CI HUB Drive

by Melanie Gschwind

DAM

09. October 2025 7 minutes

Work as if you were using a local drive – only better

In our media-driven society, companies are producing more digital content than ever before. Images, videos, design files, marketing materials – hundreds or thousands of digital assets are created every day. Often, a lot of time is wasted searching for specific files, old versions are used, and it's easy to lose track of usage rights. For these reasons, working with a digital asset management system has become indispensable.

Nevertheless, traditional DAM systems sometimes reach their limits in terms of loading times, workflows, and integration with other systems. As a user, you want not only efficiency but also easy access to your digital media without having to jump from one system to the next. So what if you could access all your digital assets as if they were stored on your hard drive – except that this «hard drive» is automatically synchronized with your DAM system?

CI HUB Drive makes this possible. It is not only a smart solution for individual users but also for entire departments and companies. CI HUB Drive solves important challenges in corporate IT, primarily in terms of secure access to digital assets and central management across different systems.

What are the advantages of CI HUB Drive?

Log in, get started, work securely

Using the «Corporate Central Config» (CCC) feature, CI HUB Drive can be centrally configured and even rolled out pre-installed on new devices. This gives every employee access to the corporate DAM system from their first day at work – securely, consistently, and without any manual effort. Thanks to single sign-on (SSO), logging in is smooth and requires no additional password entry.

Smart data management

The system connects a wide variety of data sources and displays them as virtual drives. The key difference to traditional approaches is that folders are only loaded when needed. Asset previews are streamed directly from the source system, and files only end up on your local storage when you really need them. The result is enormous savings in storage space and system resources – a major benefit for work devices with limited capacities. In addition, IT departments retain full control over their data flows and storage locations, while users continue to enjoy maximum flexibility in performing their tasks.

Automatic synchronization and real-time collaboration

CI HUB Drive is primarily characterized by its seamless synchronization. What used to require laborious coordination within teams now happens automatically. When a file is opened, edited, and saved again, the changes are immediately synchronized with the DAM. This means that teams always work with the latest version – no more outdated files, no more version chaos, no more misunderstandings.

In addition, assets can also be found locally via CI HUB Drive: metadata and tags enable searching not only in the DAM, but also via Spotlight on your Mac, if you are a Mac user. The status of each asset is visible at a glance – a green or red dot immediately shows whether everything is ready or if there are still issues.

Intelligent search across all systems

Searching via CI HUB Drive goes far beyond simple text search. Dynamic search folders allow frequently used queries to be saved and retrieved at any time – easily and without technical knowledge. Simply create a new folder and a keyword-based query will start automatically.

The filter icon can be used to refine and combine results. When a filter is active, the filter icon changes color, showing at a glance which folders have active filters.

The highlight: The search works across systems – ideal for companies with multiple data sources.

Version management without detours

With the version management integrated in CI HUB Drive, separate version control software is no longer necessary. Previous versions of a file can be viewed, downloaded, or reset via the drive interface—intuitively and from a central location. This saves time and reduces errors.

Asset links that really work

CI HUB Drive eliminates one of the biggest problems in Adobe Creative Cloud: lost links. When assets were moved or the file path changed, the link to the original document was lost. CI HUB Drive solves this by using unique DAM IDs instead of file paths, so that the links to the InDesign documents remain intact – even when files are moved. This means that when the document is opened, all assets are automatically relinked, regardless of where they are located. You are not limited to one system – assets can come from local drives, Dropbox, or other cloud services.

Practical extras such as the «Collect Folder» function, which creates an intelligent, dynamic search folder with all assets from a specific document – that updates automatically when new assets are added – and quick access to asset sources in Finder make working even more efficient.

The future of collaboration

CI HUB Drive shows what digital asset management should look like in the modern workplace: simple, intelligent, and resource-efficient. CI HUB Drive adapts to your existing workflows so your teams don't have to adapt to rigid systems.

Local copies become redundant. All files are centrally available and always up to date. The technology disappears into the background – you use your system as if it were a normal drive.

In addition, CI HUB Drive ensures company-wide security and governance: employees only see the folders and files for which they have authorization in the DAM system. If these rights are revoked, access automatically disappears in Drive as well. This makes life much easier for system administrators, compliance requirements are met, and control always remains with the company.

Using CI HUB Drive means a huge leap in productivity for your teams who work with digital assets daily, making it not just a tool for creatives but a comprehensive solution that connects IT, marketing, and management. The question is not whether you can afford CI HUB Drive – the question is whether you can afford to continue working without it.

Modern asset management can be that simple

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