PhotoShelter - Microsoft Planner Integration and Automation

Common Integration Use Cases Between PhotoShelter and Microsoft Planner

PhotoShelter is a digital asset management and photo delivery platform used by marketing, communications, media, and creative teams to store, organize, share, and distribute visual content. Microsoft Planner is a task and work management tool used to assign work, track progress, and coordinate team activities. Together, they can connect asset production and delivery with structured task execution, improving visibility, accountability, and turnaround times across content workflows.

1. Create Planner tasks when new assets are uploaded to PhotoShelter

When photographers, agencies, or internal teams upload new images or video to a PhotoShelter collection, an automated Planner task can be created for review, tagging, approval, or distribution. This helps marketing and creative teams immediately know that new content is ready for action.

• Direction: PhotoShelter to Microsoft Planner
• Business value: Reduces delays between asset delivery and downstream work
• Example: A campaign shoot is uploaded to PhotoShelter, and a Planner task is assigned to the brand manager to review selects within 24 hours

2. Update PhotoShelter collection status based on Planner task completion

As tasks move through Planner, the status of a corresponding PhotoShelter collection can be updated to reflect progress such as pending review, approved, or ready for publication. This gives content owners a clearer view of where each asset set stands in the workflow.

• Direction: Microsoft Planner to PhotoShelter
• Business value: Improves workflow transparency and reduces manual status tracking
• Example: Once all approval tasks in Planner are marked complete, the PhotoShelter gallery is flagged as ready for external sharing

3. Assign content review tasks in Planner when a PhotoShelter gallery is shared externally

When a PhotoShelter gallery is shared with stakeholders, an automated Planner task can be created for legal, compliance, or brand teams to review usage rights, captions, or licensing restrictions. This is especially useful for regulated industries and large enterprises with approval requirements.

• Direction: PhotoShelter to Microsoft Planner
• Business value: Supports governance and reduces risk before content is published or distributed
• Example: A gallery containing event photos is shared with the communications team, triggering a Planner task for legal review of image permissions

4. Notify asset owners in Planner when new versions are added to PhotoShelter

If updated or replacement files are uploaded to an existing PhotoShelter project, Planner can be used to notify relevant team members to re-review, re-approve, or update dependent deliverables. This is helpful when creative assets change late in the production cycle.

• Direction: PhotoShelter to Microsoft Planner
• Business value: Prevents teams from working from outdated files
• Example: A revised hero image is uploaded to PhotoShelter, and a Planner task is assigned to the web team to replace the image on the campaign landing page

5. Track campaign asset production tasks in Planner and link to PhotoShelter deliverables

Project managers can use Planner to manage the production workflow for a campaign, while each task includes a link to the relevant PhotoShelter folder or gallery. This creates a single operational view where teams can see both the work item and the approved asset source.

• Direction: Bi-directional
• Business value: Connects task management with the source of truth for creative assets
• Example: A Planner task for social media launch includes the PhotoShelter gallery containing final approved images and usage guidelines

6. Create follow-up tasks in Planner after PhotoShelter downloads or shares

When a gallery is downloaded or shared with a specific audience, Planner can automatically create follow-up tasks for related teams such as social media, regional marketing, or sales enablement. This ensures that asset distribution leads to timely execution.

• Direction: PhotoShelter to Microsoft Planner
• Business value: Improves coordination across teams that depend on content delivery
• Example: After a product photo set is downloaded by the regional marketing team, Planner creates tasks to localize captions and schedule posts

7. Use Planner to manage PhotoShelter archive and cleanup workflows

Planner can be used to assign recurring or project-based tasks for archiving outdated galleries, reviewing expired usage rights, or cleaning up duplicate assets in PhotoShelter. This supports digital asset governance and keeps the library organized.

• Direction: Microsoft Planner to PhotoShelter
• Business value: Maintains asset quality, compliance, and library hygiene
• Example: A quarterly Planner checklist assigns the digital asset manager to review expired event galleries and archive them in PhotoShelter

8. Escalate overdue asset approvals from Planner to PhotoShelter stakeholders

If approval tasks in Planner remain incomplete beyond a defined SLA, the integration can notify PhotoShelter stakeholders or trigger a reminder tied to the relevant gallery. This helps keep high-priority content moving through the approval process.

• Direction: Microsoft Planner to PhotoShelter
• Business value: Reduces bottlenecks and supports on-time campaign delivery
• Example: A product launch image approval task is overdue in Planner, prompting an alert to the creative director and a reminder linked to the PhotoShelter collection