northplains Whitepaper Differentiating DAM from ECM What Do You Really Need? Connecting your world. Visually.

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1 Whitepaper Differentiating DAM from ECM What Do You Really Need? Both analysts and organizations can agree on one thing - the recent and unprecedented rise in demand for multi-media assets has driven the need for sophisticated solutions to help better manage the creation and distribution of digital content. However, because DAM and ECM share many important similarities, there is some confusion about where one ends and the other begins as well as their best application. This paper explores some of the key technology differentiators, including how and when best to apply each one. northplains

2 IDC believes the digital asset management market will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of more than 25% during the period of Defining Digital Asset Management Digital asset management, or DAM, is often described as a process or a tool for organizing the creation, management, distribution and archiving of rich media assets. In the DAM world, the term assets generally refers to rich media files such as images, photos, video and audio, whereas a file generally refers to , documents, records, or scanned images. Creative agencies, publishers, broadcasters and media outlets have long realized the wisdom of utilizing DAM solutions in the production of their media assets including managing digital rights, conferring with clients, handling review cycles, retouching images, and editing photos and videos. But until recently, many other enterprises have relied on enterprise content management solutions or with feature-limited, home-grown DAM tools to manage both documents and digital assets. Why DAM? Why Now? The recent proliferation in demand for multi-media assets has seen the importance of DAM soar. Contributing factors include: the pervasive use of rich media such as flash and video on web pages; increases in network bandwidth capacity; increased use of creative authoring applications such as Adobe Creative Suite 3; the complexity and large size of rich media such as video and graphic animations; and the requirement for sophisticated rights management functionality. It is increasingly common for businesses of all kinds to produce corporate videos and podcasts, e-learning modules, YouTube clips, training materials, brand identity graphics, and sophisticated web content. Just as ECM systems harness knowledge; DAM systems bring order to the creative process involved with producing and leveraging these assets to their fullest extent. 1 northplains.com

3 As video assets become a de facto requirement for all businesses, this distinction becomes increasingly important. Specialized video workflow is needed. A recent Forrester report noted, With technologies like digital cameras and inexpensive authoring tools driving asset creation costs down, digital assets are greatly increasing in number and these rich media are being used across a wider range of enterprises. Inadequate management of these growing libraries, however, will make reusing and repurposing difficult, leading many organizations to take another look at DAM. Analysts at IDC concur: IDC believes the digital asset management market will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of more than 25% during the period of , outperforming the overall content management market and the software market as a whole, by a wide margin DAM will remain an independent and lively market given the specialized requirements of DAM solutions. Organizations need to create an end-to-end digital media supply chain that supports the creation, integration, repurposing and distribution of digital assets. Customers from many industries benefit from DAM software solutions for the management, collaboration and distribution of digital assets. Forcing ECM systems to handle the complexities of DAM requirements only leads to frustration and disappointment. What s the DAM Difference? Enterprise content management (ECM) solutions offer an efficient method to manage a company s static information. According to Gartner, ECM is really an umbrella term representing a vision and framework for integrating a broad range of content management technologies and content formats. Because digital assets such as audio and video are considered unstructured information, industry experts consider DAM to be a component of ECM. Another point of misconception is the belief that document management (DM) encompasses digital asset management. This unfortunately leads to confusion when selecting the most appropriate solution for organizations. Digital asset management solutions provide deep integration functionality with creative authoring applications such as Adobe Creative Suite 3 or Quark. While it s true that ECM solutions excel at managing knowledge DAM is king when it comes to managing the creation, editing, publishing and the distribution workflows around rich, multi-media assets. DAM and ECM share many important similarities, and, as noted above, this may lend to the confusion about their best application. Both solutions offer workflows for managing files, and provide audit histories and version control. They both use metadata for indexing, quick searching and retrieval. However, while the preceding functions may appear similar, it is important to note that DAM specializes in managing rich media assets such as video, audio, and photographs, while ECM is more suited to manage simple office files such as text and Excel documents, , and scanned images such as faxes. northplains.com 2

4 DAM systems are involved in all aspects of the creative workflow process, back-end content distribution and revenue generation through the repurposing of existing content. Understanding Key Distinctions Perhaps the best method for understanding the key distinctions between a DAM and ECM systems is by exploring a specific example of its application. For the creative professional, the content management solution might be able to manage the photo file type in its repository and enable limited metadata to be applied, but that s about it. Every time they need the photo, they must log into the DM system, check it out, open it up in Adobe Photoshop, make changes, save it to their desktop, open up the DM system, and add the new version to the repository. They can then their colleague, notifying them of the changes, and hope that their colleague takes over the editing workflow from that point on. This process repeated over and over as necessary for other projects. Using a DAM solution enables this same professional to open the stored photo in the DAM repository directly in Adobe Photoshop. Edits are made, and saved directly through the native application. Once competed, an automatic is sent notifying the changes that were made. Automated workflow processes facilitate the photo editing until it reaches its ultimate destination which in this case is a magazine. Rights and permissions are applied at every stage of the workflow, and that very same photo (along with all previous versions) is available for reuse by other team members for different projects. Additionally, because this photo is securely stored in the DAM repository, its file size does not pose any sharing limitations, collaboration or file transfers. The Benefits of DAM Organizations deploying specialized DAM solutions typically realize the following benefits: Cost savings Organizations gain immediate ROI by eliminating redundant asset creation efforts; quickly retrieving, editing and redistributing assets; redeploying resources to other mission-critical projects. Generation of new revenue streams Organizations derive new revenue by converting and repurposing existing content like book covers to promote their ebooks. Consider an image that costs thousands of dollars to create and recreate multiple times. With DAM, it can be reused. Without DAM, its existence may not be known and the re-creation costs become reoccurring. Brand and messaging continuity Built-in revision control, asset repurposing, and approval processes ensures organizations maintain consistent use and re-expression of digital assets, from brochures and corporate videos to web content. 3 northplains.com

5 Digital Media Management and Distribution DAM systems enable the efficient organization, indexing, and distribution of digital assets. Advanced DAM systems provide a distributed architecture and multi-site asset storage, as well as the ability to provide multiple repositories for self-synchronization of both assets and their associated metadata. This means professionals can quickly and easily find and create what they need and distribute it to their intended audience with the click of a few buttons. Global Web-Based Access Organizations can distribute digital masters and other types of licensed assets via secure web access. Advanced DAM systems also provide asset ordering and fulfillment modules that can easily integrate with existing ecommerce and transaction servers. Not only can organizations quickly access their files from any web interface, they can create new revenue streams and sell their assets via virtual storefronts. Forward-thinking organizations are choosing DAM solutions that support the creative process while enabling the approval and distribution workflow capabilities they need. The Bottom Line DAM s capabilities are vastly different from anything ECM vendors can offer, which is merely to incorporate media assets into a searchable ecosystem. True DAM systems are involved in all aspects of the creative workflow process, back-end content distribution and revenue generation through the repurposing of existing content. Forcing ECM systems to handle the complexities of DAM requirements only leads to frustration and disappointment. A better approach is to find a solution that best meets each distinct requirement within your organization. Then ensure that your core digital asset management needs are met with a best-of-breed DAM solution. Use your DAM solution to create, collaborate, and edit creative assets. Once that s done, simply select the best way to distribute them. ECM systems can t do that. While many ECM vendors offer very basic DAM functionality, many have lost touch with the both the creative and collaborative process integral to the creation of rich media assets. ECM systems may support the ability to attach static images or short video clips, but the proper management of rich media assets requires a more sophisticated approach. Forwardthinking organizations are choosing DAM solutions that support the creative process while enabling the approval and distribution workflow capabilities they need. Selecting the best DAM solution leverages the expertise of both knowledge management and creative workflow process to their fullest extent saving precious time and resources, while unlocking new revenue opportunities not possible with legacy systems or feature-limited ECM solutions. northplains.com 4

6 North Plains North Plains Telescope DAM Platforms Telescope is an award-winning digital asset management platform that enables the secure access, management and distribution of all digital and rich media content across an entire organization. With its distributed and modular architecture, Telescope is designed to meet the diverse range of rich media needs from small and mid-size businesses and design studios, to the complex business challenges of global enterprises. Whether you re a new creative shop just starting out; growing so quickly that your asset inventory is getting out of control; or a globally distributed organization with millions of assets to manage, North Plains Telescope platform is ready to meet your unique business challenges. North Plains DAM Leadership As the global market leader, North Plains Telescope platforms are the only DAM solutions to offer true end-to-end digital media supply chain experience that supports the creation, integration and repurposing of digital assets in mission-critical applications. Customers from all industries and geographies are reaping significant and tangible business efficiency improvements from North Plains Telescope platforms. Its expertise in delivering industry-leading digital asset management software solutions is reshaping the way companies manage, collaborate and distribute their digital assets. 5 northplains.com

7 About North Plains North Plains is recognized as the world leader in helping companies effectively leverage their visual media including images, graphics, videos, presentations, 3D designs and others to maximize market success. Providing a complete portfolio of products, services, and solutions, North Plains is uniquely positioned to help corporate marketers, advertisers, content creaters, and publishers to be more agile throughout the creative marketing lifecycle, from the creative development process to the management and distribution of marketing and brand communications. Customers can maintain control of their visual assets and support processes globally, while improving collaboration and efficiency. Since 1994, North Plains has helped its customers stay ahead of their rapidly changing marketing needs by expanding and evolving its suite of offerings to include Digital Asset Management (DAM). Marketing Resource Management (MRM), Brand Asset Management (BAM), Creative Workflow and more. With offices in Canada, USA and Europe, North Plains counts many of the world s leading companies and brands among its 1,400+ clients and 1,000,000+ users HEADQUARTERS (CANADA) 510 Front Street West, 4th Floor Toronto, ON M5V 3H3 Canada Phone: (416) UNITED STATES 2560 Ninth St., Suite 312 Berkeley, CA USA Phone: (510) UNITED KINGDOM Zetland House 5-25 Scrutton Street London, EC2A 4HJ UK Phone: +44 (0) GERMANY Orleansstrasse Munich, Germany Phone: +49 (0) Copyright 2013 North Plains. All Rights Reserved. Voice Fax [email protected] northplains.com 6