1. Ingest
DAM enables ingestion of assets, either one by one or in bulk, with convenient application of metadata to images.
If you’re evaluating Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions for your organization, this buyer’s guide will help you understand common use cases, DAM capabilities, nonfunctional criteria, and security requirements. It also describes advanced DAM capabilities with which you can take DAM one step further: dynamically generate assets, create a single source of truth for assets, and deliver them to end-users directly from the DAM.
If you are new to DAM, see Chapter 1 of this guide for a comprehensive introduction. Chapter 2 recounts the evolution of DAM solutions: from on-premise systems to cloud-based ones to dynamic platforms.
Here are the main topics:
Following are nine common uses of DAM solutions along with the systems’ basic and advanced capabilities.
The 10 core features of an enterprise DAM solutions are defined below, based on common definitions that most DAM experts and vendors use.
DAM enables ingestion of assets, either one by one or in bulk, with convenient application of metadata to images.
When assets are ingested, DAM secures them with Access Control Lists (ACLs) and permissions that specify which user roles can access or modify images.
DAM stores large volumes of creative assets and their metadata, enabling fast retrieval.
DAM converts images to the required formats and generates “native” thumbnails, typically without smart resizing or cropping. Some DAM solutions enable manual editing of images and documents in the interface.
Once assets are in place, DAM makes it easy to enrich them with metadata and to generate analytics on their usage.
DAM tracks relationships between assets and versions or variants of the original assets, making it easier to bundle, find, and manage them.
DAM defines a structured process for working with assets, from creation through versions, approvals, and publishing.
DAM offers easy ways to find assets by searching metadata, collections, image attributes, and workflow stages.
Users can preview images, videos, or other assets before downloading them.
DAM outputs a link for sharing the file with other creative users.
(*) The Transform, Preview, Enrich, and Publish features have undergone dramatic changes in advanced DAM solutions. See the following section.
Over the past years, digital-asset workflows have evolved and are no longer concerned with simply ingesting assets, storing them, and enabling access and searchability. Organizations must manage assets at scale; create a huge number of variants of each asset for different channels, audiences, and screen sizes; and push them to websites and mobile apps.
Three core capabilities of DAM— transform, preview, and publish —are taking on a whole new meaning. Following are the cutting-edge capabilities offered by innovative and advanced DAM solutions.
Modern DAM solutions are cloud-based, enabling seamless global collaboration and sharing of assets.
Advanced DAMs can automatically adapt assets to display attractively on any device or screen size, including mobile. That capability requires intelligent cropping, resizing, and adjustment of images on the fly.
Advanced DAMs go beyond traditional file formats and can ingest, display, and transform next-generation image formats, videos, 3D models, and 360-degree images. Tools in those DAMs automatically transcode, crop, resize and transform videos to create multiple versions for different uses.
Creative marketing processes, websites, and mobile apps need more and more variations and layouts for assets. Advanced DAMs can automatically generate the variants through intelligent cropping, resizing, and automated image effects. You can also generate new assets from existing ones, for example, by leveraging AI to create a short preview of a video. Everything happens inside DAM with no need for downloading assets and editing them in external tools.
Advanced DAMs handle the “last mile” of creative assets, delivering them to end-users at high quality and with fast loading. Those DAMs optimize assets and generate URLs for them, which can be used directly in websites and mobile apps, ultimately delivering content through a fast CDN.
Features and capabilities are not the whole story. A DAM solution must be robust and usable, with access to all the tools that generate and manage creative assets.
Evaluate the DAM user interface and ensure that it’s web-based, fast, and user-friendly. Even though many DAM solutions offer powerful features, they are difficult to use with a steep learning curve, ultimately eroding productivity.
Test a DAM solution to see how it handles heavy loads. Upload demanding files, such as multilayer PDF files, TIFF files with 100+ megapixels, and M4V video files with an H265 codec. Check if the system contains multiple renderers and if you could simultaneously upload a heavy video and small JPEGs. Check if the system can handle concurrent downloads with five different users. Opt for cloud-based, dynamically-scalable systems to ensure that the performance aspects are well managed.
Ensure that your DAM solution has built-in connectors for all the systems that work with creative assets: CMS, eCommerce platforms, Product Information Management (PIM) systems, CRM systems, BPM and ERP tools, social media, and marketing tools.
Cyber attacks are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated, hitting organizations of all sizes. Large enterprises are especially attractive targets. Be sure to identify compliance standards that are relevant for your organization in general and for specific content types in particular, such as ISO 27001, GDPR, and SOX. Choose a vendor that offers out-of-the-box compliance with the relevant security standards.
In addition, we recommend that you conduct a penetration test of the DAM solution you’re considering for purchase to ensure that it protects your sensitive digital assets. If a full penetration test is not feasible, check the following:
To ensure success of your enterprise's DAM deployment, see Chapter 6 of this guide for more best practices.
When evaluating DAM solutions, focus your efforts on the following:
Cloudinary is a next-generation DAM solution with all the core capabilities, including those for dynamic transformation and optimization of creative assets, responsive delivery to different devices, AI-based management of assets, and organization-wide collaboration. Do check it out.