FAQ
Here are some common questions from our community. If you have others, feel free to send us a note.
Contact OnwardBased in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, ETC Software Founder Eddie Davis had first hand knowledge that there were plenty of amazing corporate art collections in the community.
Having negotiated bank and credit union distribution for a fintech competitor of QuickBooks prior to working on art-based software, he had also seen art on display all over the country with essentially no way to connect it to the artist and that was never on public display outside of corporate headquarters.
Having built the ETChster platform to provide portfolio/catalog tools with connected websites to >15,000 artists globally starting in 2018, the team decided it was time to address the needs of corporate art holders.
Functionally, the need for accurate, intuitive record keeping inclusive of location and condition across multiple continents was clear. Based on the feedback of numerous corporate art managers, they had major concerns about pieces not being accounted for and frustration with trying to use spreadsheets or other non-purpose built tools to support their workflows.
From a public relations and overall societal perspective, it was also clear that corporations and their communities could benefit greatly from intuitive tools to facilitate loans and public exhibitions.
With both desktop and mobile-optimized interfaces, Onward empowers corporate art managers to:
- Quickly inventory all art holdings inclusive of photos, condition reports, and location.
- Thereafter, track and automate the “check-in” of pieces along with non-art records such as appraisals, insurance policies, bills of sale, etc.
- Report on the individual and aggregate values of holdings.
- Share curated digital access to pieces for the purpose of solidifying loans, exhibitions, etc.
- Track actual loans inclusive of loan agreements, insurance policies, duration, etc.
- Simplify insurance and balance sheet reporting.
Onward was designed for art managers at public & private corporations, public institutions, foundations, and those with similar needs.
7 to 10-figure holdings of works of public interest that need better cataloging and ways to create public exposure are core values.
With a focus on intuitiveness and cross-location management, Onward was not designed with museums in mind.
Once publicly available, Onward is delivered on a Software as a Service (Saas) basis. Access to the platform includes all updates as they are released.
Your firm’s data is stored in the Amazon cloud.
You determine who has access administrative and view rights to the records of your holdings.
In addition to the core ETC Software team, Onward leverages the feedback of a number of advisors:
Neil Bainton – Former COO of Mailchimp.
Bill Gignilliat – CEO ArtsGeorgia
Laura Brown – Founder Owner Art+Works Consulting
Onward is currently in Alpha testing. If you would like to get early access, please send us a note via our contact form. You will be expected to give feedback if you receive early access.
We cannot guarantee that we have room until we reach BETA but will do our best to accommodate.
When you’re responsible for a multi-million dollar art collection, you want the best servers.
Onward’s platform is purpose-built for corporate art management, living on the Amazon cloud with user provisioning to support all of maintenance, financial management, and loans.
Corporate art management is often an arduous process. Some rely on spreadsheets and prayer.
Others use archaic museum software that requires 20 clicks to accomplish the some simple tasks.
Onward actually leverages AWS (including S3 for images) but has just the right set of capabilities to support corporate art managers surrounded by intuitive design that doesn’t require a software certification in order to use effectively.
We deliver a solution optimized exclusively for corporate art management, focusing on the integrity, security, and immediate availability of high-value assets like high-resolution images, provenance documents, and valuation records.
Client Self-Service Backup – In addition to cloud redundancy, clients can pull down local spreadsheets of their core collection data anytime for a portable, offline backup.
Onward’s strength lies in providing a pre-configured, compliant, and highly available service that meets the stringent needs of art collection management and auditing.
While AWS, Azure, and GCP offer component services, Onward bundles and manages these critical functions automatically, even where we leverage their underlying infrastructure.
| Feature | Onward (Managed Platform) | AWS/Azure/GCP (DIY Cloud Services) |
| Backup Frequency (Database/Records) | Every 15 minutes, 24/7 | User-configured; typically daily or hourly |
| Data Retention | 70 days of full-version history | Varies; often 30 days by default, or depends on storage tier |
| Recovery Point Objective (RPO) | 15 minutes | Depends entirely on user configuration and budget |
| Compliance Focus | Art-specific audit trails (Provenance, Valuation, Insurance), GDPR/CCPA Ready | General compliance (HIPAA, ISO, SOC 2); user must configure services to meet specific mandates |
| Local Client Backup | Yes (Downloadable collection spreadsheet available) | No built-in feature; requires custom export workflow |
Traditional methods like spreadsheets and shared drives make it hard to track location, condition, provenance, and valuations across multiple offices, often leading to missing records and audit headaches.
Onward replaces those manual processes with a centralized, intuitive system built specifically for corporate art holders managing 7 to 10 figure collections. Everything from condition reports to insurance documents stays organized, accurate, and instantly accessible.
Museum software is often complex, outdated, and built for curatorial workflows that corporate art teams do not need.
Onward focuses on simplicity, speed, and the specific needs of organizations managing multi location corporate collections. It delivers the essential capabilities without the steep learning curve or heavy features of museum systems.
