0100 Tribal Story of DAM

Let’s start with the background for digital asset management. We coined the term in 1994 or so, representing a big insight from two client studies that conducted at the time.

In a sense, I am about to share the tribal story of DAM or digital asset management. You know, every tribe needs a origin myth, a story about how we all came together and found common interests with each other.

At the time, GISTICS conducted economic payback studies for technology deployment. We tracked new technology adoption among early adopters and the shift into broad market acceptance - the subject of the great books such as Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado by Geoff Moore.

In 1993, Apple asked us to research the business and development practices of 500 or so new media or multimedia developers. Apple used our finding to launch its new media and multimedia developer support program. We also published a market-defining report and white paper, and helped launch a trade magazine, Morph’s Outpost.

This led us into working with number of different companies that all wanted to understand how to exploit the market for multimedia titles, tools, and related content. Aldus, before Adobe acquired them become one of our larger clients. At the time, Aldus had this little humble multimedia database called “Fetch.” You know, it still surprises me how many people in 2008 still remember Fetch.

The product team at Aldus told us, “We’d really like to have a better understanding of the product requirements for the next generation of Fetch; but we have no idea who really uses it.”

We found out that Aldus published the Aldus Magazine that reached two or three hundred-thousand or so people every month. So, we developed a 3-page smart-fax survey form that we had wrapped around Aldus Magazine, and ultimately getting back 14,000-plus people that responded to the survey. Survey respondents included about 2,600 people that actually used Fetch. We found that Boeing used Fetch to manage all of the illustrations for the technical documentation of their 777 airliner.

We called Boeing and asked, “Hey, what are you doing? Have you done any kinds of studies telling you how much time or money you save using Fetch?” They said, “Oh, yes. This little database has saved us — conservatively — $2.7 million.”

We said, “How do you figure that?” They said, “Well, we created some 1,700 technical drawings that we use across 15 linear-feet or so documentation.” 15 feet of 8.5 by 11 inch sheets of paper.

The went to say, “Any time we’d lose a documentation, we have to actually go back through a very rigorous recertification process that includes a number of regulatory agencies and boards, each signing off on each re-drawn drawing. We calculated that each drawing has a sunk-cost value of somewhere between $17,000 and $25,000. So if we misplace or lose a drawing, we have to go back and go through this entire thing. Not just redraw it, but the entire QC process.”

We said, “Wow! That’s real money to be able to find reusable, certified media files.”

About that same time, we consulted a multimedia development firm called Media Station. At the time, they were negotiating a CD-ROM production contract with Disney for then upcoming the Lion King movie. So I’m in the conference room they negotiated the deal and kept hearing Disney say. “Okay. Yes. We’ll put those assets on a CD and get them out to you tomorrow on FedEx.”

After the meeting concluded, I asked Bob Bryson, “What’s up with this Disney calling their file ‘assets’? I’ve always heard of it called “content.” Bob laughs and said, “Well, Disney understands the cost of each cell of animation. And they capitalize the cost of each cell of animation. It’s on their balance sheet. Go look.”