What Is Digital Asset Management? How DAM Works?

With a Digital Asset Management system, you spend less time organizing and more time creating. 

The Digital Asset is a crucial component of the DAM process. Any file type of value owned by an individual or enterprise, coming in a digital format, is searchable via metadata and contains access and usage rights. Digital Assets are any content that can be stored digitally, so it is easier to create, manage, publish, and share content with any person inside/outside the organization. We live in a fast-evolving digital climate, where there is no limit to what a digital asset can be. Files such as photos, videos, music, documents, animations, graphics, audio content, presentations, and other media containing the right to use them are considered Assets. 

What Is A Digital Asset Management System?

Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems allow organizations to store, organize, find, retrieve and share the entire digital content catalog from one place, i.e., a single source of truth. DAM is a centralized DAM system that is quick to deploy and easy to use, and it provides employees, peers, contractors, clients, and other key stakeholders controlled access to the entire digital content libraries – such as photos, images, audio, video, creative files, documents, presentations, and more.

As per the organization’s needs, DAM systems come in all shapes and sizes. A large retail enterprise might use a DAM system mainly to manage e-commerce product imagery, and a global non-profit charity might use this system to store and share documents. Most DAM solutions are not just about storing files, but rather they offer add-on modules like brand guidelines & project workflow tools to drive efficiencies across the digital content lifecycle. 

In this post, we discuss in-depth DAM software and how it assists teams in getting organized and staying on schedule. 

What Do DAM Systems Do?

In its simplest form, this technology offers a secure repository facilitating the creation, production, organization, management, distribution, and possibly monetization of the media files identified as digital assets. Like other content management technologies, DAM systems also provide basic library services, a centralized and secure place for storing, organizing, and retrieving files. It also offers core process services, consisting of specific facilities for management, transformation, manipulation, movement, security, and processing of rich media files and their metadata. The majority of DAM systems can integrate with other tools and systems that can be particularly useful for a content marketer. Hence, no confusion over whether you are accessing the correct or latest version of a logo or asset.  

What Is The Role Of A Digital Asset Manager?

The role of a Digital Asset Manager is to manage taxonomy, performance measurement, metadata, and secure distribution of an organization’s digital assets. Usually, businesses have a working DAM system. 

Benefits Of A Digital Asset Management system

DAM system keeps the internal & external teams organized within a single source of truth and, enables quick access to important files and automated workflows, and allows to manage permissions for individual pieces or the entire asset collections. The numerous benefits involve:

1. Quick & Easy File Access

As most DAM systems are cloud-based, it offers 24/7 access to everyone to use digital assets from any device with internet connectivity. When all the digital content is centralized in one location, it allows internal and external stakeholders to find what they are looking for faster and focus on more crucial tasks. In the same way, the access rights & permissions can be tailored for different users, which ensures that the right people have access to the right files. 

2. Seamlessly Integrate With Wider Tech Stack

Be it CMS, PIM systems, design, or social media plugin tools, DAM systems incorporate different tech tools enabling a more efficient flow of digital assets across the content lifecycle, starting from briefing up to distribution. 

3. Secure File Sharing Directly From The DAM Platform

Within a digital asset management system, files are shared easily with both internal & external stakeholders. It also allows controlling how assets are used once they are shared by setting expiration dates and tracking sharing history.

4. Keeping Important Assets Safe & Secure

A DAM system is integrated to eliminate the risk of losing important & confidential data by ensuring safe & secure storage in one location. This way, files do not get lost, which usually happens when they are stored on the external hard drives and personal desktops/folders. 

5. Use The Latest Content.

DAM system reduces the risk of using outdated files. Essential assets are updated easily upon upload, and the users can stay assured that they are getting to use the latest content.

6. Cutting Operational Costs

The time not spent looking for a file can be used for higher-value work. DAM enables faster creation, storage, retrieval, and distribution of digital content, improving return on investment (ROI) across all brand & content marketing efforts. 

Who Uses The DAM System?

There are two types of DAM users: Internal users and External users. 

1. Internal Users: These Consist Of:

a) IT & Legal

The DAM system benefits IT, professionals, by reducing the burden on resources required to manage permissions & system maintenance. It also allows streamlining metadata management and creating custom configurations via API connections & seamless integrations. Even Legal teams like using the DAM system as here the expiration dates can be added to the assets, minimizing the risks of misuse and compliance. 

b) Creatives

In-house creative teams, such as graphic designers and photographers, can use a DAM system for accessing branded assets and uploading new creative files for reviewing and distribution. These users prefer built-in integrations for tools they constantly use, like Adobe Creative Suite & project management software.

c) Sales & Marketing

The DAM system allows sales & marketing teams to get together on branded collateral for usage in sales pitches & presentations to streamline entire campaigns.  

2. External Users: These Are:

a) Contractors & Partners

DAM systems allow companies to make the assets readily available to external contractors.

b) Agencies

Using the DAM system, the agencies can share assets with the external clients, relay client responses, and take the projects from pending to approved. 

What To Look For While Selecting A DAM System?

While looking for DAM systems, it is vital to ensure that it provides the following capabilities:

1. Efficient At File Transfer

File transferring speed and efficiency are important, affecting the entire business speed. A solution is considered effective when it can share and use assets whenever needed. 

2. Stable Storage & Transfer Infrastructure

Choosing an efficient DAM solution is important as that will affect your ability to transfer assets wherever they are required. Go for a flexible, reliable, scalable, performing, and recoverable storage system to protect the assets. 

3. Import & Export capability

An ideal DAM system should be able to share digital assets, search results & other data. 

4. Bi-directional flexibility

A DAM system should be agile and flexible to search for assets in any direction. With bidirectional flexibility, it is possible to search metadata, as a brand can easily find an asset or search for particular assets to find metadata. It also allows for the search and repurposing of assets by the other functional groups within an enterprise. 

5. Integration

The right DAM solution integrates with solutions used in the business, like asset creation & distribution and any systems you plan on adding in the future.

6. Supports Asset Lifecycle & Role-Based Permissions

An efficient DAM solution allows for managing digital assets starting from idea to conception and throughout their lifecycles. The system should also provide access rights & licenses with a granularity that you require to preserve the integrity of the assets. 

DAM vs CMS: What’s The Difference?

Material management systems (CMS) are in charge of managing material on your website, whereas content management systems (DAM) are in charge of managing content throughout your whole organization, allowing for distribution across several channels and platforms.

Is Your Business Ready For A Digital Asset Management System?

If your goal is to manage the digital assets better, track the publishing rights, and maintain brand consistency, it is ideal to go for a DAM solution. 

Conclusion

Nowadays, Digital Asset Management comes with Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities – like intelligently tagging & cross-referencing assets, like voice recognition and video recognition. Also, by using Machine Learning, DAM systems can anticipate content requirements and make recommendations to the users. As DAM performs these marketing tasks so quickly, it allows the organizations to make the adjustments in the near-real-time, gaining a competitive advantage.