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Managing several tasks and keeping up with the increasing competition are challenges for digital businesses, including web design companies. The functions that improve brand reputation and establish a better customer and company relationship require great struggles but are necessary for a business to thrive simultaneously.
In order to eliminate the inconveniences of manually handling digital data, technology introduced a digital asset management software, commonly referred to as DAM system.
DAM software is an IT-based technology that facilitates centralizing digital asset maintenance and also reduces costs especially if you are a startup. Web agencies need about $10.000 to $125.000 equipment to set up so DAM systems can reduce these costs heavily.
Additionally, it offers a lot of advantages to web agencies which we have discussed in this post.
Let us start our journey to the extensively beneficial side of a digital asset management system.
Secured Digital Assets
Before introducing digital asset management technology, companies had to store their data in either cloud storage units or physical drivers. Though both have provided reliable services for years, they still possess a few nuisances like inaccessibility or removal of essential digital files.
The removal may result in the shuffling of creative files from one unit to another. It was a significant cause of concern as every data file is valuable for firms. But then the DAM solution changed everything.
It can store and align each data file in an organized and secured manner. DAM platforms utilize a centralized environment to hold every digital asset, which minimizes the chance of losing digital files to zero, and specified searches are made more accessible.
Sleek Collaborations
With advanced technology, the complexity of office-based work is advancing. For example, several departments operate under a single company, so it is challenging to ensure centralized workflows. We mean to indicate that every department member is putting up the suitable material on the system by this term.
It is also essential to verify that the employees are tasking on similar software versions. However, it was challenging to check up on these facts manually until the foundation of DAM platform. Now what it does in this aspect is appreciable. Cloud-based DAM systems empower the employees of different sectors to share assets through upload links.
Moreover, they have a specific use for every interlinked department as per the need. The approach reduced many obstacles for the company as it guaranteed smooth collaboration amongst the workers, and we were also able to spot a spike in working speed.
Reputation Maintenance
Maintenance of brand reputation consistently is not at all elementary. However, considering the importance of this aspect, specifically when firms stay in touch with customers and the general public through social media, digital asset management (DAM) allows the posting of approved content. The relevant tools agree on standardized, high-quality content that conveys the right message.
Since this area requires extra care, the brands are allowed to set up a personalized set of rules for approval. Optimized digital content will help gather more brand representatives and establish a respected status of the company in the digital market.
Optimized Asset Access Control
For widely spread firms, the accessibility of data has always posed a bothersome task. Creative files are storable in different folders of different virtual storage units. The struggle further aggravates if those files contain delicate details that require extra protection. Hence, the administrator needs to grant or restrict access carefully and withdraw it whenever they see a need to do that.
Furthermore, the tracking of data usage is also his responsibility. But a single person can not take care of all these needs precisely as they have to share data in different locations. It is when a digital asset management solution comes in handy, which allows the manager to deal with all the accessibility-relevant tasks from a single platform. This approach is highly time-saving and ensures that no unwanted person can reach any sensitive information about the company.
Spontaneous Reporting of Data Usage
In web designing agencies, several employees handle digital resources. In such a case, the administration department must stay aware of the members' every move. It is also vital to keep an eye on how the employees utilize digital assets, and the information in no way is getting misused. Due to extensiveness, it gets difficult to follow usage insights of each department manually, but digital asset management systems can do so.
The DAM technology displays a single chart via its reporting tools. The diagram exhibits the following interactions clearly;
- Name of employees along with the digital assets they are handling
- How employees are using those resources
Besides providing these critical insights, digital asset management technology also allows administration authorities to run surveys for digital assets and users to have advanced details under their reach.
Metadata Management
The agencies running for several years face a significant problem too often when they need to dig up previous data like images, pictures, videos, audio files, etc. Companies usually spend weeks locating the relevant data. Moreover, if the data search duration passes the deadline, the enterprise might face substantial financial loss.
This difficulty is only due to a lack of search filters and data grouping under metadata and keywords. However, a digital asset management platform offers this function to simplify the search process for any specific data.
It is possible as DAM system allows managers to store data with relevant tags, keywords, and metadata, so next time the company demands any data file, it will be accessible in a few minutes. This approach saves time and effort, which the employees can conveniently use to perform productive tasks like creating rich content.
Widespread Sharing Potential
Companies that use cloud storage to secure sensitive data are hassle-free as the platform can safely distribute links to relevant information. But this approach might not suit everyone, specifically when the firm has to administer data to a vast audience or make it available for a limited time.
Digital asset management (DAM) plays a vital role in targeting this problem through comprehensive sharing means. The multiple functioning capabilities of DAM systems in this regard include shareable links with expiry to content visibility and the establishment of a specified web portal where broad audiences can access data just like they are browsing through a usual web page.
To sum up, digital asset management platforms allow the handling projects through variable shareability options ranging from public to private and combined portals. The administrators can even share the single link with all employees, each having distinctive access levels according to their working area.
Legal Guidance
Web design agencies usually need to utilize licensed content like images, videos, logos, and other organization's digital assets. However, most think that paying for them once facilitates their unrestricted asset usage. But it is not the case as copyrighted marketing materials often accompany certain fixed restrictions, but keeping a check on these gets difficult, especially if the enterprise lacks any legal adviser.
Digital asset management, solutions with their all-in-one technique, make each licensed digital asset available inside the asset storage center to save users from unnecessary hassles. A digital rights management within the DAM system adds on to performing this task smoothly. The primary responsibility of a DRM is to make sure that employees are not using any copyrighted material for a prohibited action. It even displays the usage criteria of these digital assets, so the firm is free from future legal penalties.
Substantial Integrations
Since web design agencies perform multiple tasks simultaneously, they need numerous tools and applications to do this. For example, a department dealing with theme designing has to use Photoshop frequently. In contrast, security administrators need any relevant tool to ensure data security.
Before DAM solutions, agencies had to spend several bucks on buying multiple software, and it was also challenging to keep track of their expiry. However, a DAM platform changed this scenario by integrating extensive tools and applications, which resulted in enhanced productivity and fruitful outcomes. Whether you decide you enlist the help of a drag and drop website builder or landing page software, DAM allows for tool integration with ease.
These integrations can perform many other tasks, which include;
- Connectivity of digital assets with content management systems
- Connectivity of rich media assets with creative collections
- Linking content to portals that then upload it to social media digital channels after inspection
AI Face Recognition Feature
Digital asset management solutions have now evolved to include advanced features like face recognition. This AI-powered tool aids in identifying and recognizing individuals in photos within seconds, a capability that proves incredibly beneficial, especially for web design agencies.
Agencies handle countless images daily and this feature can significantly speed up their workflow. Whether it's locating specific photos for website designs or selecting ideal visuals for case studies, face recognition in DAM software provides an efficient way to manage these tasks. It helps to quickly pinpoint the necessary brand assets, saving precious time and effort.
Data Safety from Hackers and Malware
Digital assets are susceptible, and hence the agencies need to maintain top-level security measures for exceptional protection against virtual hackers and viruses. The problem might arise because of the human or system error whenever data is shared over drivers or cloud storage.
A little bit of carelessness can pose a massive loss for the company. However, when digital asset management's security features are involved, the company can be as stress-free as possible. The DAM-sponsored data centers comply with SOC 2 technology, and other protective measures are also ensured, including SSL certificates, etc. Administrators can share links containing crucial details to teams with asset expiration dates, so the data gets erased upon project completion.
Final Thoughts
For web design agencies that deal with numerous tasks of different types, digital asset management software has come as a lifesaver. Manual processing is no longer necessary. All the jobs ranging from data arrangement software and storage to security and shareability are handled efficiently through DAM.
The list of DAM's superiority is never-ending, but we tried to concise it in this article. We hope that more agencies will recognize its importance and try to attain its extensive benefits.
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