Improving DAM In 2017: Engaging With Vendors

Late last year, I issued a request for contributions to a series Improving DAM In 2017 which was intended to solicit opinions from DAM users (and others involved with DAM) about how the field could be enhanced in a more positive fashion, rather than the commentary descending into just being complaints about the poor quality of solutions, lack of innovation/imagination etc.  The first article in the series is by Ricky Patten of DataBasics: Better Ways To Engage With Your Vendor:

“Q: How are we going to get better DAM solutions implemented in this world?
A: Engage with your vendor in a more open collaborative process so that you get a solution that matches your expectations, is targeted to address your organisational requirements, provides benefits and allows for innovation.” [Read More]

There are some good points in Ricky’s piece, but I don’t necessarily agree with all of them (in particular about the consolidation of the DAM industry).  I do intend to follow up with something that addresses those, however, I should make it clear that the advice he offers is useful, credible and based on an obviously deep level of real-world, DAM implementation experience.  His item is certainly not ‘content marketing’ fluff.  The intention of this series is to provoke ideas and debate, both of which are usually lacking in DAM; the field tends to be characterised by a lot of copying of ideas and limited original thought.  As such, some differences of opinion (where constructively argued) are positive because they allow the issues to be properly considered.

To date, I have had quite a few people say they wanted to write something and a few people who have told me they are working on articles, but not much in the way of filed copy apart from Ricky’s piece.  If you just want to read me pontificate about the numerous ways in which I think the DAM industry can be improved then that that isn’t a problem, however, I must forewarn readers that not everyone will like what I have to say and if you want to put your own perspective on all this, now is the time to get on with it.  If you are unprepared to say much beyond a few tweets or some one-line LinkedIn comments, then I believe it’s fair to say you forfeit much in the way of a moral right to complain too loudly if what is delivered in terms of DAM products and services doesn’t measure up very well to your expectations.  As the political adage goes, the people get the government they deserve – and I gather that many of them are carefully considering the full implications of that statement in various different parts of the world right now.

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