THE ABCs OF DAM

A good no-frills definition of DAM, from consultants Cognizant Technology Solutions, pegs it as "the archival, retrieval, tracking, manipulation, re-purposing, interaction with, and transaction of all types of digital media."

DAM architectures and interfaces provide valuable controls for the issues of digital asset ownership, production workflow, version tracking, and image access. "It's really a process improvement tool involving the elements of software, consulting, and customer workflow," explains Paul Foszcz, director of sales at InterchangeDigital, a provider of DAM and workflow solutions to consumer products and pharmaceutical markets.