Ensuring Long-Term DAM Success
Here we reach the last category of our model for building DAM success, which is Conformity.
Now, when people talk about conformity, the conversation is almost always around governance. And yes, we definitely need governance, that part is undeniable.
But the issue is that too often, governance is imposed in a heavy-handed manner: rules, mandates, don’t do that or else. Which reminds me of a quote by Albert Einstein: “if people are good because they fear punishment…then we are a sorry lot indeed.” Which means, we’ve probably got bigger DAM problems on our hands.
Let’s remember what we’re trying to do: we’re building an Operational System of Record and Adoption. That means a DAM that’s supremely helpful. So, maybe we can formulate supremely helpful governance as well, instead of the dogmatic, or oppressive kind.
The good news is that everything we’ve discussed so far in this DAM Perspectives series should facilitate this idea. And, automation will help as well.
So let’s talk about the last two dimensions of new DAM model, Automation and Governance.
DAM Conformity: Automation
Automation is about the methodical, consistent, and automatic application of pre-defined actions and processes across DAM and related platforms. In fact, one might even say, automation is our ticket to the big time.
Because, as we grow DAM in terms of volume, users, and related platforms, we really have no choice but to automate the actions and processes we otherwise might do manually in a small DAM. Basically, Automation will give us the timeliness and consistency we need to scale our DAM.
To that end, we’ll need Notifications. So we catalog all of the triggers, remediation messages, and recipients that need to be alerted when particular events occur, such as asset expirations.
We’ll also need automated and structured Workflow. A lot of workflow, actually. This means pre-defined templates with tasks, roles and assignments that are automatically triggered when asset revisions or approvals are required.
And of course, we definitely need Integration. Meaning, we certainly need it for automated distribution of assets to other systems. And also, to provide connectors to personal productivity tools used by content creators, such as Adobe or Office.
But perhaps the most important benefit of integration will be to provide seamless interaction with Enterprise Work Management and Marketing Productivity systems.
After all, in large organizations, those systems are exactly where asset production, revision and approval workflows normally occur in the first place.
DAM Conformity: Governance
So let’s come back to Governance. Now, as we mentioned before, we really do believe that everything we’ve talked about so far will allow for a kinder, gentler, more helpful flavor of governance. The idea is to “bake it in” every step of the way.
For example, regarding Standards: we should define brand, legal, and compliance requirements up-front, and embed these as control gates in the processes we mentioned earlier.
And for Education: let’s make sure all guidelines are documented – especially with respect to the processes they affect. And, let’s help users to understand them, within the context of their particular interaction with the DAM. This means on-boarding and training, along with periodic refresher courses.
And finally, and we beg you, please don’t skimp on Monitoring.
First, generously allocate resources for hands-on administrators and librarians – these are critical to success, and unfortunately, these resources too often go unfunded.
Second, make extensive use of automated exception reporting and notifications: librarians should know immediately when an asset is out of line, to allow for quick remediation.
In short, governance, in the form of resources, education and monitoring, can be a remarkably helpful way to ensure integrity of the DAM for all users, from creators to consumers.
Closing Thoughts
Well, this is the last post in this DAM Perspectives series, which we hope proves helpful to you.
Ultimately, this new and different model, or approach, is intended to be a framework to drive DAM success – specifically, to drive an Operational System of Record and Adoption – for Digital Asset Management.
To summarize across all of the various ideas this series of posts has covered, maybe there are a few point worth re-emphasizing:
- First: the core team is critical – especially early on, across all foundational dimensions.
- Second: all factors around asset versioning, especially with automated workflow, and supported by governance, will be critical to success with creators and contributors.
- Third: discovery, along with security and sunsetting, will ensure our success with consumers, both internal and external.
- Finally: automated distribution, and sunsetting, will enable us to serve our own properties and outside placements.
Next Steps
“DAM Perspectives” is a series of posts that came from the work we did to develop a new DAM maturity framework. So, as a next step, we invite you to check out some of the other posts in this series:
- DAM Perspectives (Part 1): The Need for a New Approach
- DAM Perspectives (Part 2): The Two Key Outcomes
- DAM Perspectives (Part 3): The Target Audiences
- DAM Perspectives (Part 4): Building the Foundation
- DAM Perspectives (Part 5): Building the Solution
- DAM Perspectives (Part 6): Building Conformity
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