Digital asset management - guts versus gloss

Starting the week off with a whole load of tech news to digest, I was tempted (for no good reason) to let rip on the digital asset management industry this morning and voice my own loudly vented spleen in no uncertain terms.

Document management, digital asset management, software configuration management and a litany of other data-centric panaceas are all staring at me from my inbox with all the rosy-cheeked positivity of a Californian self-help group leader.

Oh I know – I shouldn’t be such a grouch. I am wed to American ‘upbeatness’ in more ways than most… and today is President’s Day after all.

The trouble with a lot of this data management news (I would contend) is that it can be just so superficial. Time and time again I see stories where the core functionality (or USP if you prefer) of the application and the process by which the software works have not been addressed. They think we just want to know if it cuts customers’ waiting time.

It’s all about the bottom line now then is it? I guess so.

The better stories I am reviewing do talk more specifically about functional enhancements for developers. One that I will mention by name is the latest version of Perforce’s product which (apparently) allows developers to graphically preview the effects of integrating changes between branches when structuring code so that any unintended consequences or undesirable outcomes can be identified and avoided.

I also liked the notes I’ve been reading that cover a new rollback feature, which allows previously submitted work (such as file revisions and integrations) to be undone if needed.

They nearly lost me when they started talking about ‘dashboard widgets’ for at-a-glance system admin viewing pleasure, but I guess they had to put the gloss in somewhere.

So there are gutsy stories out there in amongst all the gloss, I guess we just have to dig a little deeper than ever right now.

ps. Happy Birthday dear George