Digital asset management software isn’t right for every problem.
There, we said it.
Maybe you checked your email this morning and there, at the top of your inbox, was the third email this week from the creative team asking where to locate those new images from last month’s photoshoot. In frustration with the challenges of storing assets in Google Drive, you throw up your hands and say “That’s it! We’re getting a DAM!”
While properly storing and surfacing content is a big part of DAM, that’s only one part of what the software can do for you.
Digital asset management goes way beyond content organization. Let’s start by looking at what DAMs really are.
What Is Digital Asset Management?
Digital asset management software allows users to store and manage their digital assets at a scale not possible with other tools like shared drives. From metadata and taxonomy systems to content tagging and categorization, DAMs attach data to your assets that let them be organized and found by the users that need them.
Modern DAMs like Tenovos go even further, facilitating workflows by integrating with project management software, automating review processes, and even publishing content to social channels like Instagram and YouTube. They incorporate built-in global rights management so only permitted assets can be used, and can make that content accessible to external third parties like agencies and retail partners.
Enterprise companies can have anywhere from 10 to 100, even thousands of users globally accessing and interacting with content each day. The scale can be mind-boggling, which speaks to the power of these DAM platforms.
Some key functionalities of digital asset management platforms include:
- Centralizing large volumes of assets and content in one place
- Organizing content and using metadata structures to make it searchable and accessible to the right users
- Managing asset rights and user permissions so the right content goes to the right people, for use in the right places
- Integrating with your tech stack to seamlessly share content and data across systems
- Orchestrating creative workflows and review processes across departments, teams, and sometimes organizations (like agencies and retail partners)
- Tracking content both internally and externally so you know where your assets are being used
- Distributing and publishing your content to the partners, places and channels it needs to go
Ok, so we understand now some of the ways DAMs can make our lives easier. It’s time to break down the reasons you might want to start looking at digital asset management.
Signs You Need a Digital Asset Management Platform
We started this article by questioning if helping users find content was, in itself, the right reason to buy a DAM. It’s one of the main reasons why companies do (and we list it as the first reason below, as a matter of fact), but there are many other signs that DAM may be the right way to go.
The software can achieve so much for your organization, that buying it to just achieve one goal may not be worth the price you might pay. Instead, look for opportunities to expand the use case of DAM in your business, which will help you to realize a much greater ROI. Below are some signs you should consider as opportunities to leverage DAM in your business.
Your internal and external users can’t find content or assets
If this is your reality, a DAM may be right for you. Yes there are other tools out there (even *shiver* spreadsheets) that you can use to index content for stakeholders, but DAMs are an elegant solution to the problem. For example, Tenovos lets users filter their search based on the content they are allowed to use (based on license/rights agreements, geographies, campaigns, or just role-based permissions), search using keywords and tags, and then share content with other users easily. No more frustrated emails or Slack messages asking for the location of new assets.
Your creative team is moving too slow
Finding assets can take a long time and derail your creative teams. Digital asset management makes it easy for them to find the assets they need (and should be using), and through integrations with the creative suite can easily be pulled into projects to build that gorgeous new content piece.
You have thousands of digital assets
Scalability is a big reason companies move their assets into a DAM platform. If you’ve got a few hundred images, it may not be worthwhile for you. But if your asset library is in the thousands, and you have hundreds of users trying to access it, a DAM is likely your best way to manage it all.
You don’t know where your content lives
Are you publishing content into a black hole? Do you stumble across content in public places where it shouldn’t be? Digital asset management software can help you keep track of your content. Tenovos enables you to publish assets directly from the DAM, and keep track of where it gets used, by who, and how. It makes it easy to identify gaps in your content, to reuse content on social channels, and to know what assets are more popular than others with your users.
You struggle to share content with external partners
Your retail, agency or other partners need content, but it can be hard to share those assets in a secure way. Many ‘content portals’ are publicly accessible if someone has the URL, which makes it a risk your company doesn’t want to take. Modern DAMs like Tenovos allow external partners to access your content in a secure way, while giving you complete control over what they can use.
Now, ask yourself: does digital asset management sound like it’s right for you?
If the answer is yes, you may be interested in reading our Vendor Evaluation Guide which will help you understand the DAM assessment process, what to expect, and how to pick the right platform for your business.
