PAM and DAM: The need to consider Physical Asset Management in your Digital Asset Management Strategy

Nesbit Systems has done extensive research in evaluating the many and varied Digital Asset Management solutions which exist in our market today. Our work has included discussions with both vendors and users, including of course our own client base. One resounding theme emerges day after day: on one is quite sure what to do, but they know they have to do something.

The questions surrounding the implementation of a DAM strategy are numerous: what vendor to choose: what technology best suits the requirements of the business flow; how much should I pay; what digital format should I choose; how will it effect my production operation; how long will it take to implement: why have so many already failed at this initiative; what will happened to my analog tape; and what storage medium should I use and how will I track it all no matter what format it is in?

These are only a sampling of the questions that we have identified. While everyone is sure they need to implement a Digital Asset Management strategy, no one is quite sure which way to turn. However, within this seemingly endless confusion two major themes are clear: the need to track the physical asset will not go away, and the industry is looking for a straightforward and affordable digital solution.

Over the last 15 years NSi has developed and refined our Media Library System to support the physical asset tracking needs of over 250 clients. We currently support the tracking and storage of digital files through our attachment feature. We are now planning to take the next step and provide the capability of encoding analog video and associating metadata, including log information, to create and manage these digital assets within our Media Library System. For the first time users will be able to manage the physical asset (PAM) as well as existing and newly created digital assets (DAM). One system will track ALL of the assets in your library, no matter what format they exist in.

We would like to hear from you regarding your current requirements for managing both analog and digital assets. What kind of system do you need? What problems are you having? How do you see a digital solution working in your library operation? Please contact us with your ideas.