What is Digital Asset Management?

Transcription

1 What is Digital Asset Management? Digital Asset Management (DAM) is a buzzword that simply means this: a centralized repository for all your digital content. With a DAM system you can organize, archive, access and distribute all your digital content such as images, documents, creative files, audio and video clips. Why are organizations just now beginning to recognize the value of their digital assets and the critical need for a system to efficiently manage them? The digital asset explosion Digital asset management has gained popularity due in part to the increasingly large amounts of digital assets we interact with in a daily basis. A recent Gartner report (Dec 08) states that by 2013, more than 25% of the content that workers see in a day will be dominated by pictures, video or audio. As these large amounts of digital assets such as images, documents, creative files, audio and video clips grow, so does our need to manage them efficiently. Without a good system in place to manage their digital assets, a company experiences lost time and productivity, chaos and confusion, no history of where the correct version lives, and the decision to continue searching for the appropriate asset or re-create/re-purchase the missing file. According to IDC, an enterprise with one thousand knowledge workers loses a minimum of $6 million a year searching and not finding information, and wastes a minimum of $5 million per year duplicating information that already exists within the enterprise. Clearly, digital assets have a value and when not managed properly, can cost an organization millions of dollars.

2 What is Digital Asset Management? Page 2 Why digital asset management? Digital asset management (DAM) allows organizations to catalog, retrieve, distribute and preserve large collections of valuable digital assets. Let s discuss some of the benefits of implementing a digital asset management system: Cost reduction Leverage print content for digital and vice versa Repurpose existing digital content to decrease content production costs Global access and distribution Centrally catalog, store and protect digital assets Dynamically distribute assets to internal and external teams Brand and usage continuity Ensure that only approved assets are available to others Ensure assets are used based on their licensing requirements Efficiency Quickly find and retrieve assets Eliminate repetitive tasks or redundant asset creation Improve collaboration and communication Bring new products and services to market faster Choosing a digital asset management solution DAM systems run the gamut from simple desktop archival software to extremely powerful (and often costly) enterprise solutions. It is important to decide what you will actually use, and not invest in the bells and whistles until you have a simple centralized system up and running. Best case, you should look for a solution that will scale. That way you do not invest a tremendous amount upfront, only to discover you are not using much of the advance functionality. This saves a lot of money. More importantly, since DAM is about efficiency, starting smaller also saves many hours, weeks or even months of rollout time. A good digital asset management solution should be flexible to adapt to the needs of your organization. Below are best practices for how to use digital asset management: Digital asset library and archive Create a single central location to store and protect your digital assets.

3 What is Digital Asset Management? Page 3 Asset centralization A one-stop shop for organizing and finding your entire library of rich media files provides a clear advantage over scavenging through hard drives or CDs/DVDs to find images, documents, videos, audio clips, PDF files and more. Asset distribution From one central asset repository, create on-demand web portals where your internal and external teams can grab the exact files they need from anywhere, at any time without you or your team having to service the request. You can create as many web portals as you need, and customize it to fit the needs of your audience. Workflow automation Use your digital asset management system as a visual database that integrates with your creative applications, speeds-up and even automates your workflow. Brand management Control who gets what and automatically ensure consistent branding by giving sales, partners, clients and vendors easy access to only the right files: sales collateral, graphics, images, presentations, videos, etc. Conclusion Whether you re in marketing and advertising, photography, printing and publishing, government, broadcast and media, education, museums or non-profit organizations, a good DAM system will help you save time and money while at the same time provide you with the tools you need to manage all your digital assets. To learn more about digital asset management, visit: About Extensis Extensis is a software developer that allows creative workgroups and professionals to streamline their workflow and securely manage their digital assets. Portfolio Server is Extensis flagship digital asset management product and is used by hundreds of Fortune 5000 companies. For more information about Portfolio Server family of products, visit North America: Europe: +44 (0) Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. This document and the software described in it are copyrighted with all rights reserved. This document or the software described may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Extensis, except in the normal use of the software, or to make a backup copy of the software. This exception does not allow copies to be made for others. Licensed under U.S. patents issued and pending. DAM_WhatIsDAM_0909

4 How to Create a Logical and Manageable Folder Structure By Shellie L. Hall Getting organized was always a chore for me when I was growing up. I was the messy one and my brother was the neat one. Every so often, I can still hear the words of my mom echo in my head, There is a place for everything, and everything should be in its place. I have truly come to understand and believe in those words, which have helped me many times during my life to get organized, both personally and professionally. As a Technical Solutions Evangelist, I visit many customer sites and work with them to develop and organize their Asset Management Workflows. Often times, the customer is at such a point of frustration in trying to organize their digital assets, that they have just given up and don t even know where to begin. One of the mistakes that is commonly made when beginning to build a folder structure, is an attempt to implement a high level of granularity rather than just starting at the beginning, with just one top tier level folder simply named Current Projects. The most efficient way to develop the folder structure is with the use of a pyramid-type folder diagram. For this example, we will develop folder structure for a Marketing Communications Department (MarCom). The types of assets in use at a MarCom may include: press releases, publicity photos, videos, audio clips, and layout files for print including placed artwork. The key to developing a manageable folder structure is to create a standard folder structure for each MarCom project. So let s create the basic folder structure that will house all of our various types of digital media. This folder structure covers all types of projects that the MarCom Dept. current creates. With the additional Miscellaneous Folder any special or custom project elements can be easily located and stored. Creating this basic folder structure will enable you to maintain consistency throughout your projects. Each project team member will be able to create, store and locate digital assets without having to search multiple locations. This project folder template should be stored in a central location that houses your digital assets. As new projects are created, you can simply copy and paste the folder structure to the appropriate location on your file server, change the Project Name folder to the name of your project, and you now have a manageable folder structure. You must remember that it doesn t matter digital assets don t yet reside in each and every one of the folders. When a project is brand new, it is generally in the planning phase, which means you are planning for the development of the project. And if your clients are anything like mine, the project will

5 How to Create a Logical and Manageable Folder Structure Page 2 grow and take on a life of it s own during the creative process. Let s take a look at the digital asset folder structure that MarCom has created and for the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Project. As the project grows, the folder structure expands to accommodate all of the various elements of the project, but the topmost level folder structure does not change. The project folder name has been changed to Chicago 2016 and 2nd tier folders have been added to the Print folder. Additional tier folders have been added to Images, while individual digital files have been added to the first level folders of Audio, Press Releases and Video. Remember, the way to be successful in managing your folder structure is to be consistent in your architecture and don t try to create everything at once. Your project s folder structure will grow right along with your project. With these tips, you are well on your way to creating a logical and manageable folder structure. North America: Europe: +44 (0) Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. This document and the software described in it are copyrighted with all rights reserved. This document or the software described may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Extensis, except in the normal use of the software, or to make a backup copy of the software. This exception does not allow copies to be made for others. Licensed under U.S. patents issued and pending. DAM_FolderStructure_0909

6 5 Tips for Advanced Metadata Management By Shellie L. Hall Metadata Management is the process of ensuring that all metadata associated with a digital asset is captured, organized, stored and made available for use by and within other applications. Metadata Management begins at the moment the digital asset is created by an application or captured by digital imaging. Okay, so that s my in a nutshell definition of Metadata Management. But let s take a step back to the beginning, and solve some of these mysteries of metadata. First of all, what is metadata? Well, according to Merriam-Webster s Dictionary; meta da ta a noun plural but singular or plural in construction : data that provides information about other data. in other words, data about data as it refers to an electronic or digital file. Metadata is critical in ensuring that your digital assets will be accessible far into the future. meta da ta noun plural but singular or plural in construction : data that provides information about other data Merriam-Webster s Dictionary Now, I suppose you may be wondering how metadata is generated. Where exactly does it come from? Metadata is being generated from the moment you create a new document in Photoshop or use your digital camera to capture an image. Metadata generated by Photoshop includes information such as; document creation date, document page size, color mode and resolution, just to name a few. Metadata generated when you capture an image includes information such as; the date the image was taken, whether or not a flash was used, if there was any special aperture or exposure settings, and so on. Now that you have an understanding of what metadata is and where it comes from, here are some tips to help you get started with managing your metadata. Tip #1 The first step in managing your metadata is to gain an understanding of what metadata you want to manage. For example, you would like to find a photo of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, which was taken at night. How do you locate that particular image? Well, at Google.com it s simple. Just click on the Images tab, and type in Eiffel Tower at night, and you will get a full page of results. Now that is fast and efficient. How fast and efficient do you want to be?

7 5 Tips for Advanced Metadata Management Page 2 Determine which metadata is essential to your asset management workflow. Do you want to be able to locate your documents by searching for project or job number? Or do you want to search by client name? Deciding which information or metadata is essential to your workflow will enable you to develop your standards for adding descriptions and keywords. This will allow you to efficiently search, locate and manage your digital assets. Tip #2 Develop good writing techniques when authoring metadata such as asset descriptions. Remember to: Stay clear of the usage of slang or jargon. Write for a general audience, not a specific gender or ethnicity. Keep it simple, but complete. Tip #3 Be consistent in your workflow. Controlling inconsistencies will ensure that your metadata is valid and useful for locating and managing your digital assets. Ensure that each person that is part of the document management process follows the workflow procedures that you have put in place. This applies to usage of keywords as well. For example, when entering names, be very specific as to whether to use the entire first name ( Katherine ) or if just the first initial ( K. ) is acceptable. Tip #4 Naming conventions are key. Use standardized naming conventions; avoid special or random filenames or characters. For example, most digital cameras have a custom file naming convention such as IMG_0836.jpg or DSCF0019.jpg. Do these filenames mean anything to you? So be sure to put filenaming standards in place, and name (or rename) your files accordingly. Tip #5 Now that you have begun your journey of Managing your Metadata it is time to put all that data to use with a Digital Asset Management Solution. Your Asset Management Solution should be carefully selected to meet all of the defined needs as well as accommodate your organization s flow of data. The software should adapt to fit your organization rather than your organization adapting to an inappropriate tool. You can find out more about Digital Asset Management Solutions at Managing your metadata takes time, a well thought out plan, and a team effort to develop and implement a standardized workflow. However these 5 tips should get you headed in the right direction. North America: Europe: +44 (0) Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. This document and the software described in it are copyrighted with all rights reserved. This document or the software described may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Extensis, except in the normal use of the software, or to make a backup copy of the software. This exception does not allow copies to be made for others. Licensed under U.S. patents issued and pending. DAM_MetadataTips_0909

8 Things to Consider When Creating a Master Keyword List By Shellie L. Hall One of the key strategies to a successful implementation of a digital asset management workflow is to create a master keyword list. Adding keywords to your assets enables you to search and locate your files quickly and accurately, and creating a master keyword list ensures consistency throughout your workflow. A master keyword list is a standard list of keywords that can be created, stored and maintained within an asset management workflow. There are many applications that take advantage of the ability to create master keyword lists such as Extensis Portfolio, Adobe Bridge, Adobe Lightroom and Aperture. When creating a master keyword list, you must take into account the most common elements and stay clear of slang or language that is directed at a certain demographic group. Keywords must be acceptable and recognizable by all individuals that may need to locate assets within a digital asset management workflow. You also need to take into account plurality of items such as cat or cats, and items that can be identified by more than one word such as house and home or bicycle and bike. Consistency from the beginning will enable you to develop a clear and concise master keyword list. The idea of a master keyword list is to make it as useful and encompassing of common terminology or references as possible. Putting restrictions in place like not allowing the use of more that one common term, such as car AND automobile can only decrease the effectiveness of your asset management workflow. An effective master keyword list should have as many of the common references or descriptions for the types of assets that you are cataloging in your workflow. So, don t feel like you have to select just one term or the other. Using several different words that have the same or similar definitions or synonyms can only enhance the users ability to search for assets. Here are some items that could be a challenge when creating your master keyword list. If you wanted to apply keywords to the photo shown here, which keywords would you apply? Would you refer to this as a car, automobile, or motor vehicle? Would you also include fallen trees or storm damage? What about natural disaster? If this image was cataloged at an insurance agency for use in an insurance

9 Things to Consider When Creating a Master Keyword List Page 2 claim, then all of the keywords that are mentioned here most likely would be part of their standard master keyword list. In addition to master keywords you might add the client name or account number as custom keywords. There are always exceptions to the master keyword list and empowering team members to add relevant or custom keywords will only enhance your workflow. The type of industry that you work in, and the types of assets that you catalog should be taken into consideration when creating your master keyword list. A college or university would have much different keywords than an environmental organization. For instance, the college may have keywords such as campus, students, academics and athletics. The environmental group may have keywords such as recycling, organic, greenhouse and biohazard. Your master keyword list should always be created with your workflow in mind. However, in addition to any complex keywords, be sure to have practical or informal keyword equivalents for those individuals that might not be as familiar with your detailed terminology. The idea of a master keyword list is to make the process of searching for assets as straightforward and effortless as possible. And last but not least, be sure to recruit other individuals that utilize the digital asset management workflow to assist you in creating the master keyword list. Teamwork is essential in coming up with a list of valid and well-defined keywords that will be the key to a successful digital asset management implementation. North America: Europe: +44 (0) Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. This document and the software described in it are copyrighted with all rights reserved. This document or the software described may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Extensis, except in the normal use of the software, or to make a backup copy of the software. This exception does not allow copies to be made for others. Licensed under U.S. patents issued and pending. DAM_MasterKeyword_1009

10 Digital Asset Management Glossary of Terms So, you re ready to enter the wild and crazy domain of digital asset management. You ve probably been to a few conferences, seen a few presentations, and maybe even talked to others about how they manage their files. Through all of your research, it s more than likely that people have thrown around one or more terms that have made you scratch your head. Fear not, we ve created this list of some commonly used digital asset management terms to help keep things straight. Catalog A catalog is the database that stores information about your assets. Catalogs do not contain the original asset, but merely a pointer to where the original asset resides, be that on the server, a CD, DVD, or elsewhere. Catalogs can contain all types of metadata that is extracted from files, as well as any custom information that you may need to track. Cataloging Cataloging, also called ingesting, refers to the process of telling your digital asset manager where to find your original files, and allowing the asset manager to extract pertinent metadata from those files. During the cataloging process, your original files may be automatically moved, renamed, have metadata extracted, as well as have custom metadata applied. DAM DAM is an acronym for Digital Asset Management. Digital Asset Management (DAM) - the process of cataloging, finding, delivering and preserving digital assets; including images, documents, video, audio and any other digital file. Digital Asset Management systems provide users with a central location to search, locate, access and share files in an easy and efficient way. Data Migration Is transferring a database (assets, metadata, folder structure, etc) from one system to another. Usually happens when one system is replacing another. Digital Negative (DNG) This is a file format created by Adobe that is publicly available and allows photographers to hold image data and access files in the future. Unlike proprietary camera raw formats that cannot be read by a variety of software applications, DNG provides a public archival format for raw files to share files across workflows.

11 Digital Asset Management Glossary of Terms Page 2 Digitization Converting a physical file, such and a paper document, slide or printed photograph, into a digital file. Dublin Core Metadata A standard for vocabulary fields used to describe an asset in an effort to expand cataloging information and find assets more easily. The fifteen metadata fields, called elements are: title, creator, subject, description, publisher, contributor, date, type, format, identifier, source, language, relation, coverage and rights. Embedding metadata The process of storing descriptive information about your file directly within the digital asset itself. Embedding metadata is important in digital asset management because it maintains the asset s information as it moves through the workflow and across different software applications. Enterprise Content Management (ECM) The term enterprise content management refers to the strategies, methods and tools to capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. It was created by the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) and is usually an enterprise-wide effort of large magnitude and includes all types of digital assets, including organizational and operational files. Because the scope of an enterprise content management solution is too broad, organizations find themselves in need of a more focused digital asset management solution to assist in the needs of creative and marketing groups and their rich media assets (images, video, audio, layout documents, PDF, etc). EXIF - Exchangeable Image File Format Is a specification for the image file format used by digital cameras, and was created by the Japan Electronic Industries Development Association. The EXIF data is embedded within the image file itself, usually jpeg or tiff, and is used by many camera manufacturers. Adobe created a better, more flexible metadata format for photography and image processing, called XMP (extensible metadata platform), but EXIF is still a very popular and supported metadata specification. Extracting metadata The ability of a digital asset management system to read and collect information about your assets, and usually occurs upon ingesting and cataloging files. This is important, as it allows users to enter metadata in other software applications that can later be used in the DAM system to help users organize and finds assets more efficiently.

12 Digital Asset Management Glossary of Terms Page 3 Folksonomy A vocabulary that uses a collaborative method to categorize your metadata, where freely chosen keywords are used instead of a controlled vocabulary (such as with taxonomy). It could lead to inconsistencies in the classification of information (kitty versus cat, for example). Ingesting Ingesting is also referred to as cataloging. The process of adding or uploading assets to your digital asset management system, and adding, embedding and extracting metadata to/from your assets. Once the assets are in your DAM system, users can search, find, share and work with your digital files. IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) A group of news agencies and vendors that develops and maintains technical standards that affect the industry. The IPTC defined a set of metadata attributes that can be applied to images and is embedded with the file, and is called IPTC header. This information travels with the digital file and is read by many software applications, but has its limitations. Adobe s XMP format is quickly becoming the most commonly used standard for images for transferring metadata. Keywording The action of assigning information to your assets to describe them better and help others find them later. Keywords become part of your digital assets metadata. Organizations usually use a combination of taxonomy and folksonomy for describing their assets. Metadata Metadata is descriptive information about your files (data about your data). Digital asset management systems rely heavily on metadata, as it s critical for searching, retrieving and managing your rich media assets. RAW A file format used by professional photographers that contains image metadata and that is yet to be processed into other formats such as jpeg or tiff. It s sometimes called digital negative. Because each digital camera manufacturer has its own raw file format, support for these raw files varies among digital asset management vendors. A more standard alternative would be to use Adobe s DNG s file format to hold image metadata. Rich media assets Enhanced digital assets such as images, graphics, illustrations, audio and video that offer a more interactive experience for users, especially when compared to simple text documents.

13 Digital Asset Management Glossary of Terms Page 4 Schema When talking about databases, your schema is the framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information. It is your structure, your list of fields (such as date, author, name, subject, etc) that you would like your catalogs to contain. Tagging Taggins is the activity of adding metadata to digital assets to annotate and categorize content. Taxonomy The technique for creating classifications, using a very controlled vocabulary. Unlike folksonomy, it is hierarchical in nature, and represents information about your assets or metadata. An organization may use taxonomy to better manage the metadata that users will assign to the digital assets. Uploading Uploading in digital asset management usually refers to the act of ingesting or cataloging assets into the DAM system. Watermarking Adding a logo, copyright information or other message to a digital asset, usually to prevent unauthorized usage. Workflow The actions taken by a group of individuals to achieve desired results. A good digital asset management solution would fit into an organization s optimized workflow and allow individuals to be more efficient in order to save time and money. XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) A standard created by Adobe for processing and storing metadata about all types of digital assets such as images, documents, layout documents, etc. Metadata is embedded into the files and allows files to be shared and transferred without any of the information getting lost. Because of its extensibility, allowing users to add their own metadata fields, it s quickly gaining popularity and replacing IPTC. XMP Toolkit Adobe provides the XMP Toolkit free of charge to vendors to help them implement metadata handling, and includes specification and documents on how to use XMP, as well as code to implement it. North America: Europe: +44 (0) Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. This document and the software described in it are copyrighted with all rights reserved. This document or the software described may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Extensis, except in the normal use of the software, or to make a backup copy of the software. This exception does not allow copies to be made for others. Licensed under U.S. patents issued and pending. DAM_Glossary_0909

14 Do I Need a Digital Asset Management System? Review the simple checklist below to determine if your organization needs digital asset management system for the hundreds, even thousands of images, documents, audio and video files it owns: Assets are everywhere: on a server or individual computers, CDs/DVDs on shelves or in file cabinets, etc. Currently using an unstructured folder arrangement and inconsistent file naming convention Burning valuable resource time looking for assets Prefer to re-create your work because it s easier than finding your old files Often end up re-purchasing assets your organization already owns Unapproved files being used by internal teams or partners There are multiple final versions and no one knows where the latest version is stored Work with creative and production applications and would like to repurpose the information from one system to the other Perform repetitive tasks such as resizing, renaming and converting files Colleagues can t find assets by themselves and you ve become the go-to person for locating assets size restrictions limit ability to share digital assets throughout the organization Sharing large files with colleagues involves a multi-step process that takes time and effort Field personnel need easy access to digital files such as images, video and other documents Website and marketing collateral materials don t have a consistent image and branding Need to easily protect your work with watermarks Don t have a secure location where files are stored and shared with others Need to protect large image collections and other file types as permanent historical records Now count up your issues and check your score: SCORE DO YOU NEED A DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM? 0-4 Possibly - you have simple needs and a process in place. However, you might want to re-evaluate if the problems you ve identified in the checklist are having a negative impact in your organization. Perhaps you already have a central location to store files, but would benefit from easily distributing your digital assets to others. A DAM system could help you optimize your workflow. 5-9 Yes. Your organization is having considerable problems that are affecting overall efficiency and productivity. A DAM system will help you organize and archive your digital content such as images, documents, creative files, audio and video clips. It will also provide your organization with a mechanism for easily finding and sharing those assets with others. 10 or more Definitely. Digital asset management is a must in your organization. By implementing a DAM system, your organization will see dramatic time savings, efficiency gains and streamlined workflows. North America: Europe: +44 (0) Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. This document and the software described in it are copyrighted with all rights reserved. This document or the software described may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Extensis, except in the normal use of the software, or to make a backup copy of the software. This exception does not allow copies to be made for others. Licensed under U.S. patents issued and pending. DAM_DoINeedDAM_1009

15 Presenting a Convincing Case for Digital Asset Management Advantages to DAM True control over your files (online and offline) Less time searching for assets Streamlined workflow Getting buy-in What do those with purchase power worry about? -- Cost -- Fear of the unknown -- ROI Identify specific pain points for those with purchase power You must convince them that: status quo = wasted time & money Compelling reasons for DAM 1. Self-service No more interruptions Other departments can find the files they need 2. Asset re-use Easy to find; easy to re-use Put an end to re-creating 3. Automate tasks Tag assets automatically during cataloging Search by need (project, status, keyword) Search locally or across network Search and find offline assets 4. Brand consistency Ensure end users are always using the right version Puts an end to: -- Using out-of-date assets -- Missing assets -- Costly reprints or re-designs 5. Strengthens relationships No more interruptionswith other departments: easy, self-service access thru client/intranet With customers: 24/7 web-based access; easy search and download With partners: easy, self-service access; always getting the right asset 6. Saves space Eliminates redundancy with assets No more bogging down and network with large files Makes it easy to archive seldom used files offline and still access them when needed 7. Saves time 0 30% creative time spent finding assets Less time chasing down assets = more time focusing on core jobs 8. Saves money! Streamlined workflow = increased productivity = more billable hours Well implemented DAM has proven ROI North America: Europe: +44 (0) Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. This document and the software described in it are copyrighted with all rights reserved. This document or the software described may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Extensis, except in the normal use of the software, or to make a backup copy of the software. This exception does not allow copies to be made for others. Licensed under U.S. patents issued and pending. DAM_ConvincingCase_0909