Is Dropbox a DAM System?

How Does Digital Asset Management Work?

Digital Asset Management (DAM) is a way to consolidate all the details of your products under one profile. When a Product Information Management (PIM) solution can record the price, SKU, product dimensions, names, features, and benefits of a product, DAM takes it a step further. With DAM, companies can include all images, videos, and documentation related to the product.

Some PIM software comes complete with DAM capabilities, such as Lumavate.

DAM allows companies to store, manage, and share digital files, providing a central location of digital assets across internal departments and external agencies or channels. With DAM, you can tag digital assets in multiple ways so they’re easier to find. When the asset is updated in one channel, it’s automatically updated across all digital channels, so your website doesn’t display one price while your mobile app displays another.

Most Digital Asset Management software also makes it possible to create brand portals, so teams can curate the selection of assets to be shared with other users. Whether it’s a member of customer service or an affiliate eCommerce agency, DAM provides targeted information to those who need it. What’s more, people can trust the system to be accurate when they’re under the gun.

Is Dropbox a DAM System?

It would be easy to confuse Dropbox with DAM systems, because both offer capabilities to store images, videos, white papers, spec sheets, etc. However, Dropbox is a general tool for businesses to share major files, whereas DAM provides the ability to organize assets with tagging. DAM can also automatically update the information across channels for staff and partners alike, whereas Dropbox cannot.

The advantages and disadvantages of Dropbox vary widely based on how the service is implemented. For small companies with just a few products to track, Dropbox may be an affordable solution to store product demos, owner manuals, and service details. However, the Dropbox disadvantages are often too substantial for most companies to ignore.

The sheer weight of information for each product makes it too precarious to rely on a system that can’t effectively organize or update. With DAM, external channels can be kept in the loop with small and large changes alike. 

If you’re looking for free DAM software, there are open-source solutions that you may be able to pair with your current systems. If you want the most comprehensive solution, though, you should look for software companies that effectively blend DAM and PIM. This way, you can manage all of your digital experiences across the board.

Is Google Drive a DAM?

If you’re searching for Google Drive DAM, you should know that Google Drive is not actually a DAM solution. Similar to Dropbox, the platform can store digital assets, but they don’t allow companies to tag the information or update the existing files in different locations the way DAM does. A quality DAM solution will cut back on confusion, whereas a Google Drive or Dropbox can add to the miscommunication and lags between responses.

Companies with rapidly growing product catalogs often find themselves at a loss about how to best utilize the resources they have. Customers can easily become confused about which product is right for them and how exactly they’ll use it on a daily basis. When a sales team starts their pitch, they may only be able to describe similar products in general terms. Marketing may not know how to best distinguish two different SKUs that look and function almost exactly alike. When a customer support agent is asked highly specific questions about the applications of a product outside the standard suggestions, they may not even know who to turn to for the answers.

PIM gives companies a major head start when it comes to straightening out the details and providing more valuable information. However, only with DAM capabilities can you truly round out the digital experience. Without the organization tools and blanket updating, companies risk having their digital assets go to waste. When hours of time and energy are poured into technical documentation, professional photos, and high-quality videos, a DAM solution ensures that these efforts can be accessed by everyone who needs them.

Can SharePoint be a DAM?

SharePoint cannot be used as a DAM, though it’s easy to see why companies are tempted to try it. If you’ve purchased Microsoft Office products for the rest of the team, SharePoint capabilities are often available at little to no cost. For very small teams, a SharePoint solution might serve as a way to catalog and store internal files.

However, the inability to tag the content or to automatically update files outside of SharePoint can quickly frustrate everyone involved. Even small companies that specialize in a highly specific niche may find themselves questioning the documentation they’re seeing.

With a DAM solution, it’s possible to create brand portals that can be shared across the board. From customers to affiliates to vendors to suppliers, DAM updates information in real-time so everyone comes to see the company as more reliable and trustworthy. It can also give teams a way to unify their messaging. So if you're used to different teams developing their own systems and protocols, DAM combined with PIM can help smooth out the rough edges. When you can see all of your documentation and assets can be stored in one place, it's easier to set standards for everything from length to color to format to layout.

The main advantage of DAM is that it's simply easier to find what you need, when you need it. SharePoint, Dropbox, and Google Drive only offer one part of the solution. They can quickly turn into dumping grounds that are almost as ineffective as files being stored on individual hard drives or random spreadsheets. With DAM, details are easy to track down with the help of tagging and automatic updates across channels.