Feature
OpenAsset: Digital Asset Management This cloud-based DAM is designed specifically to help architecture, engineering and construction firms get more out of their vast collection of assets for marketing, communications, presentations and beyond, writes Greg Corke
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ost AEC firms have robust and publish digital assets from one cen- completion date, square footage or status; processes or systems in tral location. Historically, this has been a image type (e.g. interior, building plan, place for managing design local server, but more recently - as with rendering or sketch), building element data from CAD and BIM many things in IT – it’s now in the cloud, (e.g. column, door, mezzanine floor or software. Unfortunately, that same care accessed via a web browser. façade); material (e.g. aluminium, brick, and attention doesn’t always extend to OpenAsset by Axomic is one of many steel, timber or wood); or even additional digital assets used for marketing, business modern DAMs available today. But what information, such as photographer or development or corporate communication. makes this cloud-based system different copyright holder. JPGs, TIFFs, PDFs, PowerPoints, to others is that is it specifically designed Of course, the success of any DAM sysInDesigns and video files are often stored for use on AEC projects. The software is tem hinges on the quality, consistency on various network drives and structured used by firms of all sizes, from five to and completeness of the data that’s fed in. in a way that can make it hard for the aver- 5,000 employees and everything in OpenAsset doesn’t mandate which fields age user to find what they’re looking for. between. Customers include Cannon have to be populated when assets are So, when it comes uploaded, so firms to showcasing work need to have good for bids or proposals, internal QA proWith its cloud-based repository, OpenAsset not only creating content for cesses in place. brings together assets in an easily accessible central presentations or You can literally social media, or simdump a thousand location but, more importantly, through careful ply sharing files classification, the system can open up big opportunities JPGs into the syswith third parties, it tem without any for external and internal communications can often take time to classification, but find the right file or then there are tools the latest revision. It to make it easy to can also be hard to know which assets are Design, WilkisonEyre, Rogers Stirk apply common keywords and metadata approved for external use. In some cases, Harbour + Partners, Mace, Gensler, BDP, to multiple assets. It’s also possible to firms have to rely on a dedicated member Foster + Partners and others. control who has access to what, when. of staff to dig out the relevant content. Of course, for some AEC firms, going This content could be anything from Project-centric from zero organisation of digital assets to concept sketches, renderings or presenta- One of the foundations of OpenAsset is multi-tiered classification in a DAM is a tion templates to photographs of con- that digital assets are primarily stored by giant leap. To help advise customers on struction progress, finished projects or project, so a lot of the heavy lifting is how best to structure their taxonomies physical models. done at a project level. and get their data into shape, OpenAsset The obvious solution to this data chalThen, when it comes to adding addi- has an on-boarding team that can help. lenge is a Digital Asset Management tional information, the world is your oys- They can also assist with migration, tak(DAM) system. These have been around ter. Assets can be tagged with all manner ing an existing folder structure on a netfor years and are designed to make it eas- of fully customisable keywords and work drive, for example, and converting ier to store, organise, find, select, share metadata. This could be project type, into a more flexible taxonomy.
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November / December 2021
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