¿Cómo equilibra los costos y beneficios de invertir en nuevas características de DAM?

An important element to decide upon is whether the DAM will be used for work-in-progress content or just finished assets, as the choice of tools will depend on your use case. Many modern cloud storage solutions, including Dropbox, now offer metadata search, tagging, object recognition, image modification, video and audio previewing as well as transformation. This means that the range of tools for managing the production and archiving of content has just grown, while the barriers to entry for those starting out on their DAM journey has just become much easier. Whichever route you choose, make sure that you agree on common tagging and metadata terms so the whole team can search effectively.

From my experience, 'new DAM features' will often be released as a new update to an already existing product (if using cloud based or server based). Therefore, it sounds like one might be asking the question - 'Should we change DAM provider/supplier/software, to gain further, new features?'. You have to understand what your basic needs are, does your current DAM suffice these or is there a requirement for more or better features in the future? Such as AI. Collecting data from your current DAM users, such as; downloads, uploads, speed, searching and tagging facilities and then workflow management and getting to the end product or result is key when deciding to upgrade or change providers.

Understanding current and future needs is key, but alignment with the organizational goals is also very important. During the period of due diligence, the attention should be focused only on pain points to avoid the following problems: scalability issues, compliance, or integration with other systems. While stakeholder and user input is crucial, we should also consider how a DAM system may mature as business demand evolves. By defining measurable outcomes that align with company strategy, we ensure the DAM doesn't just close the current gaps but truly future-proofs the organization for growth.

One way to get started on this journey could be by using comparative data from their individual websites. Or using a 3rd party to mediate between and provide specialist, tailored knowledge to you to help ensure you make the right decision. From my experience, requesting trials (sandbox or not) from other providers is a good way to start. Requesting a view or conversation about their product roadmaps is critical. You don't want to find out after signing a 3 year contract that on the second year they're retiring a key feature that you and your team use daily.

While exploring these new directions for DAM systems, emphasis should not only be put on the cost and timing but also on how it would affect organizational growth and agility over the long term. Upgrading or changing your system needs to go beyond features. It has to ensure strong integration, scalability, and user adoption. Awesome features of an AI-enabled search and workflow automation directly support the achievement of certain business objectives and industry standards in essence. The flexibility of custom solutions fosters complexity. Strategic decisions, thus, have to be for future-proofing the DAM against changing needs and technological developments.

Calculating ROI for DAM investments is key to proving their value. But beyond using formulas, it's important to consider both measurable and intangible factors. While productivity and efficiency are easy to quantify, benefits like consistency, compliance, or customer satisfaction may not show immediate financial returns but add long-term value. Involving different stakeholders across IT, marketing, and compliance ensures a more accurate ROI assessment. Although DAM’s upfront costs can be high, long-term efficiencies from smoother workflows and better asset reuse outweigh initial expenses. Finally, think beyond ROI calculators to include future costs and intangible benefits, ensuring lasting value as your business evolves

This has to be data driven. Being able to track assets across your internal network or even external/website etc is critical in understanding what the ROI is. From my experience I would also say that it's vital to understand that it isn't just about ROI - you need to assess where you've come from and look where you're going and understand that it is an investment. Ask yourself the following questions: Is it a space (physical) saving option? Are we looking for more metrics? Such as asset tracking? Is it for safety/security reasons? Instead of a physical drive stored in a cupboard? Is it for efficiency or ease at finding assets which have been lost or stored incorrectly?

I cannot stress enough how important planning and communicating is as part of the process of implementing new features or a new DAM within your brand. Have a clear project plan to implement is crucial to set expectations for those you're working alongside and those above you. Depending on the brand and the type of content that you use, I would stress that having a proper roadmap for close team members to have access to and input in. Then once you have understood and assessed the challenge, communicating that roadmap internally and externally to partners, customers or suppliers is important. Always under promise and over deliver.

Prioritizing DAM investments based purely on return might overlook a level of strategic importance. But beyond the numbers, it is then absolutely essential to evaluate which option best fits long-term business goals and user experience. Phasing investments is often practical but also means balancing timing and resources between immediate needs and future scalability. Transparent communication with stakeholders and end-users ensures alignment, instills adoption, and cultivates ongoing improvement. Balancing ROI against the dimension of urgency, feasibility, and stakeholder input enables organizations to maximize not just immediate value but also future growth.

DAM investment needs to be monitored and optimized based on data. These metrics help surface details around asset use, search time, workflow efficiency, etc.; it means that you can easily see how the system affects your company. With data-driven performance evaluation, you are able to see the trends and patterns and implement continuous improvement. Gathering feedback from stakeholders and end users is obviously very important, but when put into context with data, it definitely becomes one of the powerful decision-making assets. This gives you opportunities for proactive optimization of your DAM system, making sure it will continue to meet business goals, improve productivity, and bring the value that you anticipate.

Again, everything you do should be data driven. Refer back to the original question of balancing cost vs benefit of a DAM & it's features. User data and feedback will be critical when implementing this - if you can change tech on the backend working with the partner, then do! Make it user friendly, make it accessible, you want people to use it!

If you're using a SaaS DAM platform and pay either monthly or yearly then whichever features are brought to the platform you should get access to... specify this in your contract. Most partners I know of want their clients to succeed so giving them regular or lifetime updates will ensure success as features like AI become more developed. Also, partner with the vendor, and ask them to build and develop products that will help you grow and develop. This could be used as case studies for you both in the future if successful!

I couldn’t have put it any better @Sam Dougan Working with clients on unique functionality is one route. We also try to incorporate custom work and modifications into Resourcebase as often as possible so the whole user base benefits.