Finding the right digital asset management (DAM) solution can be a daunting task. There is a wide variety of powerful digital asset management platforms in the market with different prices and functionalities.

This puts a lot of pressure on business owners looking to acquire the best DAM for their enterprises. In this post, we share credible tips that will help you make the right decision when choosing a DAM solution for your organization.

Let’s dive in.


Determine your specific needs 

Just like human beings, companies have unique needs depending on their sizes and specialization. Some require massive storage spaces to cater to their digital assets, while others require a fraction of that. The same applies to other requirements.

Therefore, it is essential to determine your business digital asset management needs to have a clear picture of the appropriate platform that can take care of them.

Talk to your team and obtain their genuine opinions of what constitutes an excellent DMA, and gather information regarding daily bottlenecks while working with digital assets. For instance, ask them the amount of time it takes to upload, download, or share digital assets. The type of collaboration they are having, and if there are cases of system failures.

From their answers, you can get a hint of what to consider.

Determine your digital resources

Knowing the number of digital resources in your possession gives you an idea about the kind of platform you need.

Be sure to look at all your digital assets such as audios, videos, photos, and images, among others. To estimate the bandwidth and library capacities you will need, which plays a significant role in decision making.

To determine the number of your digital assets, you need to perform an audit of your entire system. Let every department provide you the total number of assets under their control.

Apart from quantity, you need to understand the type of assets you have; for instance, are they document files, audios, videos, any other form, or a combination? Such knowledge narrows you down to a pick.

Carry out research

To have an understanding of whatever goes around your business, you need to study specific patterns, which can enable you to determine how digital assets are being utilized. Also, check the general workflow in your business environment to provide you with an idea of what to purchase.

Moreover, researching DAM features that rhyme with your business equally contributes to your decision making. No one wants to purchase a system that wouldn't be of much help.

Consider your functional business requirements

The functionality of the various components in a business is what drives it forward. Any business without functional parts is good as dead.

Knowing the technical specifications of your business puts you in an excellent position to determine a DMA platform that complements whatever is there. For instance, one that brings out the best on the already existing functionality.

As such, look out for a digital asset management platform that can easily integrate with your current system, and also bring in more value.

Does it have a plan for metadata 

Searches are an essential part of digital asset management. They determine your staff's efficiency and can also be used as a yardstick for measuring the performance of your organization.

Your team will be using the DMA platform to search for a variety of digital assets on a daily basis. A poor search capability would slow down your business. On the other hand, a robust search feature would enable the growth of your business due to increased productivity.

An elaborate metadata structure allows superb search capability as it incorporates the critical keywords and phrases in the process. As a result, your employees would gain access to the required digital assets at the tap of a button, which significantly improves their performance.

Security of the platform

The safety of your digital assets is paramount. Hence, it is essential to determine if your potential service provider meets the minimum required security standards in case of a cloud-based DAM.

Find out where your information will be stored, the physical location of the servers, and the utilization of the end to end encryption. Moreover, read and re-read the privacy policy to ascertain the secrecy levels. Consider platforms with the highest security level.

Determine the implied costs

Onboarding a new system requires monetary input. For the on-premise DMA platform, you need to make a purchase, install the equipment, and maintain it. All this costs money.

On the other hand, you need a subscription fee for a cloud-based option. Besides, you have to anticipate other non-accounted expenses that will crop up depending on the platform.

In the case of the cloud-based option, find out what changes in price will occur with an increase in the number of users. For instance, what happens when you add a user to the system? What is the increase in the package price when adding a new user? This will help you figure out a suitable platform from a financial perspective.

You can request your potential service providers to give you their price listings to make a choice.

Collaborate with your DAM seller

Talk to your current DAM vendor and seek their opinion concerning your impending upgrade. This stems from the fact that they are more likely to have more experience than you concerning the platforms.

Therefore, they are in a position to offer sound advice regarding where to go and what to look for.

It is essential to treat them as strategic partners who can take part in your decision-making process in matters concerning digital asset management systems for the long term success of your business.

Final word

Choosing the right digital asset management platform can bring about immense benefits to your business. It is vital to seek an opinion from concerned parties when planning to purchase a new system. More importantly, form collaboration with a knowledgeable vendor who understands your business needs.

The usability benefits of DAM systems are many. We covered some of the most important digital asset management tips in our recent blog post. 

Publitio enables you to create value around your entire asset cycle. Contact us today, and we will be more than happy to help you achieve your goals.