When implementing a DAM or integrating a new content type in an existing DAM, the issue of data recovery is inevitable. Assets to recover can originate from a former DAM solution, file directories, hard drives or online storage (drives). These assets may come with data (date, description, etc.)which must also be recovered so as not to lose all asset context and value.
This asset migration stage is a technical challenge, sometimes with very tight deadlines. To better grasp this sensitive matter, it is necessary to define the DAM goals. Who is this DAM for? How will they use it? Depending on the answers, the recovery step will not necessarily be the same. Defining the DAM goals will help you choose the right strategy.
Several issues draw organizations to implement a DAM solution. These issues usually evolve around three main DAM uses:
1. Centralize and share assets that have been validated by the organization
2. Preserve and highlight the organization heritage
3. Automate the asset cross channel dissemination
Depending on each of these goals, you may adapt the asset recovery:
For many companies, the goal is to centralize all assets produced by their communication and marketing teams. It is indeed necessary to provide one central access to guarantee the use of valid assets and capitalize on the asset production. The goal is thus to facilitate circulation of images, videos, print or web content. These assets are available to specific user communities who need to find and reuse the assets on a daily basis.
Should the DAM goal be to centralize and share valid assets, data recovery will focus on identifying, collecting and integrating all current assets. Recovering legal information (usage rights start and end date, copyright, covered territories and channels, etc.) about the assets will be crucial to guarantee correct usage. This type of asset recovery needs to be very efficient: assets usually have a short life cycle. Their availability through the DAM must be implemented as soon as possible.
Conservation of outdated assets is also a challenge for many companies. The goal is to build a usable multimedia archive. The current trend of storytelling is driving the brands to reclaim their old content. Companies start to better consider the value of their image, video and advertising heritage. Archiving assets on hard drives stored in old cabinets is no longer an option.
Should your DAM goal be the preservation of your asset heritage, the recovery will require careful preparation. The asset volume may reach many terabytes of data, especially if the video content is sizable. The first reflex is usually to integrate everything, at the risk of getting:
- assets in poor quality, useless, even in web format
- ghost assets: items for which there is no information. With no source or context, assets lose all value and can hardly be re-used.
- duplicate assets: the same image may be added several times in various formats, versions or sizes. These duplicates pollute searches and confuse users.
To be successful, asset recovery will have to go through an inventory of both assets and their data, as well as a sorting stage. The recovery will usually require more preparation time than any other recovery.
For other companies, the challenge of implementing a DAM lies in its capacity to integrate with the information system. From creation to dissemination, the asset cycle must be automated as much as possible. The DAM must communicate with the other tools: PIM, MDM, eCommerce platforms, website CMS. All applications must be able to feed each other with data and/or assets.
When your DAM goal it to automate asset dissemination, the recovery will focus on asset conformity. The assets have to be compliant on several levels:
- technical quality: for an optimal display,
- artistic quality: frame, camera angle, cropping, etc.
- validity: provide the current product packaging, not theone from last year,
- data: provide the right asset for the displayed data (product sheet, for example).
Outdated assets will usually be excluded from the recovery scope, or added later to keep records.
Your project may combine two, maybe all three, of the uses listed above. In this case, it is usual to carry out the recovery in several stages. Assets which are required most urgently will be recovered as a priority.
While implementing a DAM with Keepeek, you can benefit from our wide experience in asset recovery, anticipated from the pre-sales steps. Dedicated workshops aim at specifying the recovery scope very precisely and remove all obstacles.
Our teams have sharpen an efficient asset recovery process, from the audit step right to the verification tests. Features can also help you 'clean' your content after the recovery, such as our duplicate removal tool.
You have a DAM project with asset recovery issues? Let us talk!
