Using SharePoint to Manage Content and Assets? Here’s Why You Should Use a DAM Instead
In today's fast-paced business world, managing thousands of product images and multiple brands can be a major challenge for companies.
To streamline processes and increase productivity, it's essential to organize and distribute digital assets effectively.
However, with so many digital collaboration tools available, choosing the right one can be overwhelming.
The collaboration tools market is projected to reach $40.79 billion by 2028, underscoring the importance of effective communication systems.
With this in mind, we're here to compare two popular tools for collaborating on online documents and files: DAM and Sharepoint.
Digital Asset Management (DAM) is a platform that provides centralized storage, organization, and management and distribution of digital assets. Through workflows, teams collaborate on files and ensure that the latest versions of digital assets are available to all team members.
Sharepoint, on the other hand, is a collaboration platform that provides document management, workflow automation, and team collaboration features.
While SharePoint is definitely a popular tool for managing documents and collaborating with others, it might not be the perfect fit for your company's specific needs.
That's why we're here to talk about why companies use Sharepoint or DAM, the limitations of SharePoint and why a DAM system might just be the better solution you're looking for.
Why companies use SharePoint
Here’s five benefits of using Microsoft Sharepoint:
Unified management: One single dashboard to get everything done, whether it be backing up sites or restoring data.
Tailored to fit your needs: You can customize it to fit all your day-to-day content operations and processes.
Easy collaboration and management of documents: One place to work with your files improves communication, giving a boost in company productivity.
Offers integration of sites: Consolidating your sites gets rid of silos.
Seamlessly works with your current applications: No matter what systems you use on a daily basis, Microsoft Sharepoint will integrate with the most
Why companies use DAM
Here’s five benefits of using tools like digital asset management (DAM):
Faster time to market: By using DAM, you can automate the finding, processing and distribution of content to multiple channels, saving you significant amounts of time. You skip the time-consuming task of sifting through shared drives to find what you’re looking for.
Improved customer experience: Managing and delivering dynamic content, like videos, can heavily impact the buyer experience.
Supports your digital transformation strategy: Organizing and optimizing digital files with a DAM system enables your company to keep up with the fast-paced tempo of today's digital landscape.
Increased security: DAM software offers robust security measures to safeguard valuable content, adhering to digital rights management and the latest security requirements, and reducing the risk of cyber-attacks that can result in the loss of customer trust and revenue.
Breaks down silos, improving collaboration: DAM integrations with other platforms can streamline productivity across all teams in your company, providing a level-playing field and instant access to files and data.
DAM vs Sharepoint feature comparison: The limitations of SharePoint
Limited metadata management
When you have a large number of product images and brand assets to manage, keeping them organized and easy to find can be a challenge.
This is where robust metadata management comes in. It helps you categorize and search through your assets quickly and efficiently.
However, if you're using SharePoint for metadata management, you might find its capabilities to be basic compared to dedicated DAM systems.
With a DAM system, you can create custom metadata fields that are tailored to your specific asset requirements.
This allows for faster and more accurate search and retrieval of assets. You can easily categorize your assets based on keywords, tags, and other relevant information.
The DAM system can even handle complex metadata schemas that SharePoint might struggle with.
So while SharePoint can be a good starting point for metadata management, a dedicated DAM system is the way to go if you want efficient organization and categorization of your large numbers of product images and brand assets.
Inadequate search capabilities
When you're managing thousands of product images and multiple brands, finding the right asset quickly is crucial.
But, let's be honest, SharePoint's search functionality isn't always up to the task.
That's where a dedicated DAM tool comes in handy.
DAM systems have powerful search capabilities that allow you to locate assets using various parameters.
You can search by keywords, metadata, or even file types, basically like having a personal assistant for your digital assets.
Unlike SharePoint, a DAM system's search features are designed to be efficient and intuitive, making it easier for you to find what you need without the hassle.
SharePoint’s search features can at times be slow, leading to decreased productivity and user frustration.
That's why switching to a dedicated DAM system is the way to go if you want to save time and stay organized. You'll be able to find what you need faster, leaving you with more time to focus on other important tasks.
Lack of media asset previews and transformation
Have you ever had to download an image or video file from SharePoint just to preview it?
It's time-consuming and not very efficient.
Unfortunately, SharePoint doesn't allow for previewing different types of media assets directly within the platform.
DAM systems come with built-in media asset previews, making it easy to review and select the right asset.
You can preview images and videos right within the platform without having to download anything.
That's a huge time-saver.
Plus, DAM systems can automatically generate different file formats, sizes, and resolutions on demand, allowing you to download the exact version you need.
It's frustrating to waste time downloading files just to preview them.
With a DAM system, you won't have to deal with that anymore. You can review and select the correct assets quickly and easily.
Plus, the ability to generate different file formats, sizes, and resolutions on demand means you'll always have the right version of the asset for your needs.
Insufficient version control and collaboration features
Version control is important when you're managing multiple brands and many different assets.
While SharePoint does offer some version control features, they're not as advanced or user-friendly as those found in dedicated DAM systems.
DAM systems are designed to support multiple versions of assets and provide a clear history of changes. This ensures that you have an organized and accurate archive.
AKA: You won't have to worry about confusion or people using outdated versions of assets.
Everyone in the company can rest easy knowing they're working with the most up-to-date versions.
Collaboration is another area where DAM systems shine. With seamless collaboration capabilities, team members can review, comment, and approve assets right within the platform.
That means no more lengthy email chains or the need to switch between external communication tools.
Everything is in one place, streamlining workflows and increasing efficiency.
When managing multiple brands, you need version control that is robust and user-friendly. SharePoint's version control features might not cut it. That's why a dedicated DAM system is the way to go.
You'll have peace of mind knowing that you're working with the latest versions of assets, and collaboration will be a breeze.
Limited integration with third-party tools
Managing marketing assets can be complex and time-consuming, especially when you're working with multiple tools and software.
Fortunately, DAM systems offer built-in integration options to make your life easier.
With DAM systems, you can connect your tools and software with ease.
You won't have to switch between different applications or spend time uploading and downloading files. Instead, you can work seamlessly between tools, saving time and improving productivity.
While SharePoint does offer some integrations, they may not be as extensive or user-friendly as those provided by dedicated DAM systems.
Integrating your tools with a DAM system can have a big impact on your productivity. You'll be able to access and share assets with ease, streamlining your workflow and reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks.
Conclusion
So, what's the right solution for your business?
It’s important to keep in mind the key differences between DAM and SharePoint when choosing one or the other.
SharePoint is primarily intended for facilitating document sharing and collaboration among team members, whereas a DAM system is specially geared towards organizing and overseeing media files such as photos and videos.
In other words:
If you primarily work with documents and need a system for team collaboration, SharePoint is a great choice.
But if you're dealing with a lot of media files and need a more specialized tool for organizing and managing them, a DAM is probably the way to go.
Want to learn more about how your organization can benefit from Digizuite DAM?
