Digital Asset Management Software

What is a Digital Asset Management Software?

Digital Asset Management (DAM) Software is, at a minimum, a repository for marketing assets. Typically this includes brand media, images, video, or any digital object that relates to the enterprise's brand and image. This software is also commonly referred to as Brand Asset Management.

Alternatively, this type of software might be described as brand management software. Its nearest cousin is enterprise asset management (EAM) software. However, with DAM systems, the emphasis is not only on storing assets but on aggregating, arranging, updating, editing, and deploying them. The overall purpose of a DAM is to strengthen the image of the company and its products via creative marketing and media.

Digital Asset Management Software Features

Most DAM platforms have features around the following areas of functionality:

Single Source of Truth

The DAM presents an up-to-date, synchronized, and highly searchable repository for marketing assets. This is core to the design of all DAM platforms. As enterprise assets proliferate the DAM should help keep the corporate librarian in control.

Intuitive and Navigable Portals and Catalogs with Access Control

Access to the repository is intuitive so that assets are discoverable. Access is controlled so that assets are safe. This is important because often creative is outsourced to third parties. Thus a DAM should be easy to navigate but difficult to violate with restrictions like one-time download, limited-access windows, and more.

Tagging, Metadata, and Categorization

DAMs should intelligently support the categorization of digital assets with various tools (e.g. facial recognition, tagging) that support rapid sorting and discovery of these visual assets. This speeds content retrieval, combination, and deployment workflow.

Search & Filter

A key part of the DAM platform’s organizational scheme is an intelligent search feature. Search filters take advantage of all that metadata.

Guidelines, Monitoring, and Governance

The DAM should present controls to govern how brand assets are used, ensuring compliance with corporate and brand standards.

Creative Workflow

Digital Asset Management platforms should support the collaboration, editing, and approval process with workflow controls and dashboard interfaces. This is very similar to project management suites but for the kinds of assets (e.g. video, images) typically edited and approved by a DAM.

Integrations vs. Suites: The DAM/WCM Connection

Digital Asset Management Platforms are also creative and deployment/distribution platforms, preparing media to go live. For this reason, they must integrate with the web content management systems (WCMS) used by the enterprise. Or sometimes vendors offer suite products with integrated DAM and WCMS.

Digital Asset Management Software Comparison

Before deciding to invest in a DAM solution, consider the following key factors:

1. DAM vs. CMS: While both types of software store and manage marketing content, they have very different use cases. DAMs help store, manage, and distribute marketing assets throughout the internal organization. CMS platforms, on the other hand, are designed to enable users to create, edit, and deploy content across external channels. Traditional CMS platforms are typically tied to a website front-end, but headless CMS platforms can push out content across all types of channels and endpoints using content APIs. Before making a purchase, ask yourself if you’re looking for a solution that will manage internal vs. external marketing content.
2. Integrations: Do the digital asset management platforms you’re considering integrate with the other technology your team is already using? Looking outside your own team, are there other stakeholders that are using other platforms that would benefit from being integrated with the DAM? Having the right integrations in place will help ensure your DAM can act as the true single source of truth for digital asset management and storage. Make sure the DAM you end up purchasing can integrate with the other tools your team and business are using.
3. Pricing model: Different DAM vendors may have slightly different pricing models, depending on the number of users, the amount of storage required, and the breadth of features included. Some platforms may have what looks like a very reasonable pricing model, only to have skyrocketing costs once your use of the system expands as your business scales. Make sure you fully understand the long-term pricing model of the platform before making a purchase decision.

Pricing Information

DAM pricing is complex because of the number of factors to be taken into consideration. As with all business software, it’s extremely important to have a good sense of the organization’s needs as a starting point. It’s also important to understand the quantity and type of digital assets to be managed, the media workflows, and the people who will be administering and using the system. An enterprise-level SaaS DAM can cost upwards of $30,000 per year. SMB versions are significantly cheaper.