“We need something like this at work, too!”
How a personal idea became a game changer for the Rhine County of Neuss image archive.
Interview with Benjamin Josephs, Head of Press and Public Relations
With over 60,000 photos, the image archive of Rhine-County of Neuss was a real treasure trove—but a rather disorganized one. That is, until a software solution from Germany helped get it under control. We spoke with Benjamin Josephs, Head of Press and Public Relations in Rhine- County of Neuss, about the adoption of the Excire Foto Office Edition, the benefits it brings to daily work, and his close collaboration with the Excire developers.
Mr. Josephs, how did you come to implement Excire Foto in Rhine-County of Neuss?
The idea actually came from the private life of our employee, Sylvie Jacoby. She’s a big fan of photo gifts but realized that the biggest hurdle was always sorting and finding the right pictures. That’s exactly what she was able to do with Excire Foto. So when Sylvie stood in front of our huge, only loosely sorted archive of over 60,000 photos, it was clear to her: We needed something like this at work, too!
Was Excire Foto originally designed for use in government offices?
No, at the time, Excire Foto was only available as a single-user version. The Office Edition was still in development. We reached out directly to the Excire team, and the response was open and collaborative. They even made targeted adjustments to meet our IT security requirements.
We were listened to, and together we developed a tailored solution.
Which features are particularly valuable for your work?
There are many, but I’d like to highlight three in particular:
- The AI search: It can recognize things like logos (e.g., the Fairtrade seal), text on flipcharts, or specific objects such as ambulances. That makes it much easier to find the right images for press requests, social media, and events.
- The people search: We’ve identified around 10,000 photos of our district administrator alone. With Excire Foto, these can be reliably located and managed.
- Duplicate detection: We had over 10,000 duplicate images. Cleaning those out significantly slimmed down our archive and improved its functionality.
Why did you choose a German software solution?
We’re a government administration, so legal compliance is absolutely critical. Many cloud-based solutions were out of the question because they don’t meet GDPR or our security standards.
Excire Foto is developed in Germany, complies with all data protection regulations, and offers the added benefit of a responsive, accessible team. It’s the ideal combination for us.
How do you view the ongoing development of the software?
Very positively. There are regular, powerful updates — every year brings new features, like the AI search. What we particularly value is that the development roadmap is responsive to user needs. Our feedback is heard and clearly incorporated into further development. That makes working with Excire a true partnership on equal terms.
Thank you for the interview, Mr. Josephs!
