Expert insights: Digital Asset Management trends for 2024

For your business to keep pace, forecasting likely trends for the coming year allows time for you to adapt your strategies and solutions accordingly. In this article, we will explore three key trends we expect will shape the DAM industry in 2024:

1. The rise of AI capabilities in DAM
2. Integrations that unlock content's true value
3. Shifting focus onto optimized user experience and user adoption

Read on for an analysis of these trends and advice to ready your DAM program to extract maximum value in 2024.

1. AI everything, everywhere, all at once

Artificial intelligence is rapidly integrating into every business technology, and DAM solutions are no exception. While AI is already augmenting select DAM functions today, like automatic tagging and the way users search, 2024 will usher in more comprehensive adoption, and we expect to see a much closer integration between AI and our DAM systems.

As highlighted in a recent article,  Leveraging the power of AI for enhanced DAM, AI integrations in DAM provide an immense opportunity to amplify human creativity through accelerated productivity and optimized system interactions. AI's role in DAM extends to asset categorization, image recognition, and video transcription, and we expect to see generative AI making a major splash in automating content production in DAM systems in 2024.

So what’s next for AI innovations? Here are some of our top anticipated milestones on the 2024 roadmap:

• Better Integrations: Expect better native integrations and more plug-ins, allowing seamless collaboration between the content in your DAM system and innovative AI tools
• Custom Models: More brand-specific, tailored training of AI models will ensure that AI aligns precisely with the unique needs of your brand
• Efficient Workflows: Streamlined workflows where AI supports automation and efficiency including content recommendations, improved collaboration, and smarter notifications
  
  

Ultimately, the rapid maturation of AI technology signals an inflection point for DAM vendors to enhance automation, personalization, and intelligence across the content lifecycle.

2. Integrations – Building bridges to unlock the value of your content

Interoperability between DAM and other systems creates seamless experiences while optimizing content workflows from asset creation to delivery to the consumer to the archive. We predict the coming year will see continued emphasis on integrations to break down asset and data silos to maximize return on investment (ROI) in new technologies. Interoperability forms a linchpin for successful DAM programs by preventing content islands. With technology stacks expanding, stakeholders are demanding easier movement of assets between creative tools, digital experience systems, e-commerce catalogs, websites, social media channels, and beyond. Supporting this fluid distribution through connected platforms has become an enterprise mandate.

In a previous article, All you need to know about DAM integrations, we explored the significance of interoperability and the critical link integrations play in automating and streamlining the digital asset supply chain. As we peer into 2024, the importance of integrations remains paramount. To meet this integration imperative in 2024, we expect to see more interest and innovation across two common integration approaches:

• Low-Code Approach – iPaaS solutions, which leverage middleware connector tools like Workato, Mulesoft, or Zapier for easy connections
• No-Code Approach – Pre-Built Plugins, created and maintained by technology vendors themselves, which allow end users to plug-and-play

With these specialized low-code/no-code “bridges”, enterprises can overcome historical integrations hurdles, such as complexity, the need for highly skilled system integrators, and the associated high costs, to enable seamless asset flows between previously disconnected systems. This trend will empower organizations to tailor their DAM systems according to their specific needs, fostering a more agile and responsive digital environment. However, it is important to note that while these approaches will gain momentum and popularity, there will always be a need for developers and system integrators to support and maintain integrations and customizations across the complex web of our enterprise systems.

Seamless connectivity between DAM and other enterprise systems will define the integration landscape in 2024.

3. All about your people and optimizing user experiences

An effective digital strategy needs people – not just great technologies. Yet historically, most DAM programs emphasized technology over human enablement. Hard-won enterprise DAM user adoption has often stumbled over change resistance among users, lack of executive buy-in, and the absence of proper ownership.

In the rapidly evolving technology landscape, effective strategies require knowledgeable and skilled individuals to plan and execute them. The #1 metric (aka Key Performance Indicator (KPI)) our clients now use to assess the success of their DAM is user adoption. This shift in the definition of “success” reflects the growing understanding that success is not just about the technology itself, but also about how well it aligns with and serves the people using it.

While technology enables strategy, success ultimately depends on empowering people with tools and information to do their jobs effectively. User-centric design is not a new concept, but its application in DAM is gaining prominence. Tailoring DAM systems to meet user needs, profiles, and preferences ensures a smoother adoption process and increased user satisfaction. We predict DAM vendors will prioritize usability and relevance to match users’ unique needs in 2024.

As we step into 2024, organizations will find themselves investing more in observing and understanding user behaviors and preferences, making DAM systems intuitive and user-friendly. We expect to also see success metrics further expanding beyond DAM system usage, to consider how DAM truly impacts an organization through enhanced productivity, cost savings, and the ability to achieve strategic objectives.

To navigate the shift towards a more user-centric DAM approach, organizations can follow a few simple steps, including:

• Proactively planning for change management and hiring a change expert to join the team
• Empowering users with adequate training and support to encourage user adoption
• Recruiting the right people at the right time, and upskilling staff to support users and drive positive change initiatives

If you want to learn more about how to nurture user adoption through change management, check out this article: Keep your DAM on track to success: using change management to nurture user adoption.

By putting your stakeholders first, you can unlock greater value from your content, empowering those with direct business impact. But it does necessitate realigning teams, processes, and mentalities beyond the technology toward true value generation.

Conclusion

As we peer into 2024 through our crystal ball, three distinct trends emerge, promising to shape the next year of Digital Asset Management: the pervasive influence of AI, the critical role of integrations, and the emphasis on user-centric approaches, collectively signal a paradigm shift.

The future of Digital Asset Management is unfolding before us, and organizations must not merely observe, but actively participate in shaping it. You can get ahead of your competition by embracing and experimenting with AI, optimizing your integrations, and investing in proper change management. By doing so, you position your organization not just to survive, but to thrive in the digital ecosystem of 2024 and beyond.

More info?
To learn more about the potential of AI in DAM systems, the following article is a highly recommended read: AI powered DAM: Current state and future potential. Or contact our WoodWing Assets experts directly, using the contact button below.