Just one chapter
Digital asset management is only a small part of a giant workflow process that moves digital assets from production to distribution on various devices such as a Web browser, a WAP-enabled phone, a printed brochure or a DVD.
There are various analogies to how a DAM solution works, but the concept of a library seems to fit the best. A library stores paper-based books, magazines and newspapers, and electronic media such as microfiche, CDs and tapes. A DAM solution stores digital versions of images, music, video and text. And just as a library has a card catalogue that can be searched and in some cases even retrieve materials, so does a DAM solution with the digital assets. Some DAM solutions even take it one step further and convert assets from one format to anotherâ€"prepping the information for multiple distribution channels.
Because a DAM solution is like a library, it must have a databaseâ€"or somewhere to store the assets themselves and information about the assets, known as metadata. Many of the products mentioned here run on Oracle8i, although IBM's solution also runs on DB2, and Informix spin-off Ascential runs on an Informix database.
While those solution frameworks are tightly knit with their resident databases, they can tie into legacy databases via XML and ODBC connectionsâ€"very important, considering that's probably where most companies are storing their assets and associated metadata.
