Digital Asset Optimization Maturity

"Information Management" is a very broad term, and many consultancies and standards groups have tried over the years to wrestle it into ontologic submission - categorizing the subjects and domains most often along the lines of product release, availability of subject matter experts (SMEs), or the Enterprise Architecture model of the day.

Taking a view of Information Management from the angle of "Digital Assets", I've created a view of the myriad of subjects and topics that are relevant to delivering (whether it's your stuff or someone else's) actual, monetized value on digital information you generate. Digital Assets are defined as instances or packages of digital content that are delivered as information to consumers, with the express intent of deriving monetary value. Much of your digital content may not end up described this way - i.e. directly targeted at generating revenue, for example internal company handbooks or photos. I will make the case that for most organizations, there's a veritable treasure trove awaiting discovery and leverage - of digital information that certainly can and should be packaged, managed and optimized as digital assets.




This view begins in the very well-known, though still complex domain of "Enterprise Content Management" (ECM), where the digital asset is first born, shaped and staged for its life - whether restricted to private consumers or "in the wild". As the view depicts, this stage of maturity around recognizing, catgorizing and preparing to manage your digital assets internally is absolutely essential - but obviously only the first step to realizing value.

Much more to come in the next posts...