The way your organization does digital asset management can make or break the success of a lot of your campaigns. David Diamond is the author of DAM Survival Guide. We thought we’d give him a little space in this blog to introduce you to the book and lay out some of the key factors you should consider when making any DAM decisions.
A guest post by David Diamond
After more than 14 years in the digital asset management industry, I decided it was time to do a “brain dump” of the things I found to be most important for the success of digital asset management (DAM) initiatives. This became DAM Survival Guide.
What compelled me to write DAM Survival Guide was that I could find no published materials that warned people about what a mess DAM can become when it’s not done right. There are plenty digital asset management white papers and webinars on the Web, but virtually all of them are sponsored by some party tied to a particular software solution. DAM is not (just) software—it’s a layer of policy, process and technology that you drape over the way you conduct business. It reaches into every nook and cranny of what you do, and if you’re not careful, DAM can do more harm than good.
Inside DAM Survival Guide you’ll find everything you need to guide yourself through the many decisions you’ll need to make before you’re ready to launch DAM at your organization:
- What is DAM? What technologies are available, and which matter most for what you’re trying to do?
- Do you really need DAM at all? I’ve seen many organizations buy DAM software they didn’t need simply because they purchased before they planned. On the other hand, there are scores of organizations who do need DAM, but have no idea where to start.
- Which DAM software should you choose to support your initiative? People often make this their first big DAM decision, but it should be one of the last. You won’t know which system fits you best until you understand your needs and goals.
- How do you go about making DAM work at your organization? Who else should be involved? When should you get them involved? How do you go about getting buy-in from the top?
Digital asset initiative planning is not rocket science, but because it shines such a harsh a light on internal business practices, it can cause confusion and unearth other issues. For some organizations, the pursuit of DAM is the first time they’ve ever been forced to take a hard look at the way they do things. This exercise alone often makes DAM initiative planning worth the effort.
I hope DAM Survival Guide helps readers navigate their digital asset management initiatives with more confidence and knowledge so that every minute and dollar they spend will be well spent.
DAM Survival Guide is available now from Amazon in print and Kindle editions.
About the Author
David Diamond is the author of DAM Survival Guide, a digital asset management book that details DAM initiative planning. Diamond worked for no DAM vendor while writing the book, freeing him to write an honest, unbiased work that neither favors nor mentions any DAM software by name. Diamond now directs global marketing for DAM software vendor Picturepark. Follow Diamond on Twitter (@DAMSurvival) or visit DAMSurvivalGuide.com to learn more.
