Widen (company)

In 1948, Arthur Widen and Emily Widen, spurred on by his experience working in the Madison newspaper industry and backed by her financial support in the form of a $1,500 mortgage, founded Widen Engraving Co.[7] The business initially helped newspapers create newsprint by engraving creative and marketing materials from photographs and type onto zinc and copper plates.[8]

In 1960, Widen altered their business model by moving beyond the engraving process and began to undertake further prepress activities. The company converted marketing content in the form of photos, illustrations, logos and copy into printed catalogues and advertisements and commenced working with film negatives. A change in its name reflected this transformation, and the company became Widen Colorgraphics Ltd. In 1985, led by Mark Widen, son of founders Arthur and Emily Widen, the company began to focus on colour scanning and printing services.[9]

With the advancement of prepress technologies and processes, under Reed Widen, son of Mark Widen, the company embraced digital technology, initially through digital printing and created an internal research and development department to innovate and keep abreast of technological developments in the industry.[10] In 1996, Widen's R&D department developed the company's first image database, which would become Widen's first digital asset management software. The software was made available to clients as a product in 1998.[11] In 1997 the company changed its name from Widen Colorgraphics to Widen Enterprises Inc.

Matthew Gonnering was appointed as CEO in 2009 and steered the company further towards the software as a service (SaaS) model.[12] Widen Enterprises has since developed its software into a cloud based digital management hub that allows users to readily access and manage their digital assets and product information data.[13] Alongside the software, the company has focused its efforts on customer experience by offering services to aid in the production and implementation of digital assets, as well as training and consultancy on the digital asset management process.[14]

Widen's software is a cloud based centralized platform that allows businesses to manage their digital assets[23][24] and product information, including images, documents, audio and video files throughout their lifecycle from creation to distribution. The software is called the Widen Collective due to its multi-use capacity and integration of six applications: Assets, Entries, Insights, Portals, Templates and Workflow. Each application aids in a different phase of the content management or product management process; including a central library of searchable digital assets, tracking and analyzing the performance of each asset, a work management interface and the ability to create branded webpages.[25]

In May 2020, in response to demand from businesses in retail, consumer goods and manufacturing, Widen launched the Entries application within the Widen Collective software - a product information management solution.[26] The Entries application seeks to allow businesses a unified toolset to enrich their product data with other relevant digital assets, in a centralized, accurate and distributable manner.[27] In order to enable their users to distribute their product data over external e-commerce channels efficiently, Widen integrated with the syndication platform ProductsUp.[28] Widen's partnership with ProductsUp allows users of their software to export their products listings, along with all relevant product data from the Widen Collective software, directly to a large number of e-commerce channels.

The company has embedded elements of customer service into the functioning of their software and their digital asset management services play a prominent role in their current business model. Widen offers production services for digital assets, strategic consulting training online through their database of relevant digital management information and scheduled web conferencing as well as on-site training.[29][30]

Widen's current chief executive officer, Matthew Gonnering, is notable for adopting a distinctive philosophy to his leadership of the company.[31] He encapsulates this philosophy by describing it as akin to the Greek word eudaimonia from Aristotelian Ethics meaning human flourishing, happiness and wellbeing.[32][33] Indeed, Gonnering has reframed his position in the business to the Widen trademarked title of "Chief Eudaimonia Officer".[34][35][36] He learned of the concept from a fellow student while at business school and became intrigued about adopting it as an ethical guideline and how to incorporate it in a business setting.[37] Gonnering has championed various causes during public speaking engagements at TEDx and disruptHR; such as empathy in the workplace,[38][39] the importance of embracing diversity in recruitment and employing those with developmental disabilities.[40][41][42][43][44]

In practical terms the application of the philosophy means employee wellness coaching programs,[45] personal trainers for physical exercise and actively recruiting those with disabilities.[46] In addition, Gonnering has led the creation of a human-centered organizational culture; including continuous employee input and consultation and a democratic approach to all aspects of work and management.[47][48][49][50] Widen has thus been named in the WorldBlu annual list of most freedom-centered workplaces every year from 2014 to 2020 and in 2019 reported an employee retention rate of 96%.[51][52] This distinctive approach and the commitment to employees’ professional and personal development led to Widen being named in Comparably's 2018 list of mid-sized companies with the best leadership[53] and Gonnering being named executive of the year in 2019 by In Business magazine.[54][55][56][57] In 2020 Widen was also named by Comparably as one of the top 50 mid/small sized companies with best compensation for its employees, based on anonymous employee ratings of salary and benefits.[58][59]

In September 2020, Widen's software was named “Best Digital Asset Management Platform” in the MarTech Breakthrough Awards 2020.[60] The software was particularly noted for its new Product Information Management capabilities.[61] Widen was named a “Strong Performer” in The Forrester Wave™: Digital Asset Management For Customer Experience, Q4 2019.[62]

In 2019, Widen won “Best Digital Asset Management Platform” for its digital asset management software at the Marketing Technology Awards hosted by ClickZ and Search Engine Watch, where the judging panel was made up of customers and experts within the industry.[63][64]

In 2018 Widen's software was heralded as a “strong performer” for customer experience by independent technology research firm Forrester, due to its intuitive user interface and based on favorable feedback from customers.[65][66]

Widen was named the digital asset management vendor of the year by the Codified DAM Consultant in 2017, an independent software analysis and comparison firm. In order to win this accolade, the software was assessed on the firm's “Ten Core Characteristics of a Digital Asset Management System”. Widen was also commended for a high standard of customer support.[67][68]

Also in 2017, Widen won the award for the “Best Digital Asset Management Solution” from SIIA, an independent trade association.[69][70]

Widen was named “Company of the Year” in 2019 by SIIA largely due to a growth in revenue and a strong company culture.[71][72] In 2018, WorldBlu, a business training organization, recognized Widen for a commitment to operating with purpose and vision and helping its employees to do the same, primarily because of their focus on employee wellness.[73][74]

Widen was also named in Comparably's 2017 nationwide list of best places to work, ranking 42nd for best company culture, 25th for best managers and fourth for best CEO.[75][76] Also in 2017, the company was recognized in the list of the "100 companies that matter the most in the digital content industry" by the industry publication EContent.[77][78]