In Forrester’s Priorities Survey, 2025, business and technology professionals most often cited “improving digital experiences” among the key actions their organization is taking to improve customer experiences. At the same time, Digital Asset Management (DAM) is experiencing a profound transformation, shifting from its traditional role as a content repository to becoming the dynamic command center of the modern digital enterprise. As organizations race to deliver richer, more personalized digital experiences, the importance of DAM is surging—shaping not just how content is stored, but how it is accessed, transformed, and activated across the entire business. I cover this evolution in the Forrester Digital Asset Management Landscape, Q3, 2025 in which we found DAM is:  

  • Evolving beyond its traditional role as a creative repository. While this role remains foundational, today’s DAMs are evolving into “systems of action.” They don’t just store rich-media and other content; they orchestrate its movement, transformation, and delivery to digital touchpoints and enterprise systems – a shift accelerated by artificial intelligence (AI) and the demand for seamless experiences in marketing, commerce, and digital engagement. 
  • Democratizing access to content across the enterprise. Offering governed, searchable, and brand-compliant content access, DAMs also provide easy-to-use portals and AI-powered tools that enable anyone—from field marketing managers to sales teams to agencies—to find, adapt, and deploy content at the speed required by today’s market.  
  • Enhancing brand value at scale. As they open up content access, DAM systems are extending brand value and safeguards, integrating tools that embed brand guidelines directly into the content workflow, ensuring that all transformed, localized, or repurposed assets remain consistent and compliant. The benefits also drive efficiencies by improving content re-use. 
  • Trending toward agentic AI. With AI-powered capabilities such as natural language search, content generation, and content transformation rapidly become core capabilities, DAM is moving toward agentic AI—systems capable of autonomously planning and executing complex tasks within the DAM. While much of this innovation is still emerging, it signals a future where DAM will further automate and optimize content operations, freeing up human creativity for higher-value work. 

As organizations evaluate DAM investments, they should be sure their current or new vendors have capabilities that align to their overall digital experience goals and business strategies. This includes scrutinizing AI features and roadmaps – which are taking shape across the enterprise technology landscape – for maturity and real-world applicability.  

Ultimately, Digital Asset Management is empowering more users with access to rich-media and other key assets, driving measurable business outcomes, and ensuring every digital touchpoint delivers unique value and brand impact. 

If you’re a Forrester customer and DAMs your jam, check out the full report and reach out to me to discuss DAM options.