Digital Asset Management

What is DAM?

Data asset management is more commonly known as Digital Asset Management (DAM) – the set of processes which store, organise, secure, and share digital assets for a business. Digital Assets include a wide range of media types and documentation – videos, audio files, animations, interactive ads, spec sheets, to name a few. DAM software also includes your core assets, such as typography, corporate colour palette, and logos. A DAM system allows businesses to maintain up-to-date assets in a unique location, to ensure all users (internal and external – partners, affiliates, agencies) can access accurate and definitive assets.

What is DAM software used for?

As a data asset management solution, a DAM system deals primarily with these three business areas:

Brand asset management: logos, product images and other marketing material form part of the customer experience, so a Digital Asset Management system helps businesses to maintain messaging and imagery consistency.

Library asset management: storage and retrieval of infrequently changing media assets, such as image files. They are often used to maintain the value of media by repurposing old but high-performing content.

Production information management: collation and distribution of content from production processes, such as product spec sheets and instructions (for use, assembly and so on). Accordingly, the following is a list of the most common features and capabilities of data asset management software:

The ‘single source of truth’: Like a PIM, DAM software provides a centralised, trustworthy, and definitive repository for assets across an organisation.
Security: to avoid the common [problems with saving and sharing digital assets using email, Slack, Google Drive, or Dropbox – if assets are stored in diverse locations, they are not secure, and neither are they subject to access control for approved users.
Access: Data can be categorised and discoverable through metadata, with permission-based access.
Efficiency: production processes depending on assets are performed faster as the DAM can categorise and structure information as required during production.
Version control: DAM version control tracks updates to files so they can be shared and edited.
Integration: DAM software usually uses APIs to integrate with systems like, including Product Information Management, (PIMs), ERPs, and Content Management.
Monitoring: DAMs track use of digital assets to measure customer engagement, viewings, and suitable digital rights management
Collaboration: Enables real-time collaboration with digital assets

Use cases for DAM

Optimising digital asset workflows requires a data asset management system to fully exploit organisation-wide efficiency, and many businesses contract DAM consulting partners to extract maximum benefit from DAM software. Examples include the following:

Marketers – to grow the brand and ensure brand consistency
Designers – to rapidly search for files and repurpose assets, improving workflows
Sales teams – to access up-to-date materials and resources 24/7
eCommerce – to craft compelling stories and customer experiences and drive conversions
Engineers – to store product-related documentation or patent information

· Legal – to access compliance documents and tag assets with expiry dates to avoid use of outdated assets.

What are the best DAM tools?

Findings from a recent survey by industry analysts, Gartner, noted that 90% of the organisations it sampled use open-source components in their DAM systems, because they provide:

Reporting/Analytics
API connectivity
Activity Dashboard
Reporting & Statistics
Ease of use
Customer support

These are standard, which sounds good, but it’s worth pointing out that most open-source DAMs are, in fact, “freemium” products – customers get access to certain out-of-the-box features but pay for any upgraded and customised features. Resourcespace is a case in point.

Open Source

Resourcespace

Enables teams to share assets easily from a centralised hub. Features include:

flexible search system
advanced tagging and categorisation for all asset categories
Robust security and advanced privacy settings

Pimcore

Good for data distribution, reuse of digital assets, and rapid content searches

Provides:

Multi-channel marketing capacity
Scalability
Automated workflows
Metadata management

· AI / ML image tagging workflow optimisation

Pimcore’s DAM software also integrates well with PIM, CMS, and desktop publishing software to enhance customer experiences.

Razuna

Razuna offers:

Quick search across a range of asset metadata and taxonomy elements
Common search terms can be saved to ease asset location

· Tools like filtering and search provide several routes to automatic discovery

Premium DAMs

As with any significant software investment, do your due diligence in researching what you need. This is where DAM consulting is essential, as they can audit the business and determine more precisely which DAM system fits best with their business objectives.

Brandfolder: regarded as market leader in DAM software, with AI-powered smart search, asset-editing transformation, workflow annotation (including approvals and notifications), and analytics with actionable insights.

Bynder: best for generating high-quality, scalable content experiences, good support, and ease of use.

Filerobot: noted for range of automated processes, easing collaboration, MACH-certified, so compatible with any application or operating system, and scalability.

Canto: User-friendly interface/dashboard, good for sharing files with external parties, biometrics for access permission.

What does a DAM consultant do?

Implementing and optimising a DAM system can be a complex process, so an experienced DAM consulting partner can provide the expertise you need to get the return you want on your investment.

Any DAM consulting service worth the name will offer, among other services, support to:

Gain insight into markets and recent developments in sector-specific DAM capabilities
Identify the client’s data asset management pain points, and how to address them
Plan and strategise for DAM software implementation
Map implementation of the DAM system to your business users’ requirements
Integrate with your PIM to enable you apply a holistic approach to product information management.
Determine training needs for personnel to use the DAM effectively

Final words

At Start with Data, we have wide experience in supporting and guiding organisations with their DAM implementations, alongside our proven expertise in PIM projects. When it comes to DAMs, open source will provide you with extremely useful out-of-the-box features, but you need the technical and organisational change expertise provided by a DAM consulting service to implement and add custom functionalities, integrations, and oversight of maintenance and updates.

Start with Data can support you in all the above with our managed services. So, whether you are pre-DAM or a DAM user with pain points to iron out, get in touch with us! We can have a more in-depth conversation about just how our DAM consulting can help you extract the greatest added value from your digital assets.