Digital Asset Management is not something you just do on the side. In America it is now taken for granted that there is a digital asset manager within companies who is fully dedicated to this serious profession," says Sebastiaan de Ruiter partner and managing director within Comrads Solutions.

On mazes and unclear structures

'And that is also where we have an important role to play,' he continues, 'we make companies aware of the need for constructive policies about digital assets. We now have 18 years of experience in this business and we come across all sorts of things: mazes of folders, unclear structures, knowledge that resides in people's heads instead of in clearly described processes and the purchase of more storage because the proverbial disk is full. An unnecessary expense, by the way, because often cleaning up and re-structuring is sufficient.'

What, where and why?

What we mainly do is go back to basics together: which files do you have and where do you store them under which name and how do you want to link and use them both inside and outside your organization? And how do you ensure that everyone in your organization gets this within his or her DNA? We emphatically do not set up a new system just like that. After all, that is short term thinking. Because if no good agreements are subsequently made internally, where all noses are pointed in the same direction, in no time it will be a chaotic mess within your assets. That is why we guide and help structurally, with workshops and recurring visits. All based on best practices and a good naming convention. And we start with the basics: with a metadata convention'.

Tip of the iceberg

'I realize it may be a bit much all together for in a blog like this. Digital Asset Management is about so much more than serious file management. That's why I cordially invite interested parties to join the conversation. Professional Digital Asset Management boils down to value creation and that is profitable for every layer within your company," concludes Sebastiaan.

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