Digital asset management (DAM) — what it is, how it works, and best solutions

A professional working with digital asset management (DAM)

In today's digital age, managing and organizing digital assets like images, videos, and documents has become an essential part of any business or organization. From managing brand consistency to streamlining workflow, digital asset management (DAM) systems offer a range of benefits that can help you better leverage your digital assets.

In this post, we'll explore the importance of digital asset management, what these systems do, and the different types of systems available. This post will explain:

What is digital asset management (DAM)?

Digital asset management (DAM) is the process of organizing, storing, and retrieving digital assets such as images, videos, audio files, documents, and other types of digital content. The purpose of DAM is to improve the efficiency, security, and accessibility of digital assets, ensure digital assets are used in a consistent manner, and enable the organization to use them to the fullest.

DAM involves using specialized software — either server-based or cloud-based — to create a centralized repository for digital assets, allowing users to easily access, edit, and share files.

Additionally, digital asset management can help organizations to easily track and report on the usage of their assets and ensure that they are being used in compliance with copyright and other legal requirements.

What is a digital asset?

A digital asset is any type of media or data that is stored in a digital format. This can include a wide range of files, including:

What is a digital asset?

Digital assets can also include more specialized types of files, like CAD drawings, scientific data, and other types of digital content.

In general, digital assets are created, used, or managed by an organization and have value that can be leveraged. For example, images of products can be used for ecommerce, videos can be used for marketing, and documents can be used for research.

What does a DAM solution do?

A digital asset management solution is a software application or platform that is used to organize, store, and retrieve various digital files. These solutions are designed to follow the natural lifecycle of digital assets — from creating and distributing assets to archiving, reusing, and retiring them.

There are a wide variety of digital asset management systems available, from basic cloud-based solutions to enterprise-level systems with advanced features. To find the best solution for your organization, consider your team’s specific workflows and processes, which types of digital assets you’re working with, and what level of ownership and security you need.

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What are the benefits of DAM?

Digital asset management can help businesses of all sizes save time and improve workflows. These benefits include:

Who uses DAM?

DAM acts as a centralized media source for everybody within your organization who may use or distribute those assets. It is used by a wide range of organizations and businesses, including:

Overall, DAM is used by any organization that creates, uses, or manages large amounts of digital content, as it improves the efficiency and accessibility of digital assets while reducing the risk of data loss and supporting compliance with regulations. Businesses that work with external users, including agencies, clients, and contractors, can use DAM solutions to set appropriate file permissions, track changes and annotations, and control how certain assets get used.

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Getting started with Adobe Experience Manager

Adobe Experience Manager Assets is a cloud-native, intelligent DAM that makes creative and content production more efficient with assets that are easy to find and use so you can confidently support highly tailored customer experiences. Experience Manager Assets makes collaboration faster by letting creatives receive feedback directly in Adobe Creative Cloud applications and acts as a central filing system with easy access for all team members.

Watch the overview video or request a demo to learn more about how Adobe Experience Manager can help manage all your digital assets on a single platform that can scale to meet any traffic and processing demands.

Download the digital asset management buyer's guide.