and proactive interpretations of customer demand.  This progression has allowed Widen to sustain itself economically and has positioned the organization with a foundation for growth and the scalability to meet the demands of the marketplace.