Dublin City Council is the biggest local government body in Ireland. It’s responsible for running the capital city and managing various services like housing, transportation, and community development, all aimed at improving life for residents and visitors.
About
Dublin City Council has been using Asset Bank since 2016. Recently, they transitioned from the on-premise version to the cloud version, recognising the need for a digital overhaul of their asset management system.
It took Dublin City Council just one week to move to the cloud version of Asset Bank - a significantly faster timeline than the typical one-month process.
Multiple city-wide assets
The council works with numerous city departments and has assets covering hundreds of different areas
1 centre for the city
The council needed one central place to store all its assets
INTRODUCTION
Dublin City Council, the largest local authority in Ireland, had a tough time managing its digital assets. With many departments and communication teams, the organisation struggled to keep everything in order. Digital assets were spread out across various shared drives, making it hard to find and use high-quality materials when needed.
The communications team, which promotes Dublin as a great place to live, work, invest, and study, realised they needed a better way to manage these assets. They found that while there were some good-quality materials, many were either low-quality or hard to find. This disorganisation made it difficult for them to properly showcase the city and communicate with the public.
To solve this issue, Dublin City Council turned to Asset Bank to bring all their assets together in one place, making it easier to access and ensuring that the quality of materials was consistent.
the challenge
The growing need for a digital overhaul
For almost eight years, Dublin City Council has used the on-premise version of Asset Bank. This was only accessible through the council’s corporate intranet which meant remote staff had to log into a special system to access any assets. Adding an extra step made it harder for people to use the system when they weren’t in the office—so usage dropped dramatically. It also posed an additional to-do for the council’s IT team, who had to manage and update the system themselves.
It was hard to collaborate with external partners, too. Dublin City Council regularly collaborates with local events, media outlets, and PR agencies—something that became increasingly arduous with the on-premise version of Asset Bank. Partners couldn’t access Asset Bank directly. So, if an agency needed photos or other content, they had to ask a council staff member to search and download the materials for them. It was time-consuming.
But the biggest driver behind the move from on-premise to the cloud was the need for a digital overhaul. The council wanted to make it easier for their internal teams to use Asset Bank. They knew with the cloud version they could set it up so it would automatically recognise council employees by their IP address. This meant staff didn’t have to log in each time but the organisation could still keep the system secure from the general public.
“Switching across was a no-brainer. Our IT guys were happier to see it outside of our corporate environment—it’s now an application they don’t need to look after.” - Anthony McGuinness, Team Lead, Dublin Place Brand Unit, Dublin City Council
THE SOLUTION
From locked down to logged on: an asset management makeover
It was a no-brainer for Dublin City Council to switch to the cloud version of Asset Bank. This version allows external partners to have their own logins, makes remote access easier, and takes the burden of system maintenance off the council’s IT team. It also provides regular security updates and ongoing support.
To kickstart the migration, the council looked at how many people would use the system and how much storage space they’d need. Next, they involved their IT team to figure out what was involved in moving everything over and how people would log into the new system. This was important because it was often tricky for staff to access systems outside the council’s network.
Once they had a plan, things moved quickly. The council’s IT team worked closely with Asset Bank’s support team to copy all the data and settings from the old system to the new cloud version.
“When we switched over, it was like nothing had changed. Staff logged into the new cloud system, and everything looked and worked just like before. The whole process only took about a week.” - Anthony McGuinness, Team Lead, Dublin Place Brand Unit, Dublin City Council
THE RESULTS
Building a city of assets in one central place
Switching to the cloud version of Asset Bank has breathed a new lease of life into Dublin City Council’s asset management system—and they’ve had some great initial results.
One of the biggest benefits the team has noticed is how quickly they get new features. With the old on-premise version, they might have to wait four to six months for a software update to get new features. With the cloud version, new features roll out automatically and Dublin City Council now benefits from access to AI tagging, the External Uploader, and Portals that make it easier to collaborate with third parties.
The council has also noticed a lot of interest from staff. People are eager to see how Asset Bank can speed up their tasks, which means the system is actually being used, not just sitting there gathering digital dust. One of the core goals of this switch was to encourage increased usage—something that’s already starting to climb.
But it’s the time and cost savings that prove this was the right decision. In the public sector, it’s easy to accidentally spend twice on the same thing when there’s no communication between departments. The council has almost ended up paying twice for the same photography service in the past, but this is no longer an issue as all teams can access Asset Bank and check materials before commissioning new work.
This move to the cloud solved a lot of problems for Dublin City Council. Now, people can access Asset Bank from anywhere, not just in the office. They don't need to use special software to log in when working from home. Plus, external partners like PR agencies can now have their own logins, making it easier to share and use the council's digital assets.
LOOKING AHEAD
Dublin City Council has big plans for 2025
The team is excited to explore the new features they now have at their fingertips—in particular, the IP logins and the automatic tagging feature, which they know will be huge time savers.
Looking ahead, the council plans to use Asset Bank as an integral part of upcoming campaigns. In early 2025, they’ll be working closely with three other local authorities to promote Dublin as a great place for businesses to invest. They plan to get new photos and videos for this project and store them all safely and securely in Asset Bank. This way, they can share these assets with partnering agencies and make sure everyone’s using the same high-quality materials to promote Dublin.
The council is already exploring new ways to strengthen cross-government collaboration, ensuring seamless access to shared resources. Asset Bank’s brand new “portals” feature will allow the team to give access to other local authorities and state bodies and share assets at scale, providing access without the need for logins. This will make it much easier for everyone to work together and use the same resources.
The move to Asset Bank’s cloud version has transformed how Dublin City Council manages its digital assets, making their processes more efficient and collaborative. This strategic shift will continue to drive positive change for years to come as the Council embarks on future campaigns and initiatives with a streamlined, modern asset management system at its core.
Ready to make a positive change?
Discover how Bright's DAM tools can transform your workday.
