Digital assets are an important element in the era of continuous developments in technological innovation. At the same time, the definition of digital assets also keeps changing according to different perspectives. Generally, digital assets include images, videos, documents, audio, web pages, code, and 3D animations for a brand or organization.
The introduction to digital asset management DAM points out the necessity of efficient systems that could help organizations in management and maintenance of their digital assets. Why should organizations focus on management of digital assets? Digital assets deliver value advantages to businesses, which last long and support them in the journey of growth.
For example, digital assets also include the digital knowledge base of an organization, such as training resources for new employees, eBooks, guidelines, official documentation, and more. In addition, you must have noticed how marketing teams have to depend on digital assets.
DAM systems have emerged as a vital necessity for organizations worldwide. However, it is important to find a reliable digital asset management guide that can help you learn the meaning of DAM and how it works. In addition, you should also know the use cases, advantages, and challenges of digital asset management systems.
If you want to adopt a DAM solution, you must learn about the essential parameters required for such solutions. Most important of all, you must check whether a DAM system is the right solution for you and find the right time to implement DAM systems. Let us go through an overview of these important pointers regarding digital asset management systems in the following discussion.
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Definition of Digital Asset Management
Digital asset management involves organization, storage, and retrieval of digital assets online. The primary objective of digital asset management tools and systems emphasizes the improvement of efficiency, accessibility, and security of digital assets. On top of it, DAM systems could also facilitate consistency in the use of digital assets. DAM systems also ensure that organizations can utilize their digital assets with the benefit of capitalizing on their full potential.
DAM systems use specialized software to develop a centralized repository to store digital assets. The centralized repository can provide easier access to the digital asset files alongside the flexibility for editing and sharing them. Furthermore, DAM could also help organizations in tracking and reporting the usage of digital assets. Another important aspect of digital asset management systems is the functionality for verifying compliance with copyright and other legal implications.
Importance of Digital Asset Management Solutions
The burden of managing digital assets grows bigger as organizations adapt to new technology trends and innovative solutions. The answers to ‘What is digital asset management?’ offer a glimpse of the significance of DAM systems. Digital asset management could help organizations in ensuring efficient distribution of content throughout the organization. As a matter of fact, a full-scale DAM system could help in addressing multiple business challenges, such as,
- Misplaced assets and asset duplication.
- Poor asset performance.
- Underutilization or wasted digital assets.
- Time-consuming process for searching assets.
- Lack of version control and brand consistency.
- Unauthorized or unintended sharing or misuse of assets.
Some companies have been increasing their investments in strategies for DAM. One of the most notable entries among digital asset management examples points at Motorola. The mobile communications giant experienced issues with productivity in finding and creating desired digital assets. For instance, employees needed around 20 minutes to find, convert, and deliver the images they used for different business content.
After implementing a DAM system, Motorola not only saved time and money but also ensured easier and faster management of digital assets. Interestingly, the plan for adopting a DAM system turned out to be a smart move for Motorola. The company was able to save around $600,000 with the help of a digital asset management system.
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Functionalities of a Digital Asset Management System
The next question in a guide to digital asset management would point to the functionalities of DAM systems. What does a DAM solution actually do? The common digital asset management features help users streamline asset management and optimize the creation of rich media content.
With a centralized system, DAM solutions could also facilitate brand consistency by reinforcing brand guidelines and automatic asset updates. The digital asset management platform serves as a single source of truth for internal users and also delivers consistency in user experiences for external audiences.
In addition, new digital asset management systems also offer the advantages of repurposing content, duplication of workflows, and reduced production costs. The effectiveness of digital asset management DAM solutions in helping businesses is one of the notable reasons why DAM has become a core component of digital transformation initiatives. Here are some of the notable functionalities of a digital asset management solution.
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Easier File Sharing and Accessibility
Digital asset management helps in ensuring flexible file sharing and accessibility. Users could share their files with security and configure access permissions to files.
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Manage Digital Assets from One Place
DAM systems provide a central hub for managing digital assets from the stage of conceptualization to the final publication. The simple yet powerful digital asset management features empower users to develop and share digital assets alongside collaborating with other team members on one platform. As a result, DAM systems could ensure consistency of digital assets according to brand guidelines.
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Support for Creating and Maintaining Rich Media Assets
Digital asset management systems work with specialized software that supports rich media assets such as video, image, and audio files. DAM systems could provide large previews of videos or image files alongside customization benefits in conversion of videos or image files.
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Flexibility for Publishing Digital Assets
Digital asset management also provides access to digital publishing tools that could help you push your digital assets to different platforms. For example, you can publish digital assets on third-party distribution services, social channels, marketing automation solutions, or web content management systems from one place.
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Customizable Organization of Digital Assets
Another notable aspect of the functionalities of digital asset management tools is the ability to organize digital assets according to your preferences. It helps in ensuring that your team understands the DAM system effectively and can find desired digital assets whenever required.
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Powerful Search Functionalities
The effective organization of digital assets in a digital asset management system ensures easier discovery of assets for different tasks. Interestingly, DAM systems also offer the value advantages of powerful search options that help in faster retrieval of assets. Users can rely on in-document search, use image filters or specify file types for finding the required digital asset. On top of it, the flexibility for adding keywords to digital assets through metadata management could also improve search functionalities.
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Working Mechanism of a Digital Asset Management System
You can implement a DAM system as an on-premises solution, in the cloud, or as a hybrid solution. Cloud-based DAM systems for asset storage, delivery, and management could provide a more cost-effective, scalable, and secure option. Every digital asset management guide would emphasize the need for learning about the distinct steps in working with digital asset management software. The following steps can help you understand how a digital management system works behind the scenes.
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Asset Creation
The first step in the working of DAM software is asset creation. Users can find standardized templates alongside file formats that prepare digital assets for encoding even before creation of the assets. The standardization in digital asset management DAM software also supports easier document retrieval.
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Encoding and Indexing
The working of DAM systems also involves the use of metadata for simplifying the search for digital assets. Metadata helps in adding certain attributes, such as type of asset, underlying technology, version, or type of media to assets. The attributes or identifiers help in creating an index, which categorizes assets with common tags into groups for easier search.
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Workflows
DAM software also features workflows, which help users in achieving automation of tasks and processes. It is important to note that the rule-based workflows would leverage the indexing.
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Version Control
The next crucial element in the working of a DAM system is version control. It plays a major role in automation of workflows by ensuring that existing workflows utilize the latest and updated version of digital assets. Version control helps in accessing and implementing current versions of digital assets for review and uses in new workflows.
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Permissioned Governance
The answers to ‘What is digital asset management?’ lead to concerns about centralization of digital assets. Is it safe to have valuable digital assets on a platform where everyone in the organization can access the assets? Permissioned governance offers an explanation for such concerns regarding the security of assets in digital asset management systems. Governance with the help of permissions in DAM systems ensures that users with access privileges can access and use digital assets in the specified manner. As a result, permission governance could prevent theft, accidental deletion, or corruption of digital assets.
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Audits
Auditing is the most noticeable step in the working of DAM systems. Internal audits could help in evaluating the performance of a DAM system for identifying important areas for improvement. On the other hand, regulatory authorities could also audit DAM solutions to ensure compliance with regulations. Internal and external audits of DAM systems are regular events in industries such as healthcare and finance.
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Crucial Parameters You Should Look for in a DAM System
The introduction to DAM and its important functionalities alongside the working of DAM software showcases the multiple advantages of DAM systems. However, it is important to look for DAM tools and platforms that can support your needs. Here are some of the noticeable capabilities of successful DAM solutions.
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Support for Asset Lifecycle Management and Role-based Permissions
It is important to ensure that the DAM solution helps you in managing the complete asset lifecycle. The system should work for every step beginning from conception to the final publication. Most important of all, the DAM solution should provide granular access rights and permissions for safeguarding integrity of digital assets.
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Bidirectional Flexibility
The review of popular digital asset management examples would help you learn about the importance of bidirectional flexibility. Bidirectional flexibility enables users to search assets in any direction. Users could search for metadata to find digital assets or search the desired assets to find metadata. As a result, the DAM system could provide features for searching and repurposing digital assets by other working groups.
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Stability of Infrastructure for Asset Storage and Transfer
The most vital requirement in a DAM solution for your business is the stability of storage and transfer infrastructure. You can choose between cloud-based storage and on-premises storage according to your needs. However, it is important to ensure that the storage infrastructure provides performance, reliability, scalability, and flexibility for safeguarding your digital assets.
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Efficiency of File Transfer
You must check the DAM features of the DAM system to learn about the efficiency and speed of file transfers with the system. It is one of the significant determinants of business productivity. Therefore, you would need a digital asset management system that helps in sharing and using digital assets without any delays.
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Ease of Integration
Another important factor you must keep in mind during the selection of DAM solutions is the flexibility for integration. The digital asset management system of your choice should integrate seamlessly with the existing solutions for asset development and distribution. On top of it, the DAM solution should also support integration with new systems in your infrastructure.
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Final Words
The growing prevalence of multimedia content in the world of business has prompted a sporadic rise in digital assets. You can find digital assets everywhere on the internet, including business logos, social media messages, and web content of businesses. How can organizations cope with the increasing burden of storing, managing, retrieving, using, and maintaining digital assets?
You can find the answers in a comprehensive digital asset management guide with a clear impression of the value of DAM systems. As businesses become more reliant on digital assets, the importance of DAM systems will gain the attention of business leaders worldwide. Learn more about the use cases, challenges, and examples of DAM systems in the real world now.
