That is the second of a two-part collection on constructing the muse for digital asset administration (DAM). You’ll be able to learn the primary half (choosing a DAM vendor) right here.
You’ve chosen your DAM vendor, now the place do you go from right here? Do you actually need an implementation companion?
Chances are you’ll be lucky sufficient to have an in-house IT staff certified and able to information you thru constructing your DAM, nevertheless it’s extra probably that you simply’ll be seeking to rent a third-party vendor to information you thru the method and do the heavy lifting on the technical aspect.
The seller is just one layer of a powerful basis, and it wants the reinforcement of an implementation companion earlier than you begin framing out the complete DAM. companion won’t solely allow you to with the technical points of organising your DAM however will help you in creating long-term objectives in your DAM and mapping the perfect plan of action to perform them.
They’ll be your voice in speaking instantly with the seller, dealing with points and help tickets, and advocating in your greatest curiosity. Partially two of this two-part collection on constructing a DAM basis, we’ll talk about what to search for in an implementation companion.
What do I really want?
Choosing the appropriate implementation companion will be simply as, if no more, essential than vendor choice. The first consider your choice is making certain they’ve direct expertise with the DAM platform you’ve chosen. Don’t settle for something much less.
Chances are you’ll be informed that builders are Builders and code is code, so a reliable developer with coding expertise can determine shortly find out how to work together with your chosen platform. However do you really need them to be figuring it out as they go alongside and be taught a brand new platform in your dime? Would you let a contractor with no expertise be taught as they go constructing your home?
Do not:
- Be tempted by potential value financial savings you may get upfront since you received’t truly save something in the long run.
- Decide to a companion that doesn’t have direct expertise together with your platform.
- Low cost the worth of a companion’s present relationships with individuals working at your chosen vendor. (These will be very useful if you’re within the unlucky place of working by way of a serious vendor help subject.)
Go together with the straightforward answer?
The DAM vendor you’ve chosen could probably suggest an implementation companion. Know that you simply’re not obligated to make use of that particular companion. Definitely, think about them as certainly one of your choices, however communicate to different companions for comparability.
The seller-recommended companion might not be an excellent match for you for any variety of causes — funds, working model, and so on. — so don’t really feel pressured to decide on them over different choices.
Establishing a possible relationship
In your conversations with a possible implementation companion, you need to guarantee long-term compatibility. Ensure you’re clearly speaking your wants and desires for the connection so that you’re on the identical web page. Be sure you cowl these factors:
- How will you be working? Do you intend to make use of the agile methodology throughout your DAM implementation, or does your organization use the waterfall strategy? Maybe you’ll truly be utilizing a mixture of each agile and waterfall? Does the companion have expertise together with your chosen strategy? Will they be capable to work inside your framework and timelines?
- Are there particular methods you intend on integrating together with your DAM? Is the companion conversant in these methods? Have they got expertise with these specific integrations?
- What are you anticipating so far as the staff roster? Along with the developer position, who else will probably be on the implementation staff? Do you require a QA useful resource, or do you intend on doing your personal QA (high quality assurance) and UAT (person acceptance) testing? Will you want steerage from a metadata and/or taxonomy specialist? What are your expectations for undertaking administration? Who will do what, and what number of hours every week will they should be devoted to your undertaking?
- Do you require help from the companion migrating content material into the brand new DAM from present storage and methods?
- What time zone is the implementation staff in? Do you want them to be out there for direct contact and conferences throughout particular hours?
And an important factor to gauge a few potential implementation companion is how comfy they’re saying “no” to you. Having a companion who fortunately provides you any and each enhancement you ask for with out query is harmful.
As I discussed within the earlier article on selecting a DAM vendor, over-customization will be very detrimental to web site efficiency and performance, and it may possibly prohibit you from finishing wanted upgrades. Having a companion who will push again and clearly clarify dangers is invaluable.
You need a companion who will probably be sincere with you and let you know when a requested enhancement is ill-advised. However in instances the place they do let you know no, they need to, in fact, even be prepared to work with you on figuring out a unique answer that meets the enterprise want with out detrimental results in your system.
Similar to you probably did when choosing your DAM vendor, it’s best to ask the implementation companion for references, in addition to look to find further references by yourself. Bear in mind, you’re all in favour of the entire story — the nice, the dangerous, and the ugly.
Lastly, when speaking with a possible companion, don’t low cost how essential it’s that you shouldn’t solely be impressed with their data and abilities but in addition merely really feel that you simply’ll take pleasure in working with them. You’ll spend lengthy hours with this staff and dealing by way of robust choices, so they need to additionally match your staff personality-wise. It received’t essentially make the work simpler, however it can make it extra fulfilling.
Able to construct
Take your time and be assured in your choices of each vendor and implementation companion. Collectively, they’ll type the muse upon which you construct your DAM.
The stronger the muse, the stronger and extra profitable the DAM. Beginning with the sturdiest basis you may construct with a staff of confirmed builders you belief can solely prevent money and time down the street.
Dig deeper: A 12-step information for implementing a digital asset administration system
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Opinions expressed on this article are these of the visitor creator and never essentially MarTech. Employees authors are listed right here.
Concerning the creator
Rachel Edwards is an skilled digital asset supervisor who’s obsessed with metadata, taxonomies and knowledge governance. She focuses on bringing order to knowledge chaos since 2007.