Digital Asset Management in Adobe Experience Manager

Digital Asset Management in Adobe Experience Manager

In this chapter, you’ll learn about AEM’s Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, including:


  • The basics of digital asset management as a business domain
  • How Adobe’s DAM system addresses that domain
  • The kinds of digital assets that can be managed within the DAM
  • How those assets are processed
  • How to integrate the DAM with other Adobe tools such as Scene7

By the end of this chapter, you’ll understand why a DAM system is such a critical part of the Adobe Experience Manager platform, as well as how to use it to meet your needs.


Business domain of DAM

One of Adobe Experience Manager’s core features is its Digital Asset Management System, commonly referred to as “the DAM.” Digital asset management as a domain isn’t unique to AEM. Rather, Adobe has implemented an enterprise class DAM system that can actually serve as a stand-alone solution, apart from all the WCM features. However, what makes Adobe’s DAM solution particularly valuable is how deeply integrated it is with the rest of the AEM platform. The DAM is a key piece within AEM for integrating the creative concerns of designers and artists and the digital marketing concerns of content managers and web-driven revenue generation.

NOTE

For semantics’ sake, when I refer to the DAM or Digital Asset Management (capitalized), I’m referring to the actual product. When I refer to DAM (without the) or digital asset management, I’m referring to the business domain. Expect almost all of the business domain talk to be in this section, and the product talk in the subsequent sections.

Before digging into the DAM’s capabilities within Adobe Experience Manager, I want to step back and discuss the general business concept of DAM.


What is digital asset management?

Your organization’s brand is embodied in a sea of media files. Some of them remain within the organization’s walls, such as graphics used as letterheads or design files for creating print advertisements. Some are made public and shared, such as video demonstrations and white papers.

Many of these media files actually toe the line between internal and external assets. Some may become public and go viral, even if they weren’t intended for that use. Others that were intended to be public simply waste away.

The thread tying them all together is the difficulty that virtually all organizations face attempting to keep track of these media files. Digital asset management is the domain of managing a variety of rich media files so that they can be effectively used to support the organization’s brand.

Digital asset management is not really the same thing as document management or records management, although they do have some similarities. Some organizations find that a document management solution is adequate for their digital asset management needs. Document management is really about cataloging mostly text-based content. You often see document management systems in place for managing forms, reports, structured content such as XML, and the many Microsoft Office document types. Document management is usually a key component of enterprise content management (see Chapter 1).

When trying to manage media files, however, you face some unique, complex challenges compared to simply managing documents:


  • How do you catalog files of completely different formats?
  • How do you search files that cannot be indexed textually?
  • How do you deal with the huge amounts of data created by media files?
  • How do you make it easy to adapt those media files to changing business needs?

You’ll still face some of the same problems as with document management, including how to provide permission-appropriate access to files and how to distribute those files to the appropriate channels. But, I want to dig a little deeper into these issues to really hone in on the benefits of a dedicated DAM.

Catalog diverse media

Digital media files can be vastly different from one another, to a much greater extent than documents and records. The former tends to be less structured and richer, whereas the latter tends to be more structured and text-based. Media can include video files of different formats, image files of different formats, PDFs, or design assets like InDesign files. These formats are all so different that cataloging them in a common way becomes difficult. Imagine trying to sort a bunch of photographs, CDs, receipts, and videotapes (yeah, remember those?). There’s not a particularly good way to sort them...at least not obviously. Digital asset management uses software to address that very problem. It enables you to catalog diverse media in such a way that it becomes ubiquitous.

Optimize searchability

Search engines use indexing to determine how relevant a resource is to a search term you enter. The search engine “crawls” all the available resources making records (an index) of how it is categorized, what it contains, and other properties of those resources. The search engine internally organizes and optimizes that information to create a fast search experience. Then, when you enter a search term, the search engine can poll its index of resources and immediately return the resources relevant to your search terms.

Most enterprise platforms that manage data or content include search features, including document management and digital asset management systems. In a document management system, where most of the content is text-based, the crawling approach is fairly straightforward. It’s easy to understand how a machine can “read” the text in a document and make an index of keywords.

But how to interpret the content of videos, images, and other rich media files? Most of them don’t have text to “read.” Those that do contain text would probably require some kind of optical character recognition technology to read it. That’s why digital asset management systems enable those managing the resources to apply rich metadata describing the media assets. The system will also make sure that metadata taxonomy is similar enough that it can be indexed effectively, making for an efficient search experience that doesn’t care whether the media is a picture or a video.

Manage file size

Remember when Napster—the first mainstream platform for downloading music in MP3 format—became available? It took half an hour or more just to download a single song. God help me if my dad picked up the phone and kicked me off the modem-based connection, or I finally got the entire song and it downloaded incorrectly. It was frustrating because rich media files, like audio and video, are enormous compared to text-based files. Images are bigger than text. Audio is bigger than images. Video is bigger still.

As a result, a digital asset management system must manage huge amounts of data—for enterprise organizations, gigabytes (or terabytes) of content. The sheer scope of managing potentially vast amounts of digital media means the system has to maximize speed and performance. As cloud-based architectures continue to become the norm rather than the exception, a DAM must also consider how to optimize that design.

Adapt media

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ll break the news to you that requirements change fast. Customers will change their minds on a dime. Managers trying to stay ahead of customers will do the same. That means rapid change. It also means that inflexible systems will become a burden rather than a benefit.

Digital assets are often multiple file formats, sizes, variations of color, and so on. Without a system to manage these nearly identical versions of a media file, it can be cumbersome to keep track of all these variations. A digital asset management system does this. It allows those responsible for the media to retain the element that should remain consistent while also organizing each variation created for special uses. And while doing this, the system also maintains the fundamental relationship between these multiple media file variations.


What are your needs?

I find that many clients for whom I implement management solutions overlook the relevance of digital asset management in their overall digital strategy. Digital asset management is less generally understood than basic web content management, and it’s not as easy to see how effective digital asset management contributes to revenue.

However, I can assure you that effective digital asset management processes and implementation are a key piece in the digital marketing puzzle. If implemented well, it will increase the value of your overall platform by simplifying the integration of rich media into your digital brand experience.

If you don’t truly understand what you need from a digital asset management system, you could end up with a catch-all media repository. I see it time and time again. Content managers throw all their website images into a single folder, just so they can be added to a webpage. No one manages the metadata. No one organizes a logical taxonomy of media files. The repository gets bigger and bigger until it’s no more organized than whatever system was previously in place.

I’m not going to insist that everyone’s digital asset management needs are complex or dynamic. Some organizations’ needs are complicated and some are simple. I’m only advocating that you go through the exercise of truly understanding your needs before you start using a DAM system like a storage closet.

To assess what you need in a digital asset management system, ask the following questions:


  • What kinds of media assets do I need to manage?
  • How do I plan to distribute them to the public?
  • What is the volume of my media files as a whole?
  • What are our key workflows when creating and managing digital assets?
  • How are those workflows effective? How could they be improved?
  • Where are the opportunities to automate parts of those workflows?
  • What creative development tools do I use to edit digital assets?
  • How are our media files organized? How do we want them to be organized?

Answering these questions won’t guarantee that you’ll have an effective digital asset management or content management implementation. But, if you can build consensus about the answers to these questions, you will be in a better position to execute your digital asset management strategy.

Source : http://www.adobepress.com

Top 10 Alternatives to Adobe Experience Manager: Best Digital Asset Management Software Solutions

Top 10 Alternatives to Adobe Experience Manager: Best Digital Asset Management Software Solutions

Digital asset management software is a business process for governing the rules and systems implemented by an organization. It gives effective solutions for storing, organizing, finding, retrieving, editing, securing, and distributing rich media assets. These digital assets come in various content formats such as images, videos, PDFs, podcasts, word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

The innovative technology impacts the way businesses are managed today. The number of digital assets in an organization is higher than ever before. Companies used to carry out the management of their digital assets through file and folder structures with strict naming conventions. These are ineffective due to the high volume of rich media assets and it increases employee attrition rates. Locating files also hampers productivity because of the time-consuming process where a report shows 19% of an employee’s workweek is spent on searching for and gathering information.

Some examples of digital asset management software solutions include a photographer’s photo database and a user’s digital file library. Core capabilities like easy sharing of assets, assets retrieval, and cloud storage are valuable for your organization’s operations. Managing assets properly is crucial as an erroneous method can cause a waste of $10,000 a year while companies not using it lose an average of $44,000 yearly. Moreover, a McKinsey report showed that 19% of an employee’s work week is lost to searching files.

Utilizing a DAM solution is cost-effective as you can get a return on investment (ROI) worth $8 to $14 for every dollar you spent using the system. This in light of a double increase in digital assets over the past 15 years (Harvard Business Review).

Benefits of Digital Asset Management Software


  1. 24/7 Access. Have a secured access to your business files using any device anywhere you are, whether you’re at home, on your office desk, or at a coffee shop anywhere in the world.
  2. Central Location and Content Retrieval. Your digital files are secured in one place so you can manage them easily and locate them instantly to increase your efficiency and maximize the asset.
  3. Easy Integration. Deployment of the tools and solutions in your organization is quick and hassle-free with seamless integration.
  4. Analytics. An insight into the top digital assets that provide the best ROI. This data is essential for your company’s content marketing strategy by focusing on which ones are effective and tweaking strategies for weak digital assets.
  5. Permission Levels. Implement employee permission on who can access and make changes to your organization’s digital assets to protect your assets’ integrity.

Using the software is crucial to your company’s operations. Various products are available with the relevant arsenal for managing your digital assets efficiently and choosing one that matches your business needs best is vital.

What is Adobe Experience Manager?

Adobe Experience Manager is one of the most popular and leading digital experience management solutions in the market. Businesses use it to deliver compelling content on the web, mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) intended for increasing engagement and branding. A centralized location lets you handle and create compelling and engaging content to your customer’s while connecting the system to your existing creative workflows for efficiency and productivity. With Adobe named as the leader in digital experience platforms, it guarantees a dynamic solution to building your brand and managing rich media assets.

Key Features of Adobe Experience Manager


  1. Creative cloud integration. Marketing and creative workflows are connected.
  2. Search and metadata management. Metadata and tags are automatically assigned to assets.
  3. Project, task, and workflow management. Design workflows for marketing asset production, planning, reviewing, and approving.
  4. Dynamic media. Mobile-optimized to easily do variations for a single set of assets like changing format and size or adding features like zooming.
  5. Video. Optimized for all devices and screen. Create, manage, and analyze interactive video.
  6. Personalized media. Personalized and targeted media for boosting engagement.
  7. Viewer designers. Design intuitive rich media and video.
  8. Smart tags and analytics. Data and insights from best assets are used for improving content campaigns.
  9. Self-service portal. A custom-branded web portal is available to quickly make approved assets accessible to internal and external teams to save time in marketing.

The focus of your content’s format may vary. If you are interested to know the other options aside from this DAM solution, we have compiled the top 10 alternatives to Adobe Experience Manager that may fit with your digital assets best whether it’s images, illustration, video, and other types of rich media.

Top 10 Alternatives to Adobe Experience Manager


1. PicMonkey


PicMonkey is a DAM software that’s designed mainly as a photo editor and graphic design maker meant to empower creatives in communicating visually. You can access it on your web browser or smartphone through its mobile application. Its main features include photo editing by adding filters, overlays, and texts, touching up of facial features, implementing design tools for album covers and watermarks, and creating collages. The Hub storage can accommodate up to 50 images or unlimited for the Supremium pricing option that you can easily sort, share, export, and save. It has top-shelf templates for a faster implementation of design elements. Google Drive, Facebook, Instagram, and SmugMug are some of the social media integrations supported by PicMonkey. To get a fuller picture of this software you can match it against other PicMonkey alternatives.

2. Inkscape


Inkscape is a free and open-source digital asset management solution and vector graphics editor for illustrators, designers, web designers, and enthusiasts. Most of its users are freelancers and small and midsized businesses. The software offers a powerful design tool consisting of a pencil tool for freehand drawing in simple paths, pen tool for more complex Bezier curves and straight lines, and calligraphy tool for calligraphic strokes. It also has object manipulation, text tool, fill and stroke, operations on paths, and rendering. File formats are available in a wide variety. It is compliant with SVG format file generation and XML editor. The export formats include PNG, OpenDocument Drawing, PDF, EPS, PostScript, sk1 and more. Not sure about this solution? You can check other Inkscape alternatives.

3. Bandicam


Bandicam is a DAM technology for screen capturing and recording. You can use it to capture and record from various devices like PlayStation or Xbox, webcam, IPTV, and smartphone. Record your 2D and 3D 4K UHD Video gameplay in up to 144 FPS and easily upload it to Youtube and Vimeo. Screen recording your PC is made simple and hassle-free with the tech as well which you save in formats such as image files, MP4 or AVI, according to your needs. The system has various features to offer high-quality recording results like selective area recording, real-time drawing on the screen, integration of overlays, own-voice mixing, adding a logo, incorporating mouse effects and animations while recording. If you’re unsure about this software, you have other options. Check these Bandicam alternatives.

4. Cloudinary


The SaaS technology Cloudinary is an image and video management tool that offers an end-to-end solution for image-related operations and photo back-end for web and mobile developers. Comprehensive APIs and an interactive web interface are available for managing and handling your media library easily. It lets users take complete control of the file’s lifecycle from the initial upload, processing, and embedding on the website. The smart content recognition feature lets the system automatically add categories and tags to each asset for an easier browsing and searching. Metadata information like size, type, and format are automatically stored and extracted while custom metadata can also be integrated. The team gets an up-to-date version of every asset for a seamless and efficient process. It has other features like performance and usage analytics, search engine optimization (SEO), private and public sharing, and more. There are more Cloudinary alternatives out there if you want to expand your options.


5. Panopto


Included in the top 10 alternatives to Adobe Experience Manager is Panopto, a video platform and digital asset solution for managing, recording, and sharing videos and doing live streams across your organization. An all-in-one platform lets you do various video management actions with features like hosting and sharing video content, a unique engine for video search, bringing videos into LMS, CMS, and multiple portals. Its video content management system offers a secure, central video library in the cloud or on premises to manage and store your video assets. Uploading is done with ease either one by one or all at once. Video transcoding automatically formats the video file type for optimal playback. Customize video portal with your branding by changing the colors, icons, and logo and edit clips by trimming, remixing, and combining segments in the web-based editor. Want to try other options? Go check these Panopto alternatives.

6. Krita


If you’re looking for an open-source and free raster graphics editor for animation and digital painting with digital asset management features, you might be interested in Krita. It’s designed with the VFX industry, texture and matte artists, illustrators, and concept artists in mind whether they’re professionals or amateurs. Despite being free, it is packed with powerful tools and features. The workflow is improved with its intuitive user interface that you can save as your own workspace after setting up. It takes care of various digital drawing must-haves like brush stabilizers, pop-up palette, brush engines, wrap-around mode, and resource manager where you can manage and deliver your artworks. You have plenty of Krita alternatives also to choose from if you’re not sure about this solution.

7. Filmora


Filmora is a robust DAM and video editing platform that is known for being simple and easy to use. Users who have never tried a video editor before can easily learn the software with its intuitive interface design. Anyone can use it on any device because it is optimized for Windows and Mac computers or smartphones for Android and Windows users. Editors who are interested with integrating creative features can utilize its filters and graphic overlays, attractive texts for titles, openers and lower thirds, drag-and-drop motion elements, seamless video and image transitions, a royalty free music library. The video files are stored in the system and can be easily retrieved when needed. Remember to compare this software with other Filmora alternatives for a more comprehensive product review.

8. Interplay MAM


Interplay MAM is a developing advanced media asset management to improve its system. Top broadcast, post-production, and news facilities use it because of its fully customizable and highly scalable media asset manager that streamlines media operations and finds assets quickly. It handles the asset’s entire lifecycle for easy browsing and retrieval of the media for reuse or repurposing. You can access it anywhere you are in the world at any time because of its innovative platform. It saves you time and money because the centralized system effectively stores and handles your assets. This frees your team’s time to create more creative and relevant activities. You also get analytics and insights to help you monitor your assets and make informed decisions regarding your services and resources to improve and grow your business. Check these Interplay MAM alternatives if you’re looking for more options.

9. Cacoo


A digital asset management software that offers cloud-based diagrams makes Cacoo a unique solution for handling assets. It is designed for a multi-user environment where your team can share and edit the same diagram at the same time, track changes by saving its multiple versions, and providing direct feedback and comments for an efficient and collaborative work process. Sharing is also hassle-free with its exporting options like PDF and SVG, embedding diagrams in web pages and sharing through links, email, or on social media. There are various types and templates available for diagrams such as flowcharts, wireframes or mock-ups, network diagrams, minds maps, database diagrams, UML diagrams, and more. Because the software is cloud-based, it eliminates the need for downloading, installing, and waiting for a timely response and action. You have more Cacoo alternatives should you feel this software doesn’t match your needs.

10. eTEAM


eTEAM is a SaaS digital asset management solution that combines core functionalities of multiple systems into a single platform, namely Product Information Management, Document Management System, Content Management System, Customer Relationship Management, and Publishing Management System.

Companies and organizations achieve total control of the operating flows while attaining complete content uniqueness with zero error. Streamlined and accurate content and digital asset management save users time, costs, and resources as well.

eTEAM makes its simple for organizations to create, manage, and publish content on multiple media channels as well as centralize their content management processes and workflows, greatly enhance communication effectiveness, and align their strategies with their goals, resulting in better efficiency, data security and global control.

Source : https://financesonline.com

What is an open source Digital Asset Management (DAM) system?

What is an open source Digital Asset Management (DAM) system?

An open source software is no longer a Trojan horse in the hands of hackers and a few computer specialists. For companies that need to adapt faster than ever to technological evolution, an open source system is no more a rare thing with an illegal background, but an increasingly common option.

But is it positive that open source also reaches DAM Digital Asset Management systems? If your company manages numerous visual, audiovisual and graphic digital resources, a Digital Asset Management system is an ideal solution to maintain order and ensure a uniform brand image. But do you have the necessary preparation to leave those tasks in the hands of an open source system?

What is an open source DAM

An open source Digital Asset Management system implies that the software source code is available to the public or whoever downloads the free license. Therefore, it is the alternative most pursued by those companies that need to develop, implement and launch systems and apps tailored to very specific needs, since it allows total customization.

However, this means that your company will need a highly trained IT team with knowledge of managing open source DAM, in order to avoid long periods of trial and error, or maybe hire a consultant or external team specialized in these tasks. And that leads to an extra budget — even equivalent to an on premise DAM license.

This is very important in terms of security: remember that a Digital Asset Management system contains all your company's digital resources, so the IT department must guarantee that they are being properly encrypted.

What open source DAM systems are in the market?

There is no right or wrong DAM system in general terms: it depends on each company's needs and, above all, on its current business stage. For this reason, Digital Asset Management open source systems tend to be hired by small or medium-sized businesses, and even by non-profit organizations, that want to save the cost of a complete and powerful on premise service that also carries significant annual fees.

But an open source DAM is not totally free. After all, the basis of a Digital Asset Management system is  storing digital files, so the license can be free, but not the storage capacity. Many open source DAM companies, such as ResourceSpace, Nuxeo, Phraseanet or PimCore, offer different quotas depending on the space you need, as well as other complementary services (technical support, on premise hosting, backups …).

Pros and cons of an open source DAM

Advantages

  • Reduction of license costs and annual fees
  • 100% control and customization of the DAM system
  • Quick start-up
  • Community that generates constant updates

Disadvantages

  • Need for an IT team specialized in open source DAM
  • Absence of in-person training and specific technical support
  • Non-automated scalability
  • Limited storage space


Still in doubt about the most suitable DAM system for your company? In Sales Layer we offer a Product Information Management (PIM) with DAM functionalities, so do not hesitate to contact us to tell you everything, study your case and do a test without any cost.

Source :http://blog.saleslayer.com

What a Digital Asset Manager Needs to Know


What a Digital Asset Manager Needs to Know

After reading one of my most popular blog posts, a few readers have asked "What does a Digital Asset Manager need to know?"

This is assuming an organization realizes why a Digital Asset Manager is needed who is skilled and experienced in the field.

That said, they will need to know how to work with the following:

People


  • Be helpful. You should there to help the people, the process, the technology and the information work together. No small feat in many cases nor a temporary effort.
  • Be resourceful.
  • Be honest. Brutally honest if needed. Do not hold back much. The truth may require revealing news people do not want to hear, but rather need to hear (if you have read my blog or know me well enough, you will know what I mean).
  • Be patient. Not everyone will be technical nor understand what is involved.
  • Listen. To your users. All of them. Not just to yourself talking and repeating yourself.
  • Be specific. Do not assume that people know even the obvious. Remember, not everyone is technical.
  • Explain issues and their solutions to the people who need to know about it in their perspective. Keep in mind who your audience is. Use visuals to explain as needed. Document how to resolve issues often, then share this documentation openly and often. Repeat.
  • Simplify. Do not overcomplicate unless you like confusion, fixing errors and having delays.
  • Be an agent of change. Change, not because it is shiny/new/cool, but because it is needed for increased effectiveness and efficiency across the organization.
  • Know who is responsible for what. If you are not in charge of something, who is? If no one is in charge, take charge. "Initiative isn't given, you take it"... along with responsibility.
  • Speak up. Interject as needed. Do not "wait your turn" or your points will be overlooked. Leave your emotions elsewhere. This is business.
  • Be accountable and hold others accountable for their actions (or lack thereof) when it comes to the DAM and everything else in your perview. It is a 'two-way street' whether we realize it or not. Top to bottom and back.
  • Be proactive as well as reactive as needed. You should not be "fire fighting" issues all day, every day (otherwise there is a prioritization and process issue).
  • Know how and when to say "No." Contrary to some people's belief, "yes men" can hurt the organization as well as themselves especially if a constant "yes" is believed to always be the right answer. It is not. Reality checks are necessary for all.
  • Do not kill yourself, physically nor mentally. Nor anyone else for that matter. Even if it starts to sound really tempting. Really.

Process


  • There is at least one process, right? And it is followed?
  • How do DAM users interact with the Digital Asset Management process and system?
  • Help establish a process, test the process in the real world, document the process in writing and train users on the process/workflow as needed (especially when lacking). Work one-on-one or with small groups. Why? Large groups and committees are like large ships: they are harder to steer in any direction and slower to start, stop or react in general. Don't believe me? Try it. Find out yourself.
  • How does metadata entry occur from sources (owned internally and/or externally) to normalization of the data to entry into the DAM. Then, track the process all the way through to use within system to yield the requested search results.
  • Manage by assigning, measuring and prioritizing daily. Of what you ask?

Assets
Accuracy of metadata entries and usage
Error rates
Performance of systems and users
Tasks
Users
There is plenty more to assign, measure and prioritize ...

  • Establish a process of user adoption from the beginning of the selection process of a DAM system to the integration of other systems to the regular operations of the solution. What are you doing to encourage your users?
  • How to make coffee (or tea) without spilling it nor burning yourself. (Like most things, carefully.)


Technology


  • Digital Asset Management solution within your organization
  • Use of metadata validation and when applicable, metadata automation
  • How to use and apply the LAMP solution stack (in case you thought there was nothing else to learn to improve your skills)
Linux
Apache
MySQL
PHP, Perl or Python
Unix
Java (the programming language as well as the coffee)

Information


  • Love information and data. Really. It may not love you back, but it is a give and take relationship. You get what you put into it, along with compounding value over time. Of course, I am talking about metadata. You should be one of the information experts within your organization.
  • Know what is available (and what is not), where it lives, how to get to it, how to report on it, how to filter it and analyze it. Explain it. Train people on how to take ownership of it in their role, how to complete their part (metadata), the value of this information and why.
  • Evaluate, audit, report and analyze the quality of the metadata delivered to the DAM solution.
  • Know the difference between data, information and knowledge.
  • If you want a baseline to know how mature your DAM solution is now within your organization, start studying the DAM Maturity Model (DAM3), which was based on ECM3 as it continues to mature. Using DAM3, you can plot how mature your DAM solution is within organization today as well as where it could improve.

I write this as I leave my position where I was Digital Asset Manager for over 5 years. I have accepted another position as a Digital Asset Management professional in a different capacity to assist other organizations with DAM.

Source : https://www.cmswire.com

DO YOU NEED TO HIRE A DIGITAL ASSET MANAGER?

DO YOU NEED TO HIRE A DIGITAL ASSET MANAGER?

When the world entered the digital age, a lot of media assets missed the boat. Stuck in an analogue wasteland, these records needed to be transformed into a digital format and stored in an accessible repository. Digital Asset Management (DAM) software, such as our Imagen Enterprise Video Platform, does most of the heavy lifting. Imagen gives businesses the platform to captivate audiences through their media archive by, for example, powerful search capabilities, a customisable website and some clever engagement tools.

It also comes with a suite of automation tools for media managers. With functionality such as drag and drop workflows, powerful transcoding and an intuitive interface, many businesses may argue that this software is so powerful that it negates the need for a specialist digital asset manager.


The role of a digital asset manager

A digital asset manager does not just sit in front of a computer screen, sipping coffee and inventing a few workflows along the way. It’s a complex role which requires a lot of expertise.

A system, no matter how brilliant it is, needs a brilliant mind to manage it. You wouldn’t sit Mr Bean in a F1 car and hope for the best.

Likewise, you wouldn’t invest in a DAM system and just let any individual play around with it. You need an expert to drive and track the progress of a DAM. Someone to address risks, resolve issues, take full accountability for the system and train others to use it.

The more powerful a system is, the more pertinent the need to employ an expert to drive and maintain that system with a steady hand.

Let’s look at some of the requirements and tasks of a digital asset manager now:

● Create and maintain workflows
● Create and maintain documentation on the DAM
● Create and maintain metadata standards specific to the company
● Review and test any configurations and customisations to the DAM
● Translate business needs into adaptions for the DAM
● Understand how to measure ROI on every project, collection and asset added to the DAM
● Share assets to unify departments
● Train and support any individual using the DAM system
● Monitor and manage the DAM user database so each individual can do their job and has appropriate access rights
● Complete weekly and monthly reports on the progress of the DAM
● Promote the DAM within the wider business so it is fully utilised

This list is by no means a complete checklist. A digital asset manager is an adaptable role within a growing field. The requirements will change between organisations and as the world of digital asset management continues to evolve.

The need to hire

Most companies recognise the need to hire an information professional to manage their growing digital assets. Having one person in charge means the work is carried out with consistency and quality. And, if any issues do crop up, a digital asset manager will have knowledge to resolve them.

A digital asset manager also gives your business the opportunity to expand. How? Well, a digital asset manager can oversee the DAM system so it is correctly integrated with the company’s current or new technical systems.

A digital asset manager also brings a strong knowledge of digital assets and an understanding of data and analytics to ensure your business stays on track when it’s time to expand.

In other words, a digital asset manager does not just act as a guardian of the company’s digital assets but as a guide to keep the DAM system running in line with your company’s goals.

They do not just future proof your digital assets, but the business’s wider technical expectations.

Source : https://imagenevp.com/