The company I work for could no longer get away with tracking the location of key files using a spreadsheet and a shared drive. I was chosen to head up the team tasked with formalizing our digital asset management strategy. Key requirements included centralized storage, controlled access and powerful search capabilities.
Digital assets are tens or even hundreds of thousands of files, typically scattered across your companys network. This material tends to be expensive to produce or acquire, but its reusable; think photos, logos and corporate branding material, videos and audio clips. If your company is anything like mine was, half the files it owns arent even on the network. Theyre sitting on some marketing guys laptop, flash drive, or CDs, and if he forgets any of these in a coffee shop, guess what? Those files are gone for good. Of course, it may take months before anyone even realizes that the files are missing, and then its a huge rush and a big expense to replace them.
I quickly realized that there are a lot of
digital asset management systems out there and each has its strengths. After a few meetings, I also realized that, while its probably a good idea to have the IT department involved in the process of picking a vendor (you do need their support, after all), its probably not the best idea to let them attempt a solution on their own. Most companies simply dont have the expertise in-house and you want to do this right. I insisted on working with a firm specializing in implementation of these systems and Id highly recommend going that route. DPCI is one name that comes up frequently and its known for experience with the bigger vendors including Open Text, North Plans, Nstein and Documentum.
Ive been beating up on the IT department a bit, but heres an area where you can make their lives considerably easier: Implement a Web
content management system. Most companies have an online presence and its not uncommon for various departments to be producing content thats posted on a variety of web sites and blogs. Success online requires that content be updated quickly and material be consistent and professional in appearance. The problem is organizations still rely on the techies to update pages on the corporate Website, which is inefficient, slow, and anxiety-producing for both sides.
Multiple access points means multiple input methods to be learned, and that puts stress on IT. Not only do they have to keep a collection of access systems running, they usually end up providing user support. Have you ever had to talk someone in Sales or Marketing through posting an event photo or video on the corporate blog? Or updating an event or some other kind of campaign in another section of the corporate Website? I feel for those IT guys!
A Web-based content management system greatly simplifies the publication process and relieves the pressure on your IT department. A straightforward Web browser interface means anyone can quickly post content and upload multimedia files, and it keeps everything in the correct format via templates.
Once again, Id strongly suggest that you dont go it alone; enlist the help of a company that specializes in the implementation of content management systems to ensure you end up with the correct solution for your company. It is interesting to note that DPCI also implements Web content management systems, so in essence, theyre a one-stop shop for organizations content technology needs. Theyve got a good reputation in the marketplace, and to my way of thinking, if they do a good job its easier to work with a single consulting firm than multiple ones.
