The information management technology industry has spawned a wide array of market sector/technology/product/solution analysis firms, most claiming independence from the vendors they cover.

We will not presume to track with precision the range of technologies that support and enable digital stewardship activity, but we will report on helpful perspectives and important technology milestones as we encounter them. As a matter of policy, we do not endorse any market research report or product/solution.

In the digital asset management (DAM) space, we recently encounteredCMS Watch, which publishes comparative product reports in this field. The information online promoting the sales of its report –The Digital & Media Asset Management Report– includes a list of 18 DAM solutions. The list is helpful in providing a DAM marketplace snapshot along a spectrum from “enterprise” class solutions to “lightweight” options. The list carries the CMS caveat that “these are not the ‘best’ DAM tools, simply — in our judgment — the most significant today.”

The offerings are divided by scale of the solution. The link from the vendor name takes you to the corporate website. Once there, use the solution/product name in the search bar to explore more specific information:

Enterprise DAM
Open Text– Artesia
EMC– Documentum Digital Asset Manager 6.1
ClearStory Systems– ActiveMedia 7.4
North Plains– TeleScope 8.3
IBM– FileNet P8 4.0.1 / Ancept Media Server 3.8
Interwoven– MediaBin

Mid-Market Challengers
Widen– Media Collective 5.0
MediaBeacon– R3volution
WAVE Corporation– MediaBank 3.5
ADAM Software– ADAM 4.2
Canto– Cumulus 7.5.3

Lightweight DAM
Microsoft– Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Oracle– Universal Content Management 10gR3
Day Software– Communiqué DAM
Niche Solutions Xinet – WebNative Suite
Chuckwalla– Chuckwalla 5.8
NStein– Digital Asset Manager
Apple– Final Cut Server

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