I just returned from a DAM Conference and DAM Tweetup where I was able to meet with many more like-minded people in the field of Digital Asset Management (DAM).
More and more people are aspiring to get into the field of Digital Asset Management, like any other domain, but the issue is how:
As a Digital Asset Manager, one of the things to keep in mind is that a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week and almost every day of every year. But these are not my regular business hours. With that level of demand, I don’t live at the office nor would my employer want me to. Nor would my family.
As much as my laptop looks like an extra limb, I do put it down (sometimes). Of course, when you most need it, you don’t have it available or you can not get a connection.
What to do when you are away from the computer and the office, but you get a critical email/phone call? Waiting until you return is not an option. You can assess how critical the need is by talking the person or emailing them, but sometimes the solution may involve using the DAM remotely. Ignoring users or having them ‘wait until I am available ‘ in front of a computer again is not realistic today, particularly in a high production environment. Ignoring users or delaying assistance does nothelp user adoption.
If you can not access the DAM on the web, this limits the abilities of mobile users and admins alike. If that is the case, you should have trained people (as your backup) to cover the DAM duties if you leave (vacation, sick leave or otherwise) for the purpose of continuity as well as limiting delays in production. If you work in an environment with shifts covering the work 24 hours a day on a regular basis, you may need people on each shift who are knowledgeable in DAM to support the business needs and have them sync online by documenting the work done. Otherwise, your Digital Asset Manager or DAM admin is stuck working during alleged vacation time and sick leave. This should simply be a matter of unplugging because you can, need to and want to.
Now returning to the computer unavailable with critical issue pending assistance. I have a popular smart phone which actually displays the web properly (yes, I tested several smart phones before acquiring one), but almost every phone does not display Adobe Flash NOR Flex (yet). Luckily, the DAM I use does not currently use Flex. Flex has gained popularity in DAM space because it provides a flexible GUI display. And Flex looks cool…or at least gray. Flex is Flash-based and that remains troublesome for almost every mobile user…among others…since Flash requires special players and/or plugins to display properly.
It is possible to have a mobile version of a DAM User Interface (UI) as well, which is different from the regular DAM UI, but I have not seen many yet. So yes, admins as well as all registered DAM users should be able to access and use the DAM via mobile device.
Whether we like it or not, it is not a secret that mobile access has been and continues to be a growing need for mobile workers, but how many are ready to do this now?
Before each DAM Conference (at least in Los Angeles and New York City), people schedule an informal gathering for some casual, pre-conference fun and conversation.
Please note, the DAM Tweetup is a non-hosted event with a cash bar. Tweetup is originally organized as ‘Twitter meetup’ in person. Here are the origins of the Tweetup.
I was fortunate enough to attend the first DAM Tweetup at the Tropicana Bar (outdoors) with some great people during the evening just before the DAM LA 2009 Conference.
This time, in New York City, you can tweetup in the lobby bar of the New York Hilton on Wednesday May 19, 2010 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
It should part of the accountability in your organization. Without it, the organization loses out and so does everyone working for the organization.
Is it a fireable offense to give out your passwords in your organization? Or do you hand out your passwords around like candy?Why not?Don’t you hand out your credit cards and ATM card with pin as well? We would hope not.
So which is worth more…Your personal bank account or all of your organization’s digital assets?
Think of all that time spent creating each asset, licensing those assets and/or paying to acquire the assets from other sources. That was all free, right? Not likely. Just like your personal bank account was not replenished for free. It is more likely that the digital assets in the DAM are worth far more than the DAM system itself.And that should be the case, if you are getting ROIfrom the DAM.Is that worth protecting?
Do you have the following for every DAM user:
Name (first and last name)
Address (is every DAM user in one location?)
Organization (does the organization have subsidiaries, partners and/or contracting firms with different names?)
Department (Does more than one department use the DAM?)
Phone number(s)
Email address
Title/Role (Does this define their permissions for the DAM?)
As soon as the information is provided and permission is approved, access can be granted. Not before. This could just take minutes to complete, provided an administrator can add/remove users to the DAM as needed, such as new employees/contractors.
Do you audit the DAM users to make sure they still work there today? If the DAM can create a report on all users, a regularly scheduled audit is quite easy. When an employee leaves the organization, DAM access should be turned off within the same day. This information should be communicated uniformly for all platforms, from the start date of new people to their last day.
Do you deactivate/delete user accounts of former employees…or any other former users. Or is that window left wide open for them to continue accessing your organization’s intellectual property? Is that secure?
Based on those reasons alone, it is not hard to explain why you need a list of people who no longer work for the organization (staff employees/contractors/vendors/anyone with access to the DAM) at least as part of regularly scheduled audit.
Does the DAM vendor display your organization’s DAM as a model…to your closest competitors? Is that specified or prohibited in the DAM contract?
Is the DAM password-protected? Is the password simply “password”? Can a 10-year-old crack your password?
Or do you want someone not granted access to tamper with settings, permissions or even steal digital assets…before they are supposed to be released to the public?
Embarrassment may be the least of your concerns in cases like this.
How about seeing those digital assets on internet without anyone in the organization’s prior knowledge? Yeah, that would be really bad.
Is the DAM a play toy? A free-for-all? A dumping ground? Or is the DAM a business solution…a business strategy that demands proper security precautions?
Another DAM Blog 