DAM system integration with existing systems and business applications

In today’s world, a DAM system simply cannot function totally on its own, unless it’s being used as an ordinary media library. With the market and users’ needs evolving, DAM systems must now be capable of integrating with organizations’ broader information systems.

Interfacing is crucial for business software

A DAM system is often used as a back office and to support a whole host of applications. As such, an organization must be able to easily interface their DAM system with the other software they need to function.

This can include interfacing with:

• a CMS to provide visuals to a blog or website;
• a PIM system so that the user can access visuals for the products listed;
• photo and video software to facilitate the creation of multimedia content;
• a BIM or PLM system to provide visuals for digital models in engineering and construction projects;
• quite simply, a desktop publishing suite to incorporate visuals into contractual documents and press releases, for example.

Interfacing with business applications is crucial so that users can work more efficiently and stop wasting time switching between software. That way, the organization boosts its productivity.

Ready-to-use connectors

The DAM system must interface with other software. To do that, connectors must be developed. These include connectors to the Microsoft Office desktop publishing suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), to Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Lightroom), to content management systems like Microsoft SharePoint, WordPress, and Drupal, to software for the dynamic display of multimedia content on screens, and to PIM systems.

The interfacing is totally transparent. Once the programs are interfaced, from the software in question, you can consult the DAM system to quickly search for a piece of media, for example, without leaving the interface, then import the media into documents or web pages through a simplified process.

APIs for specific connections

What’s more, if the connectors for the software that an organization regularly uses are not available for interfacing with the DAM system, you can always develop them. This can be done using web services or APIs.
An API allows developers to write code enabling one application to communicate and exchange data with another. Indeed, APIs are used as connectors that allow the exchanging and receiving of data from an application or service. Thus, when you’re in your CMS and want to search for a particular visual to illustrate an article, the CMS can instantly query the DAM system and receive the requested information through an API.

APIs and web services are both means of communication. The only difference between the two is that a web service facilitates interactions between two machines on a network. An API, meanwhile, is used as an interface between two different applications so that they can communicate with each other. A web service is designed to provide an interface in a format that can be processed by machines, particularly third-party servers.