Resources

Glossary

Terms Relating to Digital Asset Management (DAM), Enterprise Content Management (ECM), and Variable Data Publishing (VDP)

The glossary below was created to be a useful guide to those in the Content Management profession, and those wanting to learn more about it. The definitions were created by combing resources from the CMS Wiki, our team here at WAVE, and Wikipedia

  • Aggregation

    Aggregation describes the collection? of assets in the first phase of a Content Management System. The goal is to combine and unify data from different sources, in order to pass them on to storage and processing systems with a uniform structure and format.

  • Asset

    A digital file stored in B.media. Assets can have multiple versions and renditions, and have their own custom attributes.

  • Attribute

    A user-defined metadata field. Attribute types include text, decimal and integer numeric, date, Boolean, and list.

  • Automatic Asset Transformation

    Automatic Asset Transformation generates user-configurable viewfiles and thumbnails for images, multi-page documents, and video files.

  • Automated Templates

    Automated templates create standard visual templates that can be automatically applied to new and existing content, creating one central place to change that look across a group of content on a site.

  • Best Practices

    Best Practices describe those methods of working that a CommunityOfPractice has found to have the most benefits and perhaps the best cost/benefit relationship. They may include the use of specific tools known for their highest performance. They may require a great deal of skill and/or training on the part of the practitioner.

  • Block

    A Block is a container that can hold both Products and Assets. Blocks can have their own attributes. Usually, blocks are used to represent a single marketing “offer.”

  • Change

    A Change represents a specific modification to a document under version control. The granularity of the modification considered a change varies between version control systems.

  • Check-In

    Check-In occurs when a copy of the changes made to the working copy is written or merged into the repository.

  • Check-Out

    A check-out (or checkout or co) creates a local working copy from the repository. Either a specific revision is specified, or the latest is obtained.

  • Content Hierarchy

    Content Hierarchy allows users to organize Assets and Blocks – which contain Products – into folder structures which can be used for organization and storage, or for mimicking a publication structure.

  • Content Management (CM)

    Content management is a set of processes and technologies that support the evolutionary life cycle of digital information. This digital information is often referred to as content or digital content. Content Management is the collection, management, and multi-channel publishing of granular digital information. Content Management applies the same principles to those smaller components that make up published files. This allows workflow partners to collaborate in creating, organizing, accessing, and publishing information—to reach customers through the web, print, email, and other media channels.

  • Content Management System or Content Management Solution (CMS)

    A Content Management Solution (CMS)is A software system used for content management. This includes computer files, image media, audio files, electronic documents and web content. The idea behind a CMS is to make these files available inter-office, as well as over the web. A Content Management System would most often be used as archival as well. Many companies use a CMS to store files in a non-proprietary form. Companies use a Content Management System file share with ease, as most systems use server based software, even further broadening file availability. Some content management solutions such as B.media have a feature for a “workflow process.”

  • Database Publishing

    Database Publishing is a term used in the area of automated media production to indicate techniques to automatically make up publications starting from data residing in traditional databases. Common examples are the making up of pricelists and catalogues.

  • Digital Asset

    A digital asset is any form of content and/or media that have been formatted into a binary(digital) source which includes the right to use it. A digital file without the right to use it is not an asset. A digital asset can be any type of digital file, but are mostly textual, images, and multimedia.

  • Digital Asset Management (DAM)

    Digital Asset Management (DAM) is a concept that starts from the assumption that certain files have a high intrinsic value to an organization. This value can be amortized across multiple uses more readily by using a database system (instead of a file system) to track, organize, display and distribute these files. From these concepts come a wide variety of features that characterize Digital Asset Management systems. Because data “consumers” (whether they’re users or external programmatic process) have a single data interface, they don’t have to worry about file location or state.

  • Digital Content

    Digital content is similar to Digital Assets in that it may take the form of text, such as documents, multimedia files, such as audio or video files, or any other file type which follows a content lifecycle that requires management.

  • Digital Rights Management (DRM)

    DRM enables secure distribution, and disables illegal distribution, of paid content over the Web.

  • Distribution

    Distibution provides the various contents of an ECM to target users by various routes, in a controlled and user-oriented manner. These can be active components such as e-mail, data media, memos, and passive publication on websites and portals where users can get the information themselves.

  • Dynamic Publishing

    Dynamic publishing (also known as fried publishing) describes web pages dynamically generated by a CMS or Variable Data Publishing Suite such as ContentSuite

  • Enterprise Software

    Enterprise level software is software which provides business logic support functionality for an organization, typically in commercial organizations, which aims to improve the organization’s productivity and efficiency.Both B.media and MediaBank have enterprise editions.

  • Enterprise Content Management (ECM)

    Enterprise Content Management is any of the strategies and technologies employed in the information technology industry for managing the capture, storage, security, revision control, retrieval, distribution, preservation and destruction of documents and content.

  • Export

    An export is similar to a check-out except that it creates a clean directory tree without the version control metadata used in a working copy. Often used prior to publishing the contents.

  • File Systems

    File systems are used primarily for temporary storage, as input and output caches. The goal of Enterprise Content Management is to reduce the data burden on the file system and make the information generally available through “Manage,” “Store” and “Preserve” technologies.

  • Formatted Block

    A Block which has been laid out in a DTP client and saved in B.media for later re-use, including all layout, styles, and links.

  • Full Text Search (FTS)

    Full Text Search refers to a technique for searching a computer-stored document or database; in a full text search, the search engine examines all of the words in every stored document as it tries to match search words supplied by the user.

  • Import

    An import is the action of copying a local directory tree (that is not currently a working copy) into the repository for the first time.

  • Layout Client

    With a Layout Client Content Management System users can link attributes and assets to text and picture boxes and style them using the native functionality of the page layout application.

  • Metadata

    Metadata is data about data. In a Digital Asset Management (DAM) context it refers to descriptive information applied to assets to support a task or activity. The most common example is to help users to locate assets in searches. To help find suitable media, assets will generally have short descriptions or titles added to them as a basic minimum, although it is more common to add much more descriptive detail to help users to locate what they are looking for. As well as search metadata, workflow and business process information may also be added to determine what procedures are followed when users want to download assets. See Tagging and Keywording also.

  • Metadata Publishing

    Metadata Publishing is the process of making metadata data elements available to external users, both people and machines using a formal review process and a commitment to change control processes.

  • Multichannel Publishing

    Multichannel Publishing means different versions of the content can be formatted for delivery in different physical “channels” like the web (HTML and PDF), traditional print, wireless handheld devices, and cell phones. Adobe calls it “network publishing.”

  • Open Source

    means that source code is openly available, and freely distributable in the sense that anyone may duplicate it and send it to others. They may charge for the distribution. They may use it for their own private purposes, modify it, and even sell the modifications. It does not, however, mean that it is freely usable.

  • Open Source CMS

    Open-source content management systems, such as B.media have been steadily growing in popularity, driven in part by the success of systems such as Linux and Apache. They are now in a position to offer a viable alternative to commercial products, and organizations should consider open-source options when evaluating content management systems.

  • Permissions

    Controls which users and groups can access different content and assets.

  • Product

    A virtual representation of a commodity. Products can have their own custom attributes.

  • Product Hierarchy

    Product Heirarchy allows the customer to create Product Categories and link Attribute definitions to them (“Chair” has Height, Seat Width, Construction Material, etc.) Linking a Product to a Category in effect defines the Product.

  • Taxonomy

    Taxonomy is the hierarchical classification of entities of interest of an enterprise, organization or administration, used to classify documents, digital assets, digital and other information. Taxonomies can cover virtually any type of physical or conceptual entities (products, processes, knowledge fields, human groups, etc.) at any level of granularity.

  • Update

    An update (or sync) merges changes that have been made in the repository (e.g. by other people) into the local working copy.

  • Variable Data Printing

    Variable Data Printing is a form of on-demand printing in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next without stopping or slowing down the press, using information from a database or external file.

  • Version Control

    is the management of multiple revisions of the same unit of information (same information in a different format). It is most commonly used to manage ongoing development of digital documents content and other critical information that may be worked on by a team of people.

  • Web Content Management Systems (WCM)

    Web Content Management systems are often used for storing, controlling, versioning, and publishing industry-specific documentation such as news articles, operators’ manuals, technical manuals, sales guides, and marketing brochures.

  • Whiteboards

    Whiteboards are specialized B.media communication tools that support planners and designers in the creation of documents. Planners (merchandisers) can specify areas of a document page where they want to promote certain products, and add notes and other instructions to aid designers.

  • Workflow or Dataflow

    Workflow or Dataflow is the idea of moving an electronic document along for either approval, or for adding content. Some Content Management Systems such as B.media will easily facilitate this process with email notification, and automated routing. This is ideally a collaborative creation of documents. A CMS facilitates the organization, control, and publication of a large body of documents and other content, such as images and multimedia resources. The objective is to largely automate processes by incorporating all necessary resources.

  • Working Copy

    The working copy is the local copy of files from a repository, at a specific time or revision. All work done to the files in a repository is initially done on a working copy, hence the name.

  • XML (eXtended Markup Language)

    XML is a description language that allows description of interfaces, structures, metadata, and documents. XML is becoming the universal technology for describing information.

If you would like us to add a new term to the Asset and Content Management Glossary please contact us!