Digital Asset Management: Everything You Need to Know

The digital revolution brought with it enormous opportunities, but it created some massive challenges too; one of those was how to manage a rapidly rising ocean of data. Enter digital asset management.

Like almost everything, digital asset management has evolved with the times. As technology has moved forward, and needs have changed, digital asset management has had to respond; prompting companies like ours to implement new solutions, make consistent upgrades to our systems and broaden our capabilities with each passing year.

Digital asset management (DAM) solutions are about bringing efficiency, reliability, and security to the problem of digital archive management. Ultimately, it's about finding the right tools to help you manage your digital media assets (digital files), to ensure that your organization has control of their digital archives.

Read more about how digital asset management is saving the world, one picture at a time

Where to start. There are many reasons digital asset management should be an integral part of any organization's digital strategy but here two of the main ones:

All of which is a flowery way to say that digital asset management is important because it not only preserves the past but makes it accessible in an easy, time-saving, and relevant way.

A reliable digital asset management system also delivers security and peace of mind. Fragmented, scattered, and chaotic archives are a recipe for anxiety. Where did those files go? Where are they stored? Did they disappear when that hard drive failed? How on earth will I find that picture that I know exists somewhere?

There's more than one way to crack an egg, goes the saying. So, it is with digital asset management. Before we get into the details, let's look at some core principles when it comes to how a DAM system organizes digital assets.

The two pillars of digital asset organization are: structure and indexing.

Folder structures on LightRocket Enterprise mirror the behavior of folders and files your desktop so you can create, delete, rename, and move folders in just a few clicks.

Structure will only get you so far. If you want to be able to find the exact file you need when you need it, tagging (indexing) is your best friend.

You may have seen many DAM providers speak about AI tagging. While AI can simplify many mundane tasks, it may not always be your best option when it comes to tagging. The reason for this is simply because AI doesn't fully understand context. This means that although AI can apply tags based on the elements it can identify within an image, it won't be able to apply tags based on any symbolism, nor can it identify meaning or context.

For example, if it analyzed an image of two children holding hands, AI would be able to apply the tags, “hands”, “children” but it likely won't be able to apply the tags “friendship”. “connection” or “support” as these symbols are things which, for now, are only understood by humans. It also doesn't know the relationship between the two children - are they just friends, or are they siblings? It can't detect their age, and so on.

Read more about AI and digital asset management

Digital asset management is fundamentally about bringing order to chaotic archives. By doing so, a DAM system enables you to release the true value of your digital resources.

The most important tool for achieving this goal of organization is the digital asset management system itself; which is often simply referred to as a 'DAM'.

Since investing in a DAM system is generally a long-term decision, we recommend getting detailed information not only on the types of tools (or features) offered by each provider, but also on how these will meet your specific needs.

Naturally, you want to find a provider offering functionality that will be beneficial to you and your organization. You'll also want to ask about how frequently updates are made to the system. Since software technology is always changing, the best providers will be committed to staying ahead of the curve; developing and implementing feature updates regularly.

At LightRocket Enterprise, we've looked at essential functionality like metadata editing and worked on refining how this works, implementing innovations designed to save time and improve efficiency.

For example, we've added a unique second description field, allowing users to write a general paragraph that can be applied to batch of files before adding specific info relevant to each individual asset. The system further allows these fields to be modified using 'add' and 'replace', ensuring valuable data is not overwritten.

You'll also want to look out for integrations. What other platforms can your prospective DAM system integrate with - are there any integrations you don't see that you'll likely need? Are there lots of integrations that you'll never use? For example, being able to directly embed images from your DAM system to social media platforms may be essential for you, if so, this is an integration you'll want to ensure is available.

The ability to integrate with other platforms and to embrace new AI technology are becoming essential tools within the digital asset management universe.

Read more about how innovation and service are the two essential ingredients for a future-proof DAM system.

This is the question everyone wants a reassuring answer to. Will our assets be safe? What are the risks of cloud storage? Will a DAM system protect my sensitive data?

The honest answer is that zero-risk doesn't exist. Security is all about understanding what risks you're exposed to, recognizing that security threats are continuously evolving, and then developing a strategy to ensure that your risks are reduced to the absolute minimum.

Of course, just knowing that Amazon is the 'bees' knees' when it comes to the durability of their servers, doesn't make their servers immune from a worst-case scenario. As a result, it's also important that your DAM system provider creates regular disk snapshots and database backups.

Using AWS isn't the only factor that impacts the security of your digital assets, although it is an important one. Having a dedicated security team is also an essential part of any good DAM system provider's service. As is their track record for data loss.

Online security is so much more than just keeping files safe in the cloud. Security is about privacy, about fending off ill-intentioned hackers and about keeping networks safe. Beyond the nuts and bolts of keeping servers safe, security is also about the simple need for your peace of mind.

LightRocket Enterprise is active in all areas of security, keeping our clients' assets and systems as safe as they can be. We understand that keeping our systems and our clients' digital archives secure is an ongoing challenge, which is why we have our own dedicated security unit. It's also why we have never lost any data.

Discover more about the ever-evolving world of security in digital asset management.

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) signals the beginning of a new era. AI has already radically changed our lives in many ways, and it will continue to do so.

But what does this mean for digital asset management?

AI does represent some significant opportunities for digital asset management. At LightRocket Enterprise, we're already leveraging AI's powerful visual search capabilities, using AI to analyze images and generate appropriate tags. However, although AI works well in tagging physical attributes in images and video, it is still lacking in understanding the symbolic messages that these visual files may carry. For now, this remains a human-only ability. We see AI as a way to enhance visual searches while not yet offering a reliable replacement for tags added by humans.

AI is also useful where facial recognition is concerned. In the world of DAM, AI driven facial recognition can be integrated into digital asset management workflows. This can help organize visual files according to the people who appear in them. For example, once files are tagged with a certain face, the search functionality can then retrieve all files that contain the same face.

Read more about AI and digital asset management

Media Asset Management (MAM) refers to the software, and the process, used to store and organize high volumes of media rich files; such as video, images, and audio files.

Based on these file types, it's easy to see how MAM originated in the film and broadcasting industries. MAM systems were created to solve the issue of handling large quantities of these media rich files. This was especially important in video production, as files not only needed to be stored securely, but they also needed to be easily retrievable.

As MAM was initially developed to solve the issues of video production, it is somewhat limited in its overall ability to work with other types of files. It works well for broadcasting and production teams (or any team that works with a large volume of media rich files). However, as the production and broadcasting industry evolves, it no longer only uses video, images, and audio. For this reason, more video production and broadcasting teams are now opting to use a digital asset management (DAM) platform, as these support a wider variety of file types.

When it comes to media asset management (and digital asset management, of course), the LightRocket Enterprise team brings a wealth of experience to the table. We have first-hand experience of editorial workflows where high volumes of media files are ingested, validated, edited, and published for download and distribution.

The baseline for all digital asset management (DAM) systems is their ability to safely store, centralize, organize, control access to, securely distribute, and render findable all file types. These same core operational principles also apply to media asset management (MAM) platforms, which are more focused on handling video, audio and multimedia files.

The LightRocket Enterprise system is considered a DAM because it handles PDFs, Word documents, Excel files, PowerPoint presentations, as well as video, audio, and image files. This being said, the majority of our clients use our system to manage media archives comprised mainly of photos and videos.

As the need for DAM systems has increased, so has the number of DAM providers. Today, you'll find an array of digital asset management (DAM) systems out there of which LightRocket Enterprise is but one (excellent) example.

Your average CMS is all about pushing content out to the web. In essence, a good CMS will let you build a dynamic website without having to know any code. WordPress is perhaps the best-known example of a CMS. Purchase a theme, tweak a few easily accessible parameters, upload some content and hey presto you have a pro-looking website (note that WordPress sites are notoriously vulnerable to hackers).

It can be very handy, however, to have a DAM system which integrates smoothly with CMS platforms, which is something LightRocket Enterprise does really well.

Customer Relation Management (CRM) platforms are focused on managing contacts and tracking leads through a sales funnel - which is totally different from a DAM system.

Now when it comes to digital asset management systems, there are shades of gray too. Some platforms lean much more heavily into brand management. One well-known DAM platform called Brandfolder, even included a nod to this preference in its name.

These kinds of DAM systems place greater emphasis on managing marketing collateral and are less adapted to the more serious challenge of managing institutional archives and high-volume workflows of media files that require careful classification and indexing.

Needless to say, this is where LightRocket Enterprise comes into its own. Our system is perfectly calibrated for managing large, dynamic, and high value archives - and it comes with all the consultancy and support a client could need.

Discover why there's no substitute for a DAM System.

Let's keep it simple. When you're looking for a DAM system, just as with any other service or product, your first concern should be value for money.

This means asking yourself “is my investment going to deliver a sufficient return, is it going to be worthwhile adopting this system?” You can calculate returns in terms of time saved, efficiencies gained, and security delivered. Ultimately, however, value for money is all about balance.

Ultimately, you want to find a provider that suits your needs, that's within your budget (with no sneaky, hidden costs), and who offers ongoing support and training.

Want to find out more? Discover 4 important things to consider when buying a DAM system.

Or read more about how to choose a digital asset management system that works for you.

Like with any growing industry, the wonderful world of DAM is seeing a growing need for professionals who are specialized in archive management.

It goes without saying that the person who manages your digital assets should be the same person who manages your digital asset management system. Why? Because if you've got enough digital assets to merit investing in a DAM system, then you're going to need someone who knows how to work with your system.

We're often surprised that many large organizations struggle with their ballooning digital archives. Even if they are aware they face a problem, they may not always see the value in investing in the human (let alone the software) resources needed to resolve the issue.

Your ideal DAM Manager is someone who has an eye for detail, is passionate about conservation, understands different file types and might, as a bonus, have a qualification in library science. A DAM Manager should become the point-person for all archive and media management questions and should be an ardent promoter of your organization's DAM platform.

Purchasing a DAM system is just one step towards solving the digital asset management challenge, deploying your DAM, populating it, promoting it, and keeping it updated are all reasons why DAM systems need DAM Managers. Or at the very least, they need an administrator who is nominated to oversee digital asset management issues.

The first task of a DAM Manager is to lay down protocols, establishing which files can be submitted, what metadata should be added to uploaded content, who should have access to what, where quality thresholds should be set, and how the system and workflows should be defined to best match the unique contours of your organization.

Your DAM Manager will need to keep an eye on incoming content, manage contributors, track usage and downloads, and interact with your DAM platform provider. A good DAM Manager will always have one eye on the horizon, evaluating how things are working now and imagining how they can be improved in the future.

Want to find out more about the role of a DAM Manager? Read the blog post below.

For a lot of organizations, knowing they need a solution to their ever-expanding, fragmented, and chaotic digital archives is one thing. Imagining how thousands (maybe even tens or hundreds of thousands) of files can be safely migrated into a brand-new centralized DAM platform is quite another.

Your DAM system provider should take the pain out of file migration, ensuring that your migration is smooth and speedy. The goal is to get your new DAM system up and running with maximum efficiency and in minimum time.

The first step is evaluation. To estimate the complexities and challenges associated with any migration, your DAM system provider will need to know how much data will be involved, as well as the composition of that data (especially in terms of file types).

The next phase in the migration process involves a review of source locations. Where are your files stored? Will you be migrating from hard drives, from a server or from a legacy service provider? Once your service provider has a sense of scale and an understanding of where your files will be migrated from, their team will likely audit the status of your archive in terms of metadata.

If for any reason, your files' original metadata is not standard that shouldn't be a problem either. Your DAM provider will likely need to map the original metadata from the source fields, so they are migrated to target IPTC fields in your system.

Discover more about busting the DAM migration myth, and why migrating your DAM system shouldn't be a headache

Digital data has become the lifeblood of our professional lives and global systems. In the space of just a few decades, we have transitioned from analogue to digital. Paper documents have been replaced by PDFs. Photographic film by digital files. Celluloid movies by digital cinema.

The digital revolution was supposed to make life more efficient, simpler, less cluttered, and in many ways it has. On the other hand, we have replaced one challenge with another. Where once we needed to file documents and pictures away in draws and cabinets, now we squirrel away their digital counterparts on hard drives and servers.

Enter the digital asset management (DAM) system.

Think museums, schools and universities, research institutions, NGOs, and international organizations. All of these places have digital archives that are paramount to the functioning of the organization.

When it comes to the larger organizations (such as the World Health Organization, The European Broadcast Union or the World Intellectual Property Organization) the need for and value of a DAM platform is pretty obvious. These large organizations have accumulated vast and valuable archives that absolutely need conserving.

Such organizations actively document their activities, and they are often called upon to use the power of media (pictures and videos in particular) to communicate with the public on issues that relate to their core mandate. For such organizations, a powerful DAM is essential.

But DAM systems are not limited to large organizations. Step sideways for a moment and imagine the commercial sphere. More DAM scenarios start to spring to mind. Any company that makes and sells physical products is going to accumulate vast quantities of digital assets: marketing collateral, images of products in development, promo pictures, pictures of damaged products. Almost every aspect of this kind of business will benefit from a centralized, organized, access-controlled, and secure digital asset management system.

Discover why DAM systems are useful platforms that most organisations never knew they needed.

Many non-profits, especially in the emergency aid sector, find themselves at the cutting edge of history. They conduct research and field work which impacts the lives of many around the globe. Visual assets are created when non-profits document their work, they are deployed when promoting their mandate and are essential when reaching out to potential donors for funding.

As you can imagine, these valuable digital assets must be indexed, labelled, securely stored, and be easily accessible for teams around the globe. As a result, the work of these NPOs, stored in their digital archives, have become vital facets of our global heritage.

Find out how the World Health Organization is taking advantage of LightRocket Enterprise DAM.

It's amazing just how many small businesses could benefit from deploying a digital asset management system. Just start adding up how many aspects of any business will likely involve creating media assets - documenting conferences, exhibitions, signing ceremonies, new products, marketing collateral, branding materials, corporate portraits, videos, and so on.

Read more about how this small business, Alexander Lamont uses our DAM platform for processes across their business, from manufacturing to sales.

But is investing in a digital asset management system worth it? Many small businesses are likely to feel that purchasing a DAM system is a luxury they can't afford. And for some of the pricing that exists, that might be true. However, there are providers, such as LightRocket Enterprise, who offer a flexible pricing system that can be tailored to the scale and needs of their clients.

Read more about how these clients are utilizing the strength of a DAM system in their organisations.

With deep roots in photography (both our co-founders come from a photojournalist background), we know exactly how valuable a digital asset management system can be for photographers and for photo agencies.

Reflecting our first-hand editorial experience (way back when, we even had our own photo agency), the core functionality and interface of LightRocket Enterprise's DAM system was developed from our understanding of photographer and photo agency workflows.

With this in mind, we can certainly say that photographers and photo agencies can benefit greatly from using a digital asset management system.

Discover how picture agencies can benefit from using a digital asset management system.

Our credibility in this field is partly reflected by a long-standing partnership with industry leader, Getty Images. Selected photo agencies using the LightRocket Enterprise DAM are able to feed files directly to the Getty platform (although files are first checked by a team of LightRocket Enterprise editors). Over a million pictures have already flowed through our DAM platform and are now available on Getty.

Learn more about how photo agency SOPA Images benefits from Digital Asset Management.

Preservation is a huge aspect of the value that digital asset management systems provide. It goes without saying that DAM systems should be considered as an essential tool for almost any museum.

Implementing a DAM system empowers museum teams by giving them the tools they need to ensure that their archives are safe, centralized, and accessible when they need them.

For many museums, their DAM system becomes an essential part of their digital infrastructure, even offering the public controlled access to material that might otherwise remain out of sight. DAM systems have the ability to make rare and historic content as public or as private as the museum chooses.

Digital asset management systems provide not only security for a museum's digital archives, but they also enable these archives to become searchable.