We get so many questions of people during their searches for Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems, we wanted to help with some of the many acronyms and terms that people use but not always meaning the same things. This blog will be for a few different audiences: people going through the DAM selection process for the first time, people considering switching DAM systems, and people that currently use a DAM systems looking for best practice ideas.
Basics to implement a DAM system
Most people are looking to implement a DAM system because they are having trouble keeping track of the information they have created or store that they need to retrieve instead of having to recreate. A DAM system may be needed by a single user because of the amount of assets they are tracking or across multiple users because they need a central repository to keep track of the correct versions or multiple updates to a central file. At that point – users start evaluating DAM systems.
What most DAM users will tell you is after implementing a system, their business ?(and assets being tracked, changed, and stored) continues to increase. Because of the changes, it is important that the DAM system has the flexibility to grow along with the customers.
After Implementation
In addition to the product, the support offered by the DAM provider is key to continued success. A DAM vendor should partner with the users to help with best practices, suggestions for organizing the assets (with MetaData, a taxonomy strategy, and hierarchical structures.) Vendors will ALWAYS say they will help you after the installation. Make sure you talk to some of their current customers who will give you their version of the service they receive. Choose customers that are in your industry (probably more likely to talk to you if you are not a direct competitor) or customers that are approximately your size. Ask for customers that have been with that vendor under a year (training fresh in their minds) and customers that have been with the vendor for years (how has it grown with them over the years, how have tweaks or changes required been handled.) Make sure you talk with not only the account representative, but also their training and support departments to give you an idea who you’ll talk to, how long they have been with the company, and get a feel for how they describe the support you will receive.
It is a system you will live with for many years (if the selection process goes correctly) so do your homework up front and make a choice that fits your needs.