Programmfabrik

What Programmfabrik does

Programmfabrik GmbH is a Berlin-based private software company that develops web-based Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Media Asset Management (MAM) systems. Founded in 2000 by Martin Rode, who also created the original easydb technology in 2003, the company serves universities and research institutions, museums and cultural collections, archives, and enterprise press and marketing departments — primarily in the DACH region with selected international reach into France, Israel, and Canada. Its portfolio centers on the established easydb platform and its next-generation successor fylr, which share a single codebase and are offered through vertical-specific variants (easydb.university, easydb.museum, easydb.archive, easydb.digitalasset). A key technical differentiator is the easydb creator, a no-code web development environment that allows customers to configure data models and frontends without programming. The underlying technology stack combines a Go-based fylr backend with Docker, Debian/Ubuntu Linux, Apache, Elasticsearch, PostgreSQL, ImageMagick, and Kubernetes support, and exposes RESTful API, CI-Hub, WebDAV, IIIF, and OAI-PMH interfaces for integration into academic and cultural-heritage infrastructure.

The business model is recurring-revenue and enterprise-sales-led. Revenue streams include software licenses for easydb/fylr, annual update contracts, maintenance contracts, prepaid service accounts billed in 15-minute units, ASP/cloud hosting through partners, and professional services for consulting, migration, and training. Pricing is quote-based with no public list. Distribution combines direct sales via the company website (test requests) with an international partner network of implementation specialists — including DAM United AG (Germany), PDionne Photo Inc. (Canada), Attention Solutions (Denmark), CDS-Gromke (Germany), Communication Pro (Finland), and n c ag (Switzerland) — which handles local implementation, hosting, and support. The company has 15 employees, reports 70+ successful easydb installations, and operates from a single headquarters in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg. Management is concentrated in two long-tenured managing directors: founder/CTO Martin Rode and COO Sebastian Klarmann.

Name

Programmfabrik

Legal name

Programmfabrik GmbH

Website

https://programmfabrik.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Programmfabrik GmbH is a Berlin-based software company that develops web-based Digital Asset Management (DAM) software, offering its easydb and fylr platforms to universities, museums, archives, and enterprise marketing departments primarily across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Asset Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Asset Management (MAM) Platforms (MPAHAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Asset Management (DAM) (HDAEAGAE), Digital Asset Management (DAM) for Media/Creative (MPAHAGAB), Metadata Management & Cataloging (Taxonomy, Semantic Search, AI Tagging) (MPAHAGAG), Content Retrieval, Distribution & Reuse Workflows (Interoperability/APIs) (MPAHAGAK)

Keywords

• Digital asset management
• Media asset management
• Collection management software
• Research data management
• Enterprise content management

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses (easydb/fylr): Sale of software licenses for easydb and fylr DAM systems. Customers can choose between on-premises installation or ASP (hosted) deployment.
2. Update Contract: Annual contract providing updates, upgrades, and bug fixes for the software. Costs are based on the value of the easydb instance.
3. Maintenance Contract: Contract for server and easydb administration, including OS updates, easydb updates, and system availability assurance. Complements the update contract.
4. Service Account: Prepaid account for support services, consulting, customizations, and training. Billed in 15-minute service units.
5. Professional Services: Consulting, project implementation, custom programming, migrations, training, and digitization services provided by the company or partners.
6. ASP Hosting: Application Service Provider hosting model where easydb is installed on external servers and provided as a turnkey solution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Programmfabrik develops and sells web-based Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Media Asset Management (MAM) software — primarily the easydb platform and its next-generation successor fylr — for central storage, organization, search, and distribution of images, videos, documents, and associated metadata. Offerings are delivered as on-premises installations or cloud-hosted ASP deployments, sold with annual update/maintenance contracts and supported by professional services.

Product overview

Programmfabrik offers a portfolio of Digital Asset Management (DAM) products centered around easydb and its successor fylr. easydb is a flexible, web-based DAM/MAM system that manages images, videos, documents, and metadata across industries. The product family includes industry-specific variants: easydb.digitalasset for marketing/PR, easydb.university for academic institutions, easydb.museum for collections/museums, and easydb.archive for archives. fylr is the next-generation DAM platform with enhanced features including flexible data modeling and cloud deployment options. Both products share the same code base and can be customized without programming using the easydb creator development tool. The company also offers cloud hosting (easydb cloud) and various service offerings including consulting, implementation, programming, training, digitization, and hosting services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• easydb.university: DAM solution tailored for universities and research institutions for managing teaching materials and research data.
• easydb.museum
• easydb.archive
• easydb.digitalasset
• fylr

Products and services

• easydb Web-based Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Media Asset Management (MAM) system for centrally storing, organizing, searching, and distributing images, videos, documents, and associated metadata. Used by universities, museums, archives, and enterprises, deployed on-premises or via ASP hosting.
• fylr Next-generation Digital Asset Management platform and successor to easydb, offering flexible data modeling, customizable input/output templates, secure rights management, multilingual support, open-source architecture, and on-premises or cloud deployment.
• easydb.digitalasset Industry-specific DAM solution for press, public relations, and product marketing departments to distribute images across departments, control approvals, and share media via links.
• easydb.university Digital media database variant of easydb for universities and academic institutions, used as a digital image and multimedia database (Diathèque) for scientific content in teaching and research.
• easydb.museum easydb variant for museums and cultural collections, providing collection management, loan traffic management, and photo library functionality.
• easydb.archive Web-based easydb variant for digital archives, providing digital inventory management, long-term preservation, and access to archival image and media content.
• easydb cloud ASP (Application Service Provider) cloud-hosted edition of easydb, operated on partner data centers for customers preferring a managed cloud deployment over on-premises installation.
• Professional Services (consulting, implementation, training, digitization) Consulting, project implementation, custom programming, data migration, training, and digitization services for easydb and fylr deployments, delivered directly by Programmfabrik and through its certified partner network; consumed via prepaid service accounts billed in 15-minute units.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70+ successful easydb projects in stable, productive operation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DAM United AGcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBerlin-based DAM United AG provides vendor-independent consulting for DAM projects. Since 2018, they have an integration partnership with Programmfabrik to implement complex easydb projects for customers. Successfully deployed fylr at Caritas Schweiz and Kulturprojekte Berlin.
• PDionne Photo Inc.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCanadian company headquartered in Quebec, specializing in professional image processing since 2004. Certified fylr partner since March 2023. Successfully implemented fylr at Pointe-à-Callière Museum in Montreal, migrating from Cumulus/Canto.
• Attention Solutions ApSminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCopenhagen-based company with 25+ years of experience consulting, developing, and implementing solutions for digital media file storage, structures, and workflows in digital brand management.
• CDS-GromkeminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLeipzig-based company founded in 1993, providing services around digital images and media in professional settings. Offers consulting, conception, implementation, custom programming, and maintenance of integrated DAM solutions.
• BildarchivareminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBerlin-based specialists for editorial and documentary image processing, serving as competent partner for image agencies, NGOs, companies, foundations, and freelancers.
• Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund (GBV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman library consortium serving states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hamburg, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Strategic partner for university and research sector deployments.
• OY COMMUNICATION PRO ABminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHelsinki-based company specializing in DAM solutions, offering vendor-independent consulting, experienced DAM architects, on-premise or SaaS implementation, support, training, and hosting.
• n c agminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSwiss company in Urdorf with 60+ years of experience providing consulting, software solutions, and media services in publishing. Serves clients including AMAG, Victorinox, SWISS, Volg, and Switzerland Tourism.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• ResourceSpace: ResourceSpace is an open-source DAM often adopted by NGOs, universities, and cultural institutions on tight budgets. Comparable to easydb as an open-source DAM alternative for non-profit and education segments.
• Arkivum: Arkivum provides long-term digital preservation and archiving services for research and cultural institutions. Comparable to easydb.archive and to the long-term-preservation positioning of the fylr platform.
• Preservica: Preservica focuses on long-term digital preservation for archives, museums, and government institutions. Highly comparable to easydb.archive for digital preservation and archive use cases in the GLAM sector.

Direct peers

• WoodWing: WoodWing provides DAM and content management solutions for publishing and media organizations. Overlaps with Programmfabrik's media asset management positioning and serves similar publishing/marketing customers.
• Bynder: Bynder is a leading cloud-native DAM platform for marketing and brand management. It competes directly with easydb.digitalasset and fylr in the enterprise marketing DAM category, particularly for global brands needing collaborative workflows.
• Canto: Canto (Cumulus) is a long-established DAM vendor serving marketing teams and brand asset management. Highly comparable to easydb.digitalasset and directly competes for marketing/PR DAM budgets across Europe and North America.
• NetX: NetX is a DAM platform with strong adoption in museums, libraries, and cultural institutions in North America and Europe. Comparable to easydb.museum and easydb.archive for collection management and digital preservation use cases.
• Wedia: Wedia is a DAM/Marketing Resource Management provider with a strong European footprint, particularly in France. Directly comparable as a European-headquartered DAM competitor, and a natural peer given Programmfabrik's France expansion.

Broad incumbents

• Aprimo: Aprimo is an enterprise DAM and Marketing Resource Management platform serving global brands. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the marketing DAM category where easydb.digitalasset and fylr compete.
• Adobe (Experience Manager Assets): Adobe Experience Manager Assets is a broad incumbent DAM embedded in the Adobe enterprise stack. Competes with fylr/easydb for enterprise marketing DAM opportunities, especially for organizations already standardized on Adobe tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/programmfabrik
• Xx.com/programmfabrik

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Programmfabrik