"There's really not much left in between," notes CMS Watch Principal DAM Analyst, Theresa Regli. "This situation is a serious problem for buyers who need more from their DAM system than a simple digital archive, but don't have six-figure budgets."

"In these tough economic times, enterprises are looking to buy only the features they really need, at a predictable price point," adds Kas Thomas, co-author of the report. "Because the costs involved in a full-featured, licensed solution may be prohibitive, some buyers are turning to fixed-price, hosted DAM, or stretching their workgroup-level solution -- perhaps from the likes of Adobe, Apple, or Microsoft -- beyond its capabilities."

"In general, buyers are also being more cautious about getting nickled-and-dimed by vendors who encourage them to pay for modules they don't need," added Regli. "We often find that buyers end up spending 20-30% more than they're initially quoted, because of additional, separately-priced modules. As we detail in our research, additional modules can cost more than the base software, and the cost quickly creeps upwards."