On the DAM

As your document collection grows, it becomes more and more difficult to find what you are looking for – doubly so for photo and video media, for which full-text searching is impossible. As big as this headache can be for individuals, however, it is far worse for organizations. For businesses of any size, as well as open source project teams, Digital Asset Management (DAM) problems can get out of control if the right tools aren't available.

Fortunately, the right tools are out there. ResourceSpace [1], a BSD-licensed application originally created for the global charity Oxfam International [2], does for photos, video, and other digital documents what a distributed version control system does for source code. A ResourceSpace installation maintains a central digital collection of assets accessible to users and teams anywhere around the globe – with an emphasis on user-friendly searching, speed, and as little administrative work as possible.

Background

Oxfam is a UK-based confederation of 13 humanitarian non-profit organizations; it has permanent offices in six cities on three continents and participates in campaigns, advocacy, and emergency relief all over the world. Logistically, its needs could scarcely be more complicated. The different offices need to collaborate on campaigns, share photos from different sources, and maintain a massive collective of existing resources.

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