Metadata strategy

• Understand your metadata. It sounds simple enough, but done properly, this requires time and effort
• People, processes, and policies are important — regardless of the DAM system you use. Make sure to devise your common controlled vocabulary and strategize your metadata before jumping into implementation
• When selecting a DAM vendor, make sure that they can support your metadata strategy
• For flexibility, ensure that your vendor supports several common metadata standards and specifications — and does each one equally well
• Make sure that your vendor supports open standards in some way to ensure interoperability — and your exit strategy (if necessary)
• Make sure that your metadata schemas can be modified relatively easily, without the need to call your IT department, or submit a support ticket to the vendor's support desk