Microsoft SharePoint as a Digital Asset Management (DAM) System

Microsoft SharePoint as a Digital Asset Management (DAM) System Harry Hurt Graphic Communication Department, June, 2010 Advisor: Dr. Harvey Levenson The purpose of this study is to determine to what degree Microsoft SharePoint can be used as a digital asset management (DAM) system. DAM systems are utilized to manage the creation, storage, utilization, and distribution of digital rich media files such as images, logos, page layouts, and in some cases video and audio files. SharePoint is a popular collaboration system that appears to have many of the attributes of a DAM system. This study develops some baseline definitions of DAM and documents some core functionality that must be present in DAM systems of varying sophistication. The study then compares the requirements of DAM systems to the documented capabilities of SharePoint to determine areas where the software does not meet the requirements of a DAM system. It also identifies some options available for extending SharePoint’s feature set in order to utilize it for a true DAM system. The results show that SharePoint does, indeed, have many of the attributes of a DAM system, but that it is lacking some core functionality. Possible options for using third-party software in addition to SharePoint are identified, as well.