3 Benefits of Digital Asset Management (DAM) for Remote Teams
But in order for remote teams to operate successfully, they need to have the right tools. One of those tools is digital asset management software. In this article, we’ll explore what digital asset management software is and three ways it benefits remote teams.
Let’s get started!
What Is Digital Asset Management Software?
Digital asset management (DAM) software is any system that allows a company to properly store, organize, retrieve, and distribute its digital assets such as images, videos, and logos from one central location. It acts as a single source of truth and allows organizations to become more productive, keep branding consistent, and meet copyright requirements.
DAM is an essential tool for marketing and PR teams, though, anyone in an organization can benefit from it. Speaking of benefits, let’s discuss a few that pertain to remote teams specifically:
3 DAM Benefits for Remote Teams
DAM systems benefit all teams, remote or on-location. But there are definitely a few DAM features that are especially helpful to remote teams. Some of them are: constant access, consistent branding, and reduced bottlenecks.
Let’s take a look at each of these in greater detail:
1. Constant Access
Because most DAMs reside in the cloud and house all of a company’s brand assets, remote employees can access the files they need no matter where they’re located. They simply have to log onto their organization’s DAM system from any internet capable device.
It’s true that many businesses have processes to share files remotely via a VPN. However, these processes often limit users because it’s assumed that they have a solid understanding of the remote file system organizational structure. And none of what makes DAM useful for organization or control is available from a remote network share in this way.
With a properly managed DAM system, users can easily find the files they need via powerful search features — even if they’ve never accessed the system before and don’t understand how it’s organized.
Constant access also gives remote teams the level of autonomy they need. For example, a team in East Asia would have to wait for hours to receive files from an office based in California due to time zone differences. But with DAM, they can access the files whenever they need to.
2. Consistent Branding
If your organization employs remote workers, you’ve probably noticed that maintaining a consistent company brand is difficult. Employees miles away and in different time zones may not be aware that the required version of an image or logo has changed. This can lead to the wrong file going out for publication.
But this is never a problem with a properly managed DAM system. As soon as a logo or image is updated, it can be added to the DAM library and made available to your team. The next time your out-of-office workers login to download an asset, the right file will be waiting for them.
3. Reduced Bottlenecks
We mentioned it briefly above but we want to expand on the thought here. DAM systems reduce bottlenecks because employees with access to the system don’t have to ask other team members for files and wait for them to be sent. They just log in, download what they need, and then continue going about their business.
Bottlenecks can also happen when files need to be sent to parties outside of an organization. For example, if a member of the media were to contact your company asking for images to include in their newspaper article, you’d likely be elated. But distributing those files may prove difficult without a DAM system.
You might try emailing them, but if the files are too large, they won’t send. You could also use a digital file locker like Dropbox, but you’ll miss out on the organization and rights management control a dedicated system can provide.
Fortunately, DAM tools like CleanPix offer two ways to send files: private download links and public facing galleries, sometimes called brand portals. A download link allows recipients to click and download specific files with zero hassle.
Galleries are essentially public-facing media libraries. Once given the link, the media professional in our above example could peruse the files you’ve added to your gallery and choose the ones she wants to use in her story. She could then request access to those specific assets. When access is granted, she’ll be able to download the files she needs. This process is easy and enjoyable for both parties.
Supercharge Your Remote Team With DAM
As you can see, DAM services make life much easier on both remote employees and the companies they work for. They give remote workers constant access to important brand assets, allow for more consistent branding, and reduce potential bottlenecks.
If you’re looking to get started with DAM for your remote team, we recommend CleanPix. Our solution is powerful, intuitive, and loved by our many customers. The best part? You can try it for FREE for 14 days right now! If you enjoy it, we offer three straightforward pricing plans — something many other DAM provider don’t provide — for you to choose from.
– Jacob Thomas