Building A Business Case For Digital Asset Management

GiantStepsMedia Technology Strategies© 2009 1

Building a Business Casefor DAM

Bill RosenblattGiantSteps Media Technology Strategies

+1 212 956 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]�

http://www.giantstepsmts.com/�


About GiantSteps

Consultancy focused on content technology strategy– DAM, content management– Workflow– Distribution– Rights management

In business since 2000

Clients include leading media and technology companies

Front-end strategy work– Independent of vendors, integrators


Today’s Agenda

Sources of ROI for DAM

Scalable Product Methodology

Case Study


Axes of ROI

Existing

OperationsNew Products & Services

Revenue

Cost Savings


Cost Savings – Existing Operations

Pros– Quantifiable– Measurable– Attributable to management

Cons– Usually involves layoffs,

negative attitudes– Small magnitudes

Results– Hardly ever works in

commercial media environment

– May work in other industries with command-and-control culture


Revenue – New Products & Services

Pros– Larger upside potential– Larger scope for investment– Growth, positive attitudes

Cons– Harder to quantify– Harder to tie results

specifically to DAM system– Harder to approve (part of

bigger picture)

Result– If used by itself, results in

small silos & point solutions


Cost Avoidance(Cost Savings – New Products & Services)

Pros– Possibly quantifiable– Tied to revenue, so higher

scope for investment– Could be tied to “we’re doing

this anyway” new initiatives

Cons– Harder to tie results

specifically to DAM system– Harder to approve (part of

bigger picture)

Result– If used by itself, results in

small silos & point solutions


The Third Axis:Single vs. Multiple Groups(Product groups, business units, etc.)

Single: – Lower cost– Easier to justify, approve, and implement– But usually results in non-scalable silo

Multiple: – Larger scope for investment– Justifies more scalability and features– But requires political planetary alignment


The Ideal:Scalable Product Development

Base business case on revenue & cost avoidance in multiple new products and services– Not just currently known ones– Potential for future efforts yet to be defined

Platform for new product development with incremental cost– Avoid building silos for each new product/service– Cost savings for existing operations is icing on cake

Sea change in commercial content businesses – From one-brand-one-product to one-brand-many-products– Mindset that new product development is an ongoing thing, not a

one-shot project


SPD Advantages

Business case based on upside, positive attitudes, not cost-cutting and personnel reduction

Scalable platform for growth, not point solution

Yet based on known business needs, not “build it and they will come”Scope for major investment with real impact

Process includes “a-ha moment” to accelerate buy-in


SPD Business Case Methodology

1. Aggregate future initiatives

2. Identify common capability requirements

3. Create gap analysis

4. Synthesize requirements

5. Create implementation plan

6. Create project organization(s)

7. Identify first project and go!


1. Aggregate Future Initiatives

Interview execs across product groups, business units, divisions, etc.– Typically strategy, marketing, business development

Gather info about future plans– Could range from specific plans to wish list items

Get them to be specific– Timelines– Priorities– Financial implications (e.g. revenue projections)

Interview IT dept. for info on existing systems, architecture– Resist “build it and they wil come” tendencies


2. Identify Common Capability Requirements

Technical capabilities– Invariably includes DAM or other form of content

management

Processes to be implemented/improvedSkills to be acquiredOrg chart implicationsCommonality of themes often surprisingly large

– This is the “a-ha moment”– Makes it much easier to get buy-in


3. Create Gap Analysis

What’s possible now?

What’s possible but too hard, inefficient, expensive?

What’s impossible now?

What has been tried before and rejected, and why?


4. Synthesize Requirements

Usually flows naturally from gap analysis

Don’t worry yet about feasibility– Complexity– Cost– Risk


5. Create Implementation Plan

Elements – Technologies– Process changes– Org chart changes– Training

Encapsulated into projects Prioritized

– Low hanging fruit first

Rough time and cost estimates– Formal ROIs will come later

2-3 year time horizon– Between annual operating plan and long-range strategic plan


6. Create Project Organization

Steering Committee – Senior business line executives– High level oversight, fit to strategy

Working Group– Technical/process/production execs, 1-2 levels down– Nuts and bolts issues– Meet more often, report to Steering Committee


7. Identify First Project

Most important criteria:– Strategic value to business– Time to impact– Implementation risk– Smooth political path

Less important:– Cost– Operational changes

(need some changes, otherwise why bother, and the earlier the better)

Now is the time to do formal ROI– If you even need it; benefits could be self-evident by this point


Case Study: Associated Press

Largest and oldest newsgathering org in the world

4000 employees in 240 locations worldwide

Cooperative of 1500 daily newspapers

Produces text, photos, graphics, audio, video, and online content

Serves print, radio, TV, online, and corporate customers


Problems to be Solved

Siloed systems for each media type– Text, photo, print graphics, video graphics, audio, video, and web– Limited ability to link content across media types by subject matter– Common denominator: ancient teletype-oriented system

Inefficient newsgathering/editorial processes– Difficulty in coordinating cross-bureau/desk newsgathering– Difficulty in communicating with members/affiliates about event

coverage

Various new product plans– Different feeds & aggregations of content


Disparity of Requirements

Editorial: more efficiency, ease of communication

IT: integrated platforms, ease of future development and maintenance

Marketing/strategy: new product development, new revenue sources


Methodology

Gather objectives across multiple axes:– Functional: editorial, marketing, IT– Media type: text, photo, video, audio, print graphics, video graphics– News units: bureaus (LA, Trenton,…), desks (national, business,…)

Examples:– Link objects of multiple media types by new event– Increase internal & affiliate visibility into ongoing coverage– Create custom news feeds by category to corporate customers– Feed content grouped by event to media customers (e.g., TV stations)– Design standard interfaces to/from disparate content systems


Methodology

Observe systems, processes & workflow

Synthesize requirements

Present to combined groups– Enjoy the “a-ha moment”

Create gap analysis

Create list of technologies, processes, skills needed– Metadata creation as early as possible in newsgathering process

Create implementation plan


Common Requirements Synthesized

Examples: Create metadata as early as possible

– Preferably during news assignment

Categorize content by keyword– Requires combination of technology and “library science” skills– Must not compromise reporters’ & editors’ ability to move content

onto the wires as quickly as possible

Create central metadata archive– Though link to content in existing, separate systems– Make it possible to search, browse, access content from single

interface (UI or API)


Implementation Plan

First project: eAssign– Assignment tracking system– Metadata entry at assignment time

Next: eCentral– Central metadata archive

Various others


Successes

Got various groups together that had previously little interaction

Found surprising amount of commonality, even among seemingly conflicting goals

Agreed on cross-functional architecture elements

Enabled investment in enterprise platform for growth instead of silos and point solutions

Eliminated the need for much arduous ROI analysis –management “got it”


Case Study: Mass. Medical Society

Journal Watch – summaries of medical journals, daily news updates, continuing medical education

Print, online, and audio products

Monthly and daily “breaking news”Large body of outside contributors/editors


Problems to Be Solved

Large number of outside contributors– Communication with internal editors– Workflow

MS Word-based publishing process

Print first, online later– Laborious conversion process

Multiple non-scalable content/metadata repositories– XML at the end of the line

Plans for various new online offerings– Increasing competition


Methodology

Gather objectives across multiple axes:– Functional: editorial, marketing, IT– Content type: text, audio, breaking news, longer-term– Medical practice areas (dermatology, infectious diseases, etc.)

Examples:– Increase collaboration among outside and internal people– Eliminate overlapping coverage– Enable more user generated content on website– Streamline editorial processes;

fewer “hands” but same editorial quality– Direct-to-online path for time sensitive content– Support migration to new web CMS


Methodology

Observe systems, processes & workflow

Synthesize requirements

Present to combined groups– Enjoy the “a-ha moment”

Create gap analysis

Create list of technologies, processes, skills needed– Metadata creation as early as possible in newsgathering process

Create implementation plan


Common Requirements Synthesized

Examples: Create metadata as early as possible

– Create Assignment Desk for this purpose

Categorize content by keyword– Requires combination of technology and “library science” skills– Must not compromise reporters’ & editors’ ability to move content

onto the wires as quickly as possible

Create central XML repository– Produce XML earlier in editorial process– Direct feed from repository to web CMS


Implementation Plan

New staff/management roles

Streamlining of processes into three areas:– Content creation– Product creation– Product delivery

Set up Assignment Desk– Adopt collaboration tools

Adopt new DAM tools

Implement new workflows

Transition to new web CMS


Successes(Same!)

Got various groups together that had previously little interaction

Found surprising amount of commonality, even among seemingly conflicting goals

Agreed on cross-functional architecture elements

Enabled investment in enterprise platform for growth instead of silos and point solutions

Eliminated the need for much arduous ROI analysis –management “got it”


Bill RosenblattGiantSteps Media Technology Strategies

+1 212 956 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]�

http://www.giantstepsmts.com/�

Building A Business Case For Digital Asset Management

Technology

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