I have been involved in a lot of data migration in the past few months. There are a few things to consider before beginning the deployment of a new DAM system.
It usually takes more effort and time than you realize. Plan realistically. You will need expertise within your own organization in order to successfully implement a new DAM. You need the commitment of those people, and consider that they have a full day’s work on their plate to begin with, they may not be as available as you expect.
There are a number of areas to consider, I will touch upon Legacy Data, Production Interfaces, and Training.
Legacy Data
In most cases, organizations have some sort of existing data. It may be as simple as a file system full of assets, or a pre-existing database that needs to be migrated. In each case, you need to ensure that the metadata for the assets is migrated too. You will need to have experts on hand to a) guide the migration process, as metadata storage has likely morphed over the years, b) indicate where data cleanup and consistency should occur c) review of the final data as it resides in the DAM. Hopefully that corporate memory still exists so that the asset migration to the new DAM is optimal.
Production Interfaces
Often DAM systems need to interact with other (internal and/or third party) systems. How are the assets exchanged? How does the metadata travel along with the assets? How are the assets sent/returned to the DAM? You will need technical and end-user expertise to ensure that the production interfaces are exchanging the proper information, represented properly in each system, and create the best user-experience.
Training
All of your staff that will interact with the DAM will require (one or more of end-user, administration, and technical) training. Learning new systems is challenging for people due to time constraints, new user interface experience, and new beneficial features to make their jobs easier.
Partnership with your Vendor
Most important, is the partnership between your organization and the DAM provider. MerlinOne strives to provide you the best experience in the areas above, on-going Support, and a committed partnership that will help your organization succeed, now and in the future.
Dale Giesbrecht
Director of Software Development
Email: dgiesbrecht@MerlinOne.com
Phone: 617.328.6645
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