Sid Anand
Relatively new to the industry of Digital Asset Management, Anand still understands that technology does not fix people/process problems; rather you must first educate the user to enable successful outcomes in a DAM system.
What companies/organizations have you worked for as a DAM professional? What was your role at each?
I spent 7 years at The Vanguard Group, with my last role working on their ECM solution(TeamSite). It was during that role as ECM product lead where I first discovered the DAM concept and ended up attending the Createasphere DAM conference in LA in May 2013. This was my first exposure to the DAM world. Vanguard was interested in defining the future of content at their company at the time, and obviously understanding the world of digital assets is at the forefront. I met David Diamond of Picturepark at the conference and he introduced me to DAM Guru Program. In October 2013, months after the conference, I joined the Accenture Digital practice as an Integration Manager where I concentrate on the delivery content strategies, ECM solutions, and growing our DAM practice.
How do you describe digital asset management to others?
I describe digital asset management as the logical organization, understanding, and distribution of the meaningful media a company wants to share with its audience.
How did you learn DAM? Any recommended sources?
My DAM expertise is a very primitive work in progress. My first exposure came at Createasphere 2013. Ever since then, online references of specific products (HP, Adobe, aDAM, etc) have been great technical resources for me to understand capabilities. Within Accenture we have a great training program that exposes us to DAM principles, best practices, and case studies from our past experiences.
What’s the most important thing for someone new to DAM to understand about DAM?
I would say that it is great to understand product capabilities and what X product can do versus Y product. However, the fundamental DAM principles of getting the basic system requirements and fitting the business processes that need to be in place are the most important concepts related to implementing a successful DAM or any piece of enterprise software. I believe in the school of thought that technology does not fix people/process problems. Fix the process and people’s behaviors first, then optimize it all with a great fitting technology.
If you weren’t doing DAM as a career, what would you be doing?
I have been a men’s high school basketball official since I graduated college in 2006 working leagues in the Philadelphia area. If I was not working in the digital world now, concentrating on DAM work, I would busting my tail up the officiating ladder hoping to make the college ranks.
What is your ongoing greatest challenge with DAM?
My biggest challenge is developing the expertise on my own. I am a lifelong learner and I love working with creative people. Finding the balance of the career to take time out to attend DAM specific conferences is something I wish I could do more of, as those experiences are what got me here and I would love to make more time to be more involved in providing direction to someone else looking to get started.
What is your vision for DAM? What will it look like in 5 years?
In 5 years, DAM will be a standard required piece of software for any enterprise marketing department. The software products are there and they all provide flexible solutions; however, companies need to understand the value that a DAM brings to a company’s bottom line.
What was your biggest mistake with regard to DAM?
I do wish I got involved in it a few years back. Getting exposed to the ECM world 5+ years ago got me going in the right direction, the DAM explosion is currently in-flight and I do wish I saw it prior to hopping on the truck later.
What was your biggest success with regard to DAM?
I would like to think that I have not reached my successful point in the world of DAM software, being a novice to the industry, I aim to have my best days ahead of me and hope that I can mentor the next generation of voices in the industry.
What more would you like to learn about DAM?
I always value the case studies that are shared with the communities and within my company. I do believe that every implementation case is different and I enjoy learning the intricacies of clients, their unique requirements, and the custom features that clients request for implementations. The breadth of knowledge only aids in developing a better understanding to how DAM fits in every situation.
This interview originally appeared on DAM Guru on Mon, 22 Sep 2014. For more DAM News interviews, see the interviews index page.
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