A Personal Digital Asset Management Software helps small businesses manage their digital assets. Whether it’s photos, videos or documents like contracts, presentations, and invoices, our Personal Digital Asset Management Software allows you to upload images and documents from any device and sync across all platforms with ease. This improves productivity by reducing the amount of time spent on tasks like emailing files to clients, collaborators and partners.
In this post, we review the aspects of Personal Digital Asset Management Software, digital asset management tools, digital asset management systems for libraries, and digital asset management software for small business.
Personal Digital Asset Management Software
Digital asset management (DAM) is a central repository for marketing and communications assets to be created, stored, retrieved, and shared. It provides a single source of truth for all your digital assets and allows you to easily find the right file at the right time. Personal digital asset management (PDAM) is an individual storage repository that offers the same features as a DAM but with extra security features for personal data such as medical records or photos from vacations. PDAMs are often used by individuals as an alternative to services like Box or DropBox because they allow them to keep their data in one place without having to worry about what happens if those services go out of business or change their terms of service agreements which could result in loss of important files
Digital asset management (DAM) is a central repository for marketing and communications assets to be created, stored, retrieved, and shared.
Digital asset management (DAM) is a central repository for marketing and communications assets to be created, stored, retrieved, and shared. The goal of DAM is to make it easy for users to find the information they need when they need it. The process of creating a digital asset management system involves first identifying your organizational goals and then choosing an appropriate solution that meets those needs.
From small businesses to large corporations; from individuals to non-profit organizations; DAM solutions are used by everyone who needs a central location in which all files related to the organization can be managed easily.
Personal digital asset management (PDAM) is an individual storage repository that offers the same features as a DAM.
Personal digital asset management (PDAM) is a personal storage repository that offers the same features as a DAM. PDAM is an individual storage repository that allows users to store and retrieve all their files in one centralized place. Users can use PDAM software to store images, PDFs, docs, videos, and more.
Find PDAM software with features such as:
The PDAM software you choose should have a number of features that make it easy to find and manage your digital files. Below are some of the most important ones:
- Searching by name or content. You might not remember where you saved a file, but if it has relevant text in its filename or content, then searching for that text will help you find it quickly.
- Metadata support. When saving new files, add metadata such as tags and locations that make it easier to organize your files later on based on their metadata rather than their filenames (which can change).
* Search and find files by name or content
- Search and find files by name.
- Search and find files by content.
- Search and find files by metadata.
- Search and find files by file size.
* Add metadata to files
In addition to the data in your files, you can also add metadata. Metadata is a set of data that describes other data. It’s like an index card on which you write down the title, author, and other descriptive information about a book or movie. Adding metadata allows you to describe the content of a file (e.g., “This document contains budget numbers”), its history (e.g., “This document was edited by Bob Smith on Wednesday”), and its location (e.g., “This image file is stored on my computer at home).
There are different types of metadata: some are created by applications when they save files; others can be added manually; and still others come from sources outside your personal digital asset management software program—for example, if someone emails an attachment with this additional information attached to it already built in (such as filename suffixes or file size).
* Share files via email, FTP, or web links without downloading copies
- Share files via email, FTP, or web links without downloading copies.
- No file size limit.
- You can share files with anyone, even non-users of the software.
- For example you could send a PDF to your friend even if they don’t have the same version of PDA as you do!
* Edit files without downloading them
The ability to edit files without downloading them is a great feature. You can edit the files with your own computer or with a shared computer. You can also use a mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone, to make changes to documents stored in BOX. The same goes for laptops and desktops: they work just fine!
* Store and retrieve all your files in one centralized place
- Store and retrieve all your files in one centralized place.
With a personal digital asset management software, you’ll be able to store all of your important documents in one central location. That way, they can easily be accessed from any device and shared with others if necessary. The software will also allow you to edit the files from anywhere—even if the original file is stored on a different device!
Microsoft OneDrive is an example of PDAM that’s included with Office 365 subscriptions, you can use it to store images, PDFs, docs, videos, and more.
OneDrive is an example of PDAM that’s included with Office 365 subscriptions, you can use it to store images, PDFs, docs, videos and more.
OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service that allows users to store and sync files from anywhere. It’s included with Office 365 subscriptions so you don’t have to pay extra for it. You’ll still need internet access for OneDrive though (no offline editing).
At its core OneDrive acts as a folder on your computer where you can save files in much the same way as any other folder would work for storing documents or images etc. This means that if you create a file on your desktop (or somewhere else) then drag it into your OneDrive folder then this will automatically sync across all devices where you have OneDrive installed – including Windows 10 PC’s but also iPhones/iPads too!
Slack is another example of PDAM that allows users to create channels for specific projects, send notifications when something new happens in those channels, share resources through the channels and search for them later. Users can follow or mute channels based on their preferences.
Slack is another example of PDAM that allows users to create channels for specific projects, send notifications when something new happens in those channels, share resources through the channels and search for them later. Users can follow or mute channels based on their preferences.
Slack has become very popular in recent years, especially among media and tech companies. According to a survey conducted by Comparably in 2018, Slack is used by more than half of U.S.-based media organizations with 100+ employees (55%), which is four times as many as other major collaboration software tools like Google Docs (12%) or Microsoft Teams (11%).
Dropbox is another popular example of PDAM that allows users to store any kind of file in their Dropbox account and share those files with colleagues, clients or friends through a link. A link can be password protected or expire after a certain amount of time. The company says the strongest benefit over other storage options is speed – users can save files from anywhere they have internet access in just a few clicks.
digital asset management tools
Digital asset management has become part and parcel of every MarTech company. For efficient management of creative assets, you should use digital asset management software.
As more and more companies emphasize digital marketing, the number of digital assets is simultaneously increasing. Nowadays, businesses usually deal with various creative assets in digital formats like infographics, documents, images, videos, music, and brand kits.
When such online brands scale up, they find digital asset management challenging since multiple files are scattered in different cloud storages or email inboxes. But not if you use a single digital asset management software or DAM software instead of a bunch of tools for different purposes.
What Is a Digital Asset Management Software?
It is evident from its name that Digital Asset Management or DAM software is a tool that assists you in managing your digital assets. No matter the size of your business or whether your company serves other businesses or customers, you do have some form of digital assets.
These can be the company logos, GIFs, images, audio/video files, documents, infographics, etc. In DAM software, companies can store all these items on a single platform along with the metadata for each asset. Also, it becomes easy for them to find and access an asset when needed.
Importance of DAM Software for Marketing Tech
Digital asset management software has become a must-have tool for organizations that have to deal with numerous digital assets. Marketers have to deal with an unlimited number of images, PDFs, documents, audio files, videos, and VR files while keeping track of version variations.
Often people create multiple versions of these files and save them on different systems. Unless you put all the assets in a centralized digital asset management software, it becomes difficult to find the right one when needed.
Besides improving your asset management experience and streamlining the related workflow, DAM tools also ensure the data security of confidential files.
If you are looking for reliable DAM software, check out our compiled list below.
Box
Box offers you a secure and centralized library for storing and managing your rich media assets through their lifecycle. Since it consolidates all content, searching, tagging, and sharing the assets becomes an effortless process.
This one-stop solution for your digital assets lets you collaborate in real-time with internal or external collaborators, using features such as automated metadata tagging and comments.
Also, this platform automates the approval workflows of your organization to avoid manual errors. As a result, you can efficiently manage the assets during all stages, from creation to publication.
Box is also ideal for new asset approval and assigning review as it keeps all the feedback and reviews in one place. You can apply appropriate metadata to files, making it easier for the users to quickly search and find the content they want.
On this web-based platform, companies can watermark their business-critical files and use different granular permission settings to control who can view, edit, or download the files. Above all, its admin console lets you monitor and generate reports on content activity.
Bynder
Those looking for comprehensive DAM software to ensure 100% brand consistency should go for Bynder. It offers a configurable portal that organizations can use for digital assets such as documents, photos, audio files, and videos.
Besides, users can develop new marketing content on this platform using its templates. By utilizing features such as annotations, versioning, and tailored approval paths, you can automate the workflow in no time.
You can not only share files internally and externally from this tool but also check the sharing record and set the permission expiration dates to protect control access.
Moreover, you can even customize the filter structure of this platform to organize and find assets with minimum effort. From Bynder, you can download assets in channel-specific formats across all touchpoints to ensure consistency.
This software also supports integration with third-party platforms like Google Analytics, WordPress, Drupal, Wrike, Canva, Trello, Shutterstock, Hootsuite, Slack, and Microsoft Dynamics.
Adobe Experience Manager Assets
Adobe Experience Manager Assets is a feature-rich asset management tool that quickens and automates all the tasks you need to do about administering your digital assets.
Apart from managing the assets in the complete lifecycle, you can also gain cutting-edge insights into your digital asset performance.
Besides the common file types for document, image, and multimedia, it also supports 3D, AR, VR, and panoramic photos. This tool uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to tag files and documents automatically, crops images, and share assets.
However, remember that some advanced features of this platform will need technical expertise and may not be a piece of cake for novice users. Adobe Experience Manager also offers you file version history and asset management in multiple languages.
While working on creative assets, you can cut down on email-dependent time-consuming workflow and use this as the platform to create, connect, and collaborate among your teams.
Filecamp
Filecamp is a perfect choice for companies that want to keep their digital assets organized and easily accessible through a cloud-based solution.
This digital asset management software lets unlimited people, including stakeholders, access your assets and offers granular permission configuration options to control the access.
Sharing and tagging the assets become effortless with this platform. Also, it ensures productive collaboration among the teammates with its built-in commenting and proofing tools. Its mobile-friendly UI makes sure you can use it seamlessly on your smartphone as well.
Filecamp functions as a central content management hub where users can create, edit, label, and categorize their digital assets. The assets include stock photos, videos, documents, presentations, and other creative files.
You can also personalize the content using pictures, brand colors, and company logos on this software using its white-labeling tool.
Furthermore, it lets you create and publish an online Brand manual so that your colleagues and partners can access it anytime and follow it to maintain brand consistency.
Canto
Does your company deal mostly with visual digital content? If yes, you do not have to think twice before opting for Canto. This DAM tool is specialized in managing visual assets like images and video files.
You can easily configure your assets in this centralized content library for unique branding. All you need to do is add your assets to folders and albums. Then, this intelligent platform will automatically organize the content according to the asset type.
When it comes to collaboration, Canto offers comments, approvals, and workflows that assist you in establishing smooth asset collaboration procedures. Thanks to AI-powered search, filters, and facial recognition, finding the right content here is easy-peasy.
It also safeguards your brand identity with version control, watermarks, and user permissions.
Canto offers an array of integration with the top brands of the world, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Facebook, Drupal, Linkedin, Figma, Outlook, Photoshop, Slack, WordPress, Twitter, MS Teams, YouTube, and Zapier.
Cloudinary
If you want to use a DAM tool that can cater to the needs of individuals, small teams, and small businesses, Cloudinary is your best bet. It streamlines digital media or asset management to promote better customer engagement.
From content upload to storage, real-time edit, and personalized delivery, you can utilize this platform in the full life cycle. Its powerful editing tools with personalization features ensure quick content publishing and complete utilization of assets.
Its collaboration tools enable your creative and marketing teams to seamlessly complete cross-departmental tasks. The platform also comes with an advanced dashboard that offers online reports.
You can also utilize the integration facility of this platform that supports Adobe Creative Cloud, Salesforce, WordPress, Amazon Web Services, Agility, and Magnolia.
Pics.io
Pics.io offers a complete and efficient digital library for your marketing and creative teams where they can manage their digital assets. This cost-effective DAM software also keeps your media files organized by classifying them so you can easily access and search them.
It also supports seamless file sharing with teammates, clients, and the press. The version control feature of Pics.io keeps track of all the changes done on a file. In the case of images and videos, you can also check out the visual comparison between the versions before approving or disapproving them.
Users can also showcase their media in style using the readymade templates available on this software. You can also use it by integrating with G Suite, Zapier, WordPress, Zoho CRM, Adobe Photoshop, Shopify, Amazon S3, Slack, and many more apps.
Pickit
Digital asset management software Pickit ensures that you don’t have to subscribe to multiple tools to manage your media files. This intuitive centralized platform is sufficient for managing and sharing your assets while you have complete control over your workflow.
Pickit lets you collect and index documents, media files, templates, guidelines, and licenses in one place so your teammates can readily access them. It also helps you securely share your assets with external stakeholders.
Using the flexible modules of this tool, companies can ensure brand consistency while increasing their asset value at the same time. Also, the software has built-in libraries from where you can source images while being compliant.
digital asset management systems for libraries
Create complex narratives and share rich collections with Omeka
Omeka is an open-source platform of digital archives and collections that makes web-publishing easy and compliant with Dublin-core standards favored by libraries and museums. While it was first developed to help archivists and scholars publish their work online, Omeka has evolved into a valuable tool for students and educators.
Omeka contains two platforms. Omeka.org offers more personalization options but requires users to secure their own server for hosting. Omeka.net, on the other hand, hosts sites on its own server but the capacity and capabilities are determined by the various plans (which includes a basic, free plan). Teachers should examine the detailed comparison of Omeka.org and Omeka.net in order to decide which options best serve their desired use of Omeka.
This review will examine the free basic plan on Omeka.net and how teachers could use Omeka in the classroom.
Getting Started
First of all, it would be counterproductive to outline a step-by-step installation and set-up for an Omeka site. The developers at the Center for History and New Media have done a wonderful job providing a concise and understandable tutorial for first-time Omeka users (Omeka.net users should head to the Help page before beginning). In addition, the forum on Omeka.org addresses many questions that initial users might have—even for Omeka.net users. The Omeka team is fairly quick in addressing any questions that are submitted via email or through the forum.
Instead, some suggestions can facilitate creating an Omeka site from the free basic plan. After registering for an Omeka account and activating it via email, users will be directed to some simple set-up steps for starting a new site: choosing a name and description, selecting a theme among the four options in the basic plan (“Seasons” offers various design options) and installing plug-ins. Teachers would benefit from selecting appropriate plug-ins, which can be activated and deactivated at any moment—even after the site is live and published.
We recommend four plug-ins for classroom use: Docs Viewer (for scanned or digital files in DOC, PDF, PPT, or any image files), Simple Pages (which allows users to create a standalone page, such as an About page or course syllabus), CSV Import (for importing large quantities of items into the collection using an Excel CSV sheet), and Exhibit Builder (which offers the ability to create rich expository exhibits around selected items and collections).
Teachers can also customize their themes with logos, picture headers, customized menu categories, and other elements visible on the homepage. Eventually, as students are added as users, teachers will be able to control administrative levels of participants. (Here is Omeka’s detailed explanation of how to edit settings and user permissions.)
One last recommendation: if teachers (or students) are planning on uploading dozens or hundreds of documents into the Omeka archive, it would be best to develop an Excel spreadsheet first. For each column heading, use the Omeka terminology for the various metadata categories. To find these categories, go to the administrative panel (or “backend” of the site) and select “Item” in the top left corner. Then, click on “add an item.” You will find five different sections on the left menu. Begin by selecting “Dublin Core” and use each category name as the column header on the Excel spreadsheet. Remember: not every category needs to be filled out by users. When developing an Omeka student portfolio, for example, a user may only fill out the “Title,” “Subject,” “Description,” “Source,” and “Date.” The Excel spreadsheet for this archive would only have the first five column headers.
After examining the Dublin Core categories, proceed to “Item Type” metadata and use “Item Type” as the next column header. As users populate the spreadsheet with information, it is important to use the Omeka language for “Item Type.” For example, pictures are labeled “Still Image” in Omeka’s Item Type categories. Finally, the last column header in the Excel spreadsheet should be for “Files.” Here, users will eventually enter the location of the files Omeka will import to add to the site. This could be a folder on a computer or a web address (if the images are already hosted on another server).
Why use an Excel spreadsheet anyway? We found that entering each item into Omeka is fine if only a few items will be added at a time. However, entering data for dozens or hundreds of items takes a long time. With the aforementioned CSV plugin installed, users can instead populate their Excel spreadsheet, using Omeka’s terminology for metadata categories, and save the Excel spreadsheet as a CSV (comma separated value) file. Then, users simply click on CSV Import in the admin panel and upload their CSV file. The results? Dozens or hundreds of items are uploaded at once, with all the designated information and files in place. The only information users will need to manually enter are tags and collection categories (if collections are created beforehand.) If all the items are the same “Item Type,” then users can also select the appropriate item type in the CSV Import page as well.
Examples
So, Omeka’s site contains a thorough step-by-step tutorial in both text and video that makes the process of creating an online archive simple, and this Tech for Teachers article shows how teachers and students can use and benefit from a more focused set-up process. Here’s the more pressing question at hand: How can Omeka work in the classroom?
The Educators page offers some basic ideas for how to use Omeka in the classroom and the functionality it provides for archiving student work and primary source materials, and this review has described how a new user could follow the online tutorials and develop a student portfolio, and looked at steps that could save teachers some time. Omeka, though, has many classroom functions.
digital asset management software for small business
As globalization advances, small business owners face competition from enterprise-level players in their industry. However, not all of them have the skilled resources to beat their rivals. As such, they look for ways to make the most out of the available budget, talent, and resources they have. Digital asset management is one of the best solutions for small-scale businesses. It improves the efficiency and productivity of the team, helping them stay relevant and profitable.
Choosing an effective DAM solution that suits the business needs can work wonders for any small-scale operation. Below, you can learn how a small business can manage digital assets efficiently by implementing a digital asset management system.
What is digital asset management?
In general, digital asset management refers to the platforms aimed at helping teams organize and manage their digital libraries. It encompasses the practices and guidelines used for handling digital assets like documents, audio, videos, photos, etc. This type of solution also facilitates sharing of digital files among multiple users.
A DAM system is not only something you see upon opening digital files but also everything associated with them, including their metadata and other information. A DAM also governs the cloud systems on which most businesses today store their work data. Thereby enabling the sending digital files to other parties and supporting modern organizations.
Why is Digital Asset Management important for small businesses?
Today, in an attempt to improve their agility, most small businesses have shifted a lot of their information to the internet. However, just like physical storage, poorly organized information can result in missing, lost data. Digital asset management solutions are great for storing, organizing, and sharing media resources of the organization.
Different business teams and departments require storing and sharing digital assets like images, videos, audio, and other documents in various formats to accomplish their tasks. In the present era dominated by remote work and digitalization, effective management of digital assets is one of the critical requirements for organizations looking to streamline their workflows.
Today’s economic environment is highly challenging, particularly for small businesses and startups. So, you may want to consider a cost-effective DAM solution with a good ROI to boost profits. It is challenging to convey relevant information to suppliers and clients without adequately managing digital assets. A digital asset management system gives the company a digital storehouse with folders to access the desired information whenever needed.
Benefits of Digital Asset Management (DAM) for small businesses
As the digital revolution drives customer expectations and behavior, tools like digital asset management help businesses engage customers better and stay connected to them. DAM solutions were traditionally not affordable for small businesses. Still, cloud technology has today enabled them to deliver more powerful features at a price that small players can afford.
Let us discuss how digital asset management benefits small businesses.
Ease of Use
Digital asset management solutions are designed to offer all the features in an easy-to-use, intuitive interface. These platforms are simple enough to get easily started with. Most available options give you custom branding features, branded folders, custom login pages, and URLs to help you establish a professional, consistent identity across applications.
Flexibility
Most DAM tools are designed to be flexible and integrate seamlessly into your existing workflow. Integrations help incorporate these components into other platforms used by small businesses. Such modules can effectively equip other tools with asset management features, giving you an easy way to improve file management.
Improved Security
In the absence of a managed system, online file-sharing can quickly become uncontrolled. When managers have no ways to customize permission and access to files for different members, there is a threat to your digital assets. DAM tools ensure the security of the digital library in different ways, ensuring it is always protected against unauthorized access.
A digital asset management system uses regular backups, encryption, and multi-factor authentication to control business assets better and prevent data loss. Team leaders can keep track of who changes what files. This type of transparency keeps the employees accountable and makes it easy to spot any intrusion from attackers.
Cost Reduction
A DAM platform can save the business much money in several ways in terms of time and productivity. Giving the team quick access to digital files saves them time and energy that they can use to focus on other essential aspects of the business. A digital file management system also protects the company from penalties incurred for copyright infringement.
A digital repository of assets also saves the business time and money by preventing redundancy. A DAM lets members edit and access files in real-time to avoid any duplication with version control.
Once you integrate the DAM software with your existing workflow, everybody can start using the tools without special training. Anybody can log in quickly to find the file they need. Team managers, by ensuring that all the members know where they should look for assets and files, save much valuable time.
DAM platforms also facilitate easy onboarding, giving new employees a quick overview of the assets, processes, and people. This means businesses using DAM can deploy projects faster, bring their products to the market on time, and efficiently meet customer demands.
Digital asset management strategies
Implementing a digital management system is crucial for a small business to exercise more control over its digital assets. However, a comprehensive strategy helps the business harness the full potential of these tools.
Below are some of the essential steps to get started:
Define the goals
Before implementing the system, it is worth focusing on the fundamental reasons and objectives. You should also consider defining an approach to acquiring assets with version control and licensing methods. For example, if you aim to improve the efficiency of your digital communication system, you should learn about the latest cloud communication trends and the benefits of cloud-based assets.
If your objective is to improve your processes, you can benefit from using a process management system that helps manage your business’s staff, inventory, assets, and other components. This type of digital platform improves accountability and facilitates expansion, and readily scales with your business growth.
Identify the criteria
You can create a list of criteria by analyzing existing workflows in the organization. Consider how many users will use the system and the need for scaling. Also, explore how many users require access to assets and what system seems to work the best for your company.
Perform an audit
Conducting an internal audit of digital assets would give you a clear picture of the organization has. It further provides insight into how these assets are being used and why they were created in the first place.
Such information helps understand the requirements for the use and management of assets, thereby improving content and providing a better return on investment.