DAM takes on many roles

Zimmer is now in the process of configuring the TeleScope DAM system. "We began by writing protocols to validate the software’s effectiveness in meeting the regulations," says Duncan. By the end of the year, Zimmer hopes to have corporate information available and cataloged in the system, as well as supporting information. Training materials such as tutorials will be stored as objects in the DAM system, which will interface with a learning management system (LMS) that delivers and tracks the training.

The ultimate goal is to develop an enterprise "answer management system" that allows a user to type in a question and obtain a specific answer. "This is what our users need and want," Duncan says. "Distributors might want to know about inventory management, salespeople need to know about new products, and medical practitioners might want to see a simulation of a surgical technique. We want a unified system with a strong set of metadata around the content, so we can bring all the relevant information together."

TeleScope will contain all the rich media assets and will also serve as a catalog for documents in other repositories. "Our plan is for TeleScope to serve as a bridge," explains Duncan, "by providing a consistent user interface as we migrate away from traditional document authoring and implement XML-based knowledge and content management."

Using the metadata management capability of TeleScope, Zimmer will be able to update its documents dynamically. As a digital asset that is a component in product specification is modified, for example, it will replace an older version shown in the document.

"We have a lot of documentation within our organization related to policies and procedures, training and marketing," Duncan says. "One of the most challenging tasks we have is change control and managing reusable content, the millions of complex pieces we have for all those documents." Convinced that Zimmer is on the right track in shifting to a KM paradigm, despite the long road ahead, Duncan concludes, "You have to start somewhere."

No matter where the customers start, DAM systems now allow them to go farther than ever. "We have an end-to-end capability now, says Steve Sauder, CTO of North Plains. "We can manage XML, produce printed books and distribute e-books based on a single source of content." With North Plains’ new Web 2.0 tools, publishers can support viral marketing with reviews and ratings. That scenario is a big step ahead of the static repository that characterized earlier generation DAM systems.