5 common (but avoidable) Digital Asset Management issues

30th September 2025

Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems are gamechangers for organisations across every sector, but they’re not without their challenges, and some issues pop up time and time again.

Fortunately, they can usually be avoided with good management, planning and team training. In this article we’re going to look at five of the most common issues DAM Managers face and how to avoid them.

Issue #1 – Unclear metadata taxonomy

An effective Digital Asset Management system is built on clear and easy to understand metadata, but all too often this gets muddied over time. This is made more likely when multiple DAM users are responsible for uploading and tagging assets.

There are multiple problems associated with unclear metadata taxonomy rules, including making it harder to find assets quickly and increasing the chance that content gets recreated unnecessarily, but arguably the biggest is reduction in usability. When the DAM stops being easy to use and actually makes peoples’ jobs harder you’re going to see a drop in adoption and an increase in ‘shadow DAM’ usage (more on that in a moment).

How to solve it

Most DAM systems start off with defined metadata rules, but over time these rules become diluted. To avoid this, one of the most effective things you can do is to ensure the metadata model is simple and easy to follow. Three to five mandatory fields for all assets is probably fine and dropdown lists and controlled vocabularies instead of free text fields will also go a long way to avoid ‘metadata creep’.

Finally, the DAM Manager should ensure that comprehensive training (this will be a common theme in this article) in how to use the system is provided to all new starters, and periodically refreshed for all users.

Issue #2 – Losing control of versioning and digital ‘clutter’

It’s normal for your DAM system to have multiple versions of assets, but problems arise when you lose control of that versioning. Old branding assets start cropping up in sales and marketing collateral, the DAM Manager is constantly dealing with requests for the latest version of a file, and the system starts getting bogged down with digital ‘clutter’.

While using old logos on public-facing materials isn’t ideal, there can be legal and reputational repercussions when usage permissions and licensing agreements are breached because you don’t know which assets are available for use and which aren’t.

How to solve it

Getting on top of version control is one of the most important tasks for a DAM Manager, but your DAM platform should be able to solve this easily. During the DAM evaluation process, or if you’re reviewing your existing system, make sure version control functionality is included as standard.

Segmenting the DAM and restricting access to outdated content also mitigates the risk of old assets being used, while features like action dates can automatically remove assets from general view  when a specific date in a certain field is reached.

To tackle digital clutter more generally, establish a clear asset audit and deletion strategy to ensure old and outdated content is removed from the DAM when it’s no longer required. This will also help to avoid issue number three…

Issue #3 – Scalability and spiralling storage costs

Your DAM needs to be able to grow with the organisation and, although your DAM vendor will almost certainly be able to increase your cloud storage capacity, this might come at a high cost.

How to solve it

An established asset deletion strategy helps with this, but the majority of organisations will need to expand their DAM storage capacity sooner or later. With this in mind, choose a vendor that makes this easy to do and that won’t make you switch to higher product tiers to access it.

READ MORE: Enterprise DAM Functionality... without the price tag

Issue #4 – Lack of integrations

When properly implemented your DAM system will be at the heart of your digital tech stack, but that’s only possible if your DAM can integrate with those other platforms.

If that’s not possible, the efficiency and usability of content workflows are going to be significantly impacted, with users having to download assets locally to then reupload them into different applications. This leads to the DAM Manager losing control of where assets are stored, ultimately compromising version control.

How to solve it

During the DAM evaluation process make sure that the system can be integrated with your existing applications, while also ensuring that new additions to your tech stack can be integrated with your DAM.

However, no DAM vendor will offer out-of-the-box integrations with every application, which is why open architecture and API access is so important. ResourceSpace implements a full REST API that developers can use to access internal functions and configure custom integrations.

Issue #5 – Low user adoption and ‘Shadow DAMs’

Low user adoption is one of the biggest challenges faced by DAM Managers, and it’s exacerbated by all four of the issues listed above, as well as a lack of initial team buy-in, poor implementation and insufficient training. What follows is often the use of ‘shadow DAMs’: teams storing assets in cloud storage solutions like Google Drive, different creative applications or simply on their local machines.

This makes it impossible for DAM Managers to keep track of what’s being used where, and completely throws version control out of the window.

How to solve it

Successful DAM implementation begins with securing buy-in across the team, from marketing all the way through to board-level. This responsibility lies mainly with the DAM Manager as the ‘champion’ of the system’s adoption, but they need to be supported by senior stakeholders too.

READ MORE: DAM stakeholders and how to get their buy-in

However, you also need to be willing to listen to concerns and objections, and communicate with teams frequently to ensure they feel a part of the DAM selection process. Once your DAM is up and running, reliable support from the DAM vendor is important too. This ensures the system can continue to be adapted to meet your needs and allows you to benefit from new functionality as it becomes available. 

Clear and comprehensive training needs to follow, as well as education on the consequences of falling into old habits and using these ‘shadow DAMs’.

Want to understand how ResourceSpace mitigates these issues and supports a streamlined digital asset workflow that can secure buy-in from every level of the organisation? Book your free Digital Asset Management demo by following the link below and one of our solutions experts will work with you to understand how we can help.