Embracing the Cloud: Trends in Digital Asset Management

Adopting digital asset management (DAM) is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have. A report from Storyblok found that 37% of surveyed marketers spent up to 10 hours monthly managing assets, with asset management and file organization being cited as the largest pain points day-to-day. This challenge can add up to thousands of dollars being spent annually. And with some studies finding that 78% of digital assets go unused, it looks like a lot of effort is being used for little to no reward.

Digital audiences aren’t just consuming but producing media at a rapid pace—and there’s a never-ending appetite to feed. During the 2000s, the DAM market was still relatively new. Now, decades later, the DAM market is not only expected to increase but will be worth $12.68 billion by 2030. It’s no longer a matter of when to adopt but which vendor to choose or which to transition from.

Transitioning to a DAM or cloud video storage is paramount for organizations and teams undergoing (or enhancing their) digital transformation. In this digital age, the individuals and organizations that stand out aren’t just those who create top-tier content but those who manage and organize content well behind the scenes. By getting this right, your organization has a better chance of outpacing competitors and future-proofing itself from not-yet-visible obstacles.

Understanding Digital Asset Management

What is digital asset management?

Digital asset management is a comprehensive approach to managing digital assets. It encompasses the entire lifecycle of digital content and aims to streamline the management, organization and usage of assets across an organization by enabling the following actions:

Media archiving: Moving less frequently used files and folders to long-term storage, saving costs and space.
Indexing: The process of adding metadata to a file, making it searchable and discoverable.
Search: The ability to find and retrieve a specific file you’re looking for.
Retrieval: The process of retrieving a file within a catalog.
Browsing: If there’s anything a DAM should be good at, it’s browsing so you can easily find the files you need and create new content.
Collaboration: The best DAMs enable a better process of working with stakeholders and teammates through access permissions, commenting, and annotation abilities.
Design and UX: A great DAM differentiates itself from a good one with an intuitive and friendly UI.

Common cloud DAM vendors include Canto, Bynder, Brandfolder, and Photoshelter. These are differentiated by their target users and whether they’re open source or proprietary.

Trends in Digital Asset Management

What’s the difference between cloud-based DAM and on-premises DAM?

There are two types of DAMs, on-premises (or on-prem) DAMs and cloud-based DAMs, the latter of which is increasingly becoming in demand. But while cloud video storage may seem like the more modern and desirable option, not so fast. It’ll come down to you and your team’s needs. So, what’s the difference?

With an on-prem DAM, some argue there’s more reliability, access, and customization. Users won’t have to rely on an internet connection, which means faster turnarounds. Meanwhile, while cloud DAMs require internet connections, you can take advantage of accessing your assets anywhere, anytime.

Security is another hot topic. Assets and content in an on-prem DAM are protected behind a company firewall. This is unlike cloud DAMs, where files are located on external storage servers—and it’s not solely your organization that’s being serviced. However, you may prefer to have a DAM hosted by a cloud storage vendor, especially if you have minimal IT and information security resources.

For an in-between solution, one can opt for a hybrid DAM, which combines the benefits on both sides.

Benefits of Cloud-Based DAM

With cloud DAMs, users can access their assets, whether working from home or temporarily working abroad. And if you don’t work alone, you can collaborate just as easily with your teammate next to you or your teammate multiple time zones away. And if you’re already using cloud-based tools, this leads to better integration with a cloud-based DAM.

While cloud video storage vendors typically charge monthly or annual subscription fees, consider the ROI. With no need to maintain physical drives or servers and no risk of losing or damaging work, you could be looking at faster delivery and cost savings, which aren’t always dollars but time and effort.

Some of the key benefits of cloud-based DAMs are:

Access: Instant, remote access is considered by some pros to be the most important benefit of cloud DAMs. Even if your team is scattered across the globe, access to the cloud ensures projects can keep moving, timelines aren’t delayed, and revenue isn’t lost.
Scalability: Space limitations and pricey equipment are impactful considerations when storing in an on-prem DAM. Meanwhile, cloud DAMs offer flexible scalability—making it difficult for on-prem DAMs to compete on these fronts.
Off-prem backup: It’s not just individuals who experience data or backup failures, enterprises and media giants aren’t immune either despite the resources at their disposal. Cloud storage features built-in disaster recovery and redundancy so while natural disasters or transportation can damage physical storage solutions, data stored in the cloud will stay intact.
Cost reduction: Unlike its on-prem counterpart, cloud-based DAMs come without the lengthy and expensive installation process and larger capital investment. The price of maintenance, security, and technical support is also included, and taken care of for you, so you can stay hands-free.
Differentiation: You might already rely on Sony for its photography and videography tips, entertainment, or its latest product drops. Ci sets itself apart by having been developed by Sony experts who fully understand media workflows. And while anyone can partner with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ci offers this and more as a media-centric solution.
Data management and workflow optimization: Better data management and workflow optimization go hand in hand. With most software now promising automated metadata, you can expect more relevant content discovery, analytics, and integrations, leading to enhanced collaboration.
New revenue generation: By easily finding the content you’re looking for or forgot existed, creatives and teams can repurpose content, saving budget, extending the content lifecycle, and potentially bringing in new revenue.
Better customer experiences: Digital-savvy customers expect digital-savvy experiences. By tailoring tools and platforms to customers who know what they’re doing and offering advanced settings to those who can do even more, brands will deliver experiences that exceed expectations.

Challenges in Cloud DAM Integration

Some risks of relying solely on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) storage solution for a cloud DAM include IT not being managed in-house, meaning there’s a high expectation that the third-party will be fully functioning 24/7. As we’ve seen with DropBox, Slack, and other SaaS companies, no org is entirely immune from service outages, some of which can last hours at a time. Many cloud service providers offer multi-region service zones to provide redundancy and minimize downtime.

Also, to keep in mind, cloud DAM is only viable when you have access to a stable Internet connection. Poor network connections and slow internet speeds can also slow down work and delay accessing content that’s not stored locally.

Another argument is that outsourcing IT services may not be an advantage. Depending on your risk tolerance or business needs like local data protection regulations, you may need more control over your policies, internal knowledge, and data centers. However, finding a cloud provider may be worthwhile if your team doesn’t have the IT resources or budget. Plus, users can stay hands-off when it comes time for maintenance, upgrades, and updates.

Innovations in DAM

Decades ago, users’ DAM wish lists may have included better integrations and intuitive UI. But now, those are no longer hoped for but expected (and grounds for leaving a software if that can’t be delivered). The latest buzz is on, you guessed it, artificial intelligence (AI). AI is upending the limits of what one thought was possible and leaving its footprint on almost all things digital today. And it was only a matter of time before reaching DAM software. Now, many DAMs are upgrading their tech by integrating with AI, machine learning, and blockchain.

Ci Media Cloud offers built-in AI with the integration of AWS services like Amazon Rekognition and Amazon Transcribe. How can you benefit? For one, the AI function can recognize the content of files, from objects, dialogue, to people. For example, suppose you need to search for all images and videos containing a specific person one day. In that case, this tool automates metadata enrichment, significantly cutting down the time needed to manually identify and tag metadata to make content discoverable. Additional functions include transcription and quality assurance (QA) testing.

Looking ahead

As a platform built for rich video content, Ci Media Cloud isn’t fully comparable to digital asset management software, but the intent is the same: individuals and teams needed better tools to manage workflows and organize media yesterday. Now that you understand the power of DAMs and the difference between the multiple types, you’re that much closer to taking your content to the next level. Ready to reap the benefits of Ci’s all-in-one solution? Tap into the potential and get in touch here.