In this issue, Volume 3, Number 3, we compiled a selection of papers from key industry experts: Ron Rosciewicz (Assessing the Value of DAM Systems for Advertising Agencies), Donna Slawsky (Building a Keyword Library for Description of Visual Assets: Thesaurus Basics), an interview with Dejan Mladenovic of Hallmark Cards NL, Mike Wallan of Adobe (Uniting creative applications and asset management systems), a DAM 2.0 industry outlook from George Lamptey of Dibromo, and, finally Jennifer Neumann (The Next Step: Simplifying DAM). Last in this issue, an interview with Joost Schriever of Randstad Holding NV (DAM and the art of implementing a central brand strategy in a decentralized organization).

In this issue's installment of Cycle Time, Michael Moon introduces an abstract for the activity lifecycle of digital assets, defining seven major phases (Ideate, Create, Manage, Distribute, Localize, Consume, Analyze-Consume) with the goal of giving the DAM professional a complete, detailed model against which to assess and measure their DAM workflows.

Is it possible, within the constraints of time-to-market, for advertising agencies to maintain an innovative creative workflow? A demonstrable ROI is a valuable tool to justify the adoption of a DAM. Ron Rosciewicz presents a valuable guide to understanding and mastering the uses of tactical and strategic ROI — a must-read for any digital media professional in the position of making the case for their usage of DAM technologies.

What is the key to a streamlined DAM for visually rich files? Donna Slawsky, a digital librarian and DAM consultant, presents an excellent, succinct paper on the importance of a controlled vocabulary and well-maintained thesaurus for keywords, to create consistency within context. This paper should prove to be an invaluable resource for digital librarians seeking to leverage digital assets.

How do you increase your production of creative by 30 per cent without increasing your staff ? An interview with Dejan Mladenovic of Hallmark Card's European production department follows his travails in settling on a DAM solution that would allow increased productivity by increasing search efficiencies within the system, and moving production workflows online.

Is it possible to bridge the gap between a DAM system and Adobe CS3? With the release of Adobe Version Cue CS3 Server, Adobe introduced the open application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK). These tools enable developers to integrate a DAM or publishing system with Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications. Mike Wallen, Senior Product Manager for Creative Suite, details how asset management processes can be streamlined, multi-step tasks automated, and plug-ins utilized or created to customize the interface, using the new CS3 available features.

What does the future hold for DAM 2.0? George Lamptey, of DiBromo consultancy, steps way back and takes a look at the vista of DAM solutions and industry-specific scenarios, in particular the growing influence of service-oriented architecture — valuable connectors to link disparate systems, and the sharing of best practices in our DAM user communities.

What factors challenge the mass-market adoption of digital asset management? Jennifer Neumann, of Final Candidate consultancy, argues for simplification, in her in-depth look at enterprise content management, citing Microsoft's new SharePoint platform in particular. Neumann takes a look at the impact of ECM towards the creation of complete end-to-end workflow solutions.

Is DAM a database of digital assets or a workflow tool for “marketeers”? Joost Schriever, responsible for brand-identity management for Randstad worldwide, presents his insights on the art of implementing a central brand strategy as more of a process tool, rather than an IT system.

We hope you enjoy this collection of papers, and as always we welcome your questions and comments!