Version control is something many businesses do naturally. For others, it will be completely novel. Whatever the case, this post will explore the practice and its benefits to help you perfect version control in your organisation and reap the rewards…
Essentially, version control is the practice of keeping different versions of a file or asset. Any time you edit a file or asset, you will save a separate copy to make sure you always have a back-up in case the system fails before you save the changes.
If a mistake is made, you can figuratively turn back the clock and compare your version to all previous versions to help repair your mistake, all whilst avoiding disruption to other team members.
Having the right software is crucial to version control. It requires a platform that gives you not only the space to save multiple versions of an asset, but also the tools to organise and retrieve these files when required.
So, now we’ve got the basics down, let’s take a look at why you should implement version control software and how it can help you…
One of the most obvious benefits of version control is the ability to back up all versions of your file. Files are saved as they are edited, so you can restore any file that you would like. If someone has made changes to an original, and you want to access the unedited file, no problem. Just simply locate the file in its original format and edit the file as you would like.
We’ve all sent a file over to someone, only for them to change it beyond recognition and send it back with no explanation of the changes or method behind it, leaving you with a completely new file and no idea why or how it was changed. Well, that is a thing of the past with version control software. As the file is updated, you can leave explanations as to why the change happened, which is stored either in the software or the individual file to make it easier to see why the file is changing.
Whether you’ve made a small mistake or have been experimenting with a design and don’t like the way it has turned out, version control software makes it easy to jump back to the last known version you were happy with to restore the file. Or, if your system has a virus and has affected a file, you can restore the original or edited file from a year ago to avoid losing valuable work.
Synchronising work with other departments or clients is easy with version control software. You can easily view the latest version and stay up to date with changes, without having to constantly send emails back and forth.
Version control can save you time, money and effort by automatically saving each version of your file. That said, with so many edits, files and assets to track, you’ll need somewhere secure to store them all. That’s where we come in. iBase’s digital asset management (DAM) platform allows you to store a limitless number of files and organise and retrieve them with ease.
Interested? Give our team a call to learn more.
