From its start as a primitive folder structure in the early 2000s to the current state-of-the-art cloud DAM, the digital asset management (DAM) industry has undergone a massive transformation over the past decade. And its evolution is far from over. In a world of exponential data growth, DAM is one area where technological changes are occurring at a rapid pace, and many challenges exist in getting it up and running. Still, even to this day, while many businesses have a DAM system in place some may lack resources and rely on legacy technologies to maintain digital assets. In the years to come though, it will be critical to have a high-end DAM in place that integrates with existing systems in an enterprise, aids management and security, and provides timely access to digital assets.
Five pointers that sum up the environment DAM will find itself in during 2023
1. Mobility continues to remain critical
A DAM brings together digital assets that are often located in multiple locations . And this ability to access and manage digital assets from any location and on any device is critical to the success of today’s business. For instance, if a business sells a product that moves from the warehouse to the customer, all the digital assets will be spread across different parties, making it complex to manage and track the data. This is where mobility is critical. As such, the need for mobility in DAM will be more critical in the coming years. Companies that use digital content in their operations will focus on reducing turnaround time, fetching specific content, avoiding data loss, and keeping their content organized. In addition, it will be critical for businesses to keep up with a mobile-first design to be more productive and improve their decision-making processes.
Mobility will also remain an essential factor for DAM in the context of the omnichannel customer journey, especially as organizations increasingly incorporate digital channels into their business-as-usual operations. However, companies will be able to improve the user experience, increase the frequency and quality of their updates, and reduce overall costs by moving from on-premises to cloud-based DAM systems.
2. Security will be the top enterprise priority
With the rise of digital assets, it has become imperative for enterprises to store, manage, and secure their digital assets. According to official statistics of the UK government’s Cyber Security Breaches 2021 Survey, four in ten businesses (39%) reported experiencing some kind of cyber security attack or breach. DAM systems are a major source of valuable digital information and are more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. And since in many legacy DAM systems practices are not standardized, meaning there is no transparent process for managing digital assets, threats can be very real.
Therefore, DAM security will become more critical in the next few years mainly because of how the DAM platforms are connected to other critical systems and networks that need to be protected, such as cloud-based storage and third-party applications. It will be crucial to implement cybersecurity strategies to keep digital assets safe across a variety of touchpoints. In light of this, organizations will focus more on DAM solutions that enable them to secure digital assets in a centralized location and authorize control of sensitive enterprise data. While security is often overlooked in the excitement to adopt new tools, it will be critical for DAM adoption in the coming years.
3. AI Integrations would normalize
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a critical role in the digital revolution of DAM, and the industry expects to see innovations that will take the asset management system to the next level. In the future, enterprises will need more sophisticated systems that can automate DAM processes more effectively. As DAM evolves, so too should the technology that supports in curating, storing, and distributing digital assets. AI will be deployed to help automate the management of DAM systems and simplify the processes involved in managing files and metadata.
AI application in DAM ranges from facial recognition to automatic tagging and metadata application. Product marketers, brand managers, and eCommerce teams need to be able to access, manage and update media files quickly and easily, making AI-enabled DAM systems critical for this. The AI integration will help to improve DAM workflows and make it easier for teams to locate and use the right assets. AI/ML will be the norm and will automatically generate metadata and taxonomies for enterprise content. The role of AI/ML in digital asset management will continue to grow in the years to follow as more businesses become aware of its numerous benefits.
4. Smart devices go mainstream
The proliferation of smart devices has led to a rise in the number of digital assets in the workplace, making smart devices an increasingly important aspect of the DAM market. According to Statista, the Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices will go up to more than 29 billion in 2030. The statistics also reveal that more than one billion IoT devices will be autonomous vehicles, IT infrastructure, asset tracking and monitoring, and smart grids. Smart devices are already transforming how enterprises and end-users consume content. Many organizations have implemented using these devices in some capacity, and their use cases will expand in the next few years.
Over the past ten years, new kinds of intelligent devices have entered the market, from face recognition to smart speakers; these smart devices increasingly do more than their non-smart counterparts and can be managed from a single mobile app. With more and more companies moving to a digital-first workplace, the demand for digital assets management will only grow. Smart devices will be commonplace in the next few years, and companies must adjust their DAM systems to manage their digital assets properly.
5. Flexibility will be key:
As new technologies are coming to the fore, and the current ones are evolving to meet new challenges, flexibility will be essential for success in the future. For DAM to be successful, it needs to integrate with existing systems, work with different file types, and be able to reorganize content quickly. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing digital assets, but companies can customize their DAM system to fit their own processes better. A flexible DAM solution can adapt to the changing needs of a company and its employees, and it has the potential to grow with the changing media landscape.
In the coming year, more customers will continue to expect digital experiences that are fast, personalized, and easy to access on a range of devices. In addition, the industry standards to manage and store digital assets will also change, forcing enterprises to move towards more flexible approaches to meet certain regulatory requirements, such as those established by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The combination of new technologies, new business needs, and shifting customer demands forces companies to rethink their DAM strategies and find new ways to integrate DAM into their business processes. This will require companies to simplify their digital assets and adopt flexible solutions and models for their DAM initiatives, such as AI/ML DAM solutions and cloud DAM.
Looking forward
DAM has been a game-changer for businesses for years, helping enterprises to centralize their media and create a unified and logical system for managing and producing digital content. As digital assets become increasingly important, there is a growing need for advanced DAM solutions. With customers’ increased dependence on digital devices, the pressure for enterprises to streamline the creation, sharing, and usage of digital assets has never been greater.
The future of DAM is in the cloud as it will be easier to deploy and cost-effective to manage than on-premise counterparts, empowering enterprises with a centralized digital asset pool. In addition, AI/ML will be a strong force in the DAM industry, allowing organizations to make data-driven decisions on how they manage their assets. Beyond simply helping manage enterprise digital assets, modern DAM solutions will be employed to integrate with various other applications to address futuristic business needs.
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