Media Asset Management (MAM), also referred to as media database, performs the administration and organization of media data and media assets. Just like image databases usually manage images, and customer databases handle customer data, Media Asset Management solutions organize media data.

The datasets or assets either consist of contents such as texts, images or audiovisual media, design elements such as fonts, display types, design element or templates, or descriptive datasets, and tags. Tags enrich datasets with additional information. An image, for example, may be linked to a tag specifying the author, utilization rights, place and time the photograph was taken, aperture, resolution, utilization purpose, version, as well as ontological information such as motif, search terms, key words and other information.

When Asset Management solutions - in addition to Media Assets - are capable of administrating and managing additional information and data sets such as profile and customer data, geodata, products and their specifics, one refers to Digital Asset Management (DAM).

Key functions of a Digital Asset Management system are

• Import and export of data
• Data search
• View (preview) of data
• Enrichment of data with meta information (tags)
• Relational and hierarchical links of several datasets
• Versioning / Archiving of data

When data are matained in a Media Asset or Digital Asset Management system in a media neutral format, this also forms the precondition for cross-media publishing and/or cross-media communication.

Media Asset Management by censhare is information management

According to the censhare approach the Digital Asset Management also forms the foundation of the system. As it not only manages contents and media, but also integrates all users, staff and partners, as well as workflows with deadlines and tasks, it can correctly be referred to as an information management system. As a system based solution it centralizes all the contents of communication, automates sequences, and unburdens all of the participants involved in communication and media production. Due to the fact that the solution administrates all the information, and integrates all departments, customers and partners it is practically Digital Asset Management system with an integrated Collaboration System.

Optionally, it can be with which product information and classifications can be centrally administrated, as well as the steering of their utilization in all media - from catalogs to e-shops. In this way, the system connects purchasing and marketing and can also be linked to the central ERP system or merchandising system by way of an interface.

The Archive Management module is an additional expansion, with which all contents and product data can be archived - manually, partially automated or automated. The data remain permanently available. In this way, users at different locations can also access all archived contents at all times.

MAM is not the same as MAM

The market formed by the providers of integrated multi-channel publishing solutions and Media Asset Management solutions is growing constantly, and is anything but clearly structured and concise to overview. Many of the providers are placing the emphasis on asset management without having a content management system in their portfolio. This enables users to administrate and manage data, but it does not mean that such data are automatically integrated into the various output media and channels by way of workflows or routines. Other, and also leading software solutions focus on Enterprise Content Management solutions, are capable of mapping workflows, offer sophisticated authorization and client management, but do not feature their own Media Asset Management. In these instances several systems must be integrated and interfaces set up accordingly.

There are only a few providers that are currently fielding fully integrated solutions in which Media Asset Management seamlessly communicates with the Content Management System.

If your company prefers a software solution in which all assets are maintained in a media neutral format (XML based, for example) and features relational links between the assets - which is necessary for the efficient output of country specific variants or individual print versions - there are only a few solutions capable of delivering. This is where censhare excels, and represents an absolutely superior solution when the emphasis is on top performance and security, scalable data volumes or distributed, location independent access. Additional modules, such as the Translation Memory system, Social Media Integration, Domain Management underline the pioneering role that censhare solutions have staked out.

With these solutions and modules censhare is harnessing basic software and technologies such as Java, Oracle and HTML5 and is also performing development work together with renowned partners such as Adobe as well as new formats (IDML, for example).

censhare is not a proprietary image database and is not a plug-in. censhare is the all-in-one solution enabling dialogs with target groups via mobile, web, print and social media - fully integrated, across media, rapid and efficient.

Reference: BMW & Mini sales literature

7Seas global content management GmbH has been active on the German market with some 80 members of staff at its Munich and Hamburg locations since 2003. 7Seas has opted for censhare in order to create and produce the international sales literature for the BMW Group rapidly, efficiently and at favorable costs for all media types in more than 50 different language versions.

Based on censhare solutions 7Seas manages around 2 million assets and some 370,000 layouts. Every year, the company produces more than 600 catalogs with an average of 72 pages for the BMW Group and its BMW and Mini brands. Across all language versions, more than 100,000 pages are developed every year. The censhare system is not only accessed by the 7Seas staff, but also by more than 50 translation partners and more than 30 printing partners worldwide. Naturally, the responsible product and marketing managers of the automobile manufacturer are also integrated into the processes, as well as more than 50 additional partners at the subsidiaries active on the international markets.

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