Digital asset management trends

Digital asset management is a systematic approach for managing digital assets. It enables you to effectively organize, store, retrieve, edit, and distribute digital assets. A DAM system typically hosts a wide range of multimedia content, including photos, videos, documents, graphics, audio files, and more. The primary purpose is to streamline asset and document management to make your life easier. Here are a few reasons why DAM is important for businesses:

• Efficient asset management
• Enhanced collaboration
• Brand consistency
• Cost savings
• Scalability
• Security and control

How does DAM work? First, digital assets are uploaded to the system and then tagged with metadata. Assets are then categorized into folders or collections to help users easily search using keywords. DAM systems feature collaboration features, allowing team members to work in tandem on refining and approving assets. Thanks to version control, the DAM system ensures that users always access the latest and approved version.

DAM is experiencing exciting developments, enabling businesses to manage assets better than ever before. Emerging trends in DAM are reshaping how brands manage digital assets from creation to distribution thanks to AI-driven automation and seamless integration with other tech tools. Below are some of the top digital asset management trends to look out for.

1. Digitalization

Many industries experienced a large shift to remote work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reality of working from home increased the reliance on digitalization within organizations. The pandemic accelerated digitalization in the DAM industry in the following ways:

• Remote work opportunities: Team members working from home needed seamless access to digital assets, resulting in an increased demand for DAM solutions.
• Cloud-based DAM solutions: Remote work required cloud-based systems to provide access at any time and anywhere.
• Collaboration tool integration: DAM systems needed to integrate with communication platforms like Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams to facilitate teamwork and streamline the sharing of digital assets.
• Content creation and editing tools: Many organizations relied primarily on digital marketing, resulting in the need for DAM systems to integrate with content creation and editing tools to improve content workflow.
• Data security and access control: Data security and access control became even more important in the world of remote work. DAM systems had to adapt to offer robust security features.
• Scalability and flexibility: Businesses relied on DAM platforms that allow for rapid scaling to accommodate the growing volume of digital assets generated due to the shifting marketing trends.

2. Artificial intelligence

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has impacted many industries, including the DAM space. AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence by computers and learning machines. AI systems process and analyze data, learn from it, and then take action or make decisions based on their findings. DAM solutions are embedding AI to increase efficiency in the following ways:

• Content creation: Integrated AI generates product descriptions and more within a DAM system to complement content marketing trends.
• Voice recognition: DAM systems leverage voice recognition technology to improve asset discoverability.
• Asset Discovery: AI algorithms analyze digital asset content to improve recognizability.
• Tagging and taxonomy: DAM utilizes AI to automate the tagging of digital assets with metadata to improve organization.
• Personalization: AI can analyze user preferences to recommend relevant assets.
• Workflow automation: AI automates repetitive tasks, such as file conversions, version control, and more.

3. Cloud-based solutions

DAM solutions now offer cloud-based solutions to adapt to the evolving needs of modern businesses. The cloud is a network of remote servers that store data across the internet. It allows users to access cloud services online. Cloud-based solutions within DAM are now more prevalent thanks to the following benefits:

• Storage: Store digital assets on remote servers, ensuring reliability and availability.
• Accessibility: Access digital assets from any location with an internet connection.
• Scalability: Cloud-based DAM solutions can scale storage based on your needs and growing asset libraries, providing ultimate flexibility.
• Reduced IT overhead: Reduce IT infrastructure costs by eliminating the need to invest in and maintain on-premise servers and storage.
• Mobile access: Access digital assets via mobile devices, making it easier to retrieve and share assets on the go.

4. Integrations

Another important trend in digital asset management is the increasing emphasis on integration. This trend emerges from the desire to have a single source of truth for digital assets. It helps maintain consistency and accuracy across systems. Integration with a company’s tech stack enables team members to work more efficiently. Here are a few reasons why integration is an emerging asset management trend:

• Single source of truth: Integration allows the DAM to become the central repository for digital assets, ensuring all departments and applications access the same assets.
• Consistency: Teams can easily access approved digital assets stored within a DAM system.
• Data and analytics: Integrated solutions can provide valuable insights into asset usage across various systems to help measure DAM ROI.

5. Automation

Automation saves time and resources. In the DAM industry, automation transforms the way organizations manage and create content. A few examples of automation in DAM include:

1. Brand templates
2. Version control
3. Tagging and metadata
4. Content distribution
5. Content repurposing
6. Content approval workflows
7. Rights management

Automation in DAM doesn’t end there. Evolving trends continue to influence the automation capabilities of DAM systems.

6. Collaboration tools

As mentioned above, collaboration is key in digital asset management. Teams need simultaneous access to asset creation, review, approval, and distribution. Here is how collaboration tools in DAM systems enhance overall workflow:

• Asset workflow management: From creation to assignment to review and approval, DAM solutions offer collaborative features every step of the way.
• Real-time collaboration: Multiple users can work simultaneously and leave comments to streamline the creative process.
• Audit trails: DAM systems document the entire asset creation and collaboration process, allowing for better compliance, accountability, and troubleshooting.