Damming the flow: digital asset management tools help content creators contain the rising flood of graphics files.(Storage in the Studio--Part 3)

Digital asset management (DAM) is one of those technologies that can be defined in a variety of ways. Is it simply a method for organizing electronic files? Is it software that controls the flow of work? Is it a hardware-based system of servers and storage devices? Or a combination of all of these?

Narrow the definition to DAM for the digital content creation (DCC) space and the variations continue. There's production management software, a DAM tool tailored to the DCC production pipeline. It would seem to fill the bill. But does it rule out less production-oriented programs that control and facilitate the distribution of finished assets at the back end of the production cycle? What about complete hardware/software systems designed to control assets for large media organizations, such as ad agencies and broadcast studios? And, just to confuse things, consider those tangential yet essential tools such as Internet services that combine with other processes to provide asset management.

The truth is that programs offering any and all of these features could be considered digital asset management tools for the professional content creation market. And while at first glance they might seem to contend with each other, they are actually much more complementary than they are competitive.

Avid and NXN

Avid Technology's recent acquisition of NXN Software, maker of the Alienbrain line of production management tools, illustrates this synergy between DAM products. Alienbrain has the largest share of commercial production management seats in the rarified world of high-end digital content creation, particularly in the game development market, for which its Studio product (Version 7 is scheduled to ship this month) is specifically designed. NXN also makes Alien-brain VFX, a version of the product that is geared for postproduction.

"NXN Software is a great example of a niche asset-management company," says Tim Claman, director of interoperability and standards for Avid. "They really don't have any direct competitors for games and postproduction systems. For production asset management, they're the only game in town." Although Avid already has two DAM products--the Active Content Manager and the Unity Media Manager--those are designed to manage finished content, "what some people call content management," says Claman.

On NXN's part, the new subsidiary now has greater access to the postproduction world, in which Avid is well-entrenched. "Avid's strategy is to make, manage, and move media," says NXN marketing manager Eric Schumacher, "and we fit in." The company has been looking to branch out from its roots in the gaming world, he says. "We've been looking more seriously at postproduction. We've always considered [moving into] broadcast, but other products, like Artesia and eMotion, are there."