Looking Ahead: My Henry Stewart DAM NY 2025 Must-See Sessions

The countdown has begun for DAM New York 2025, and I'm thrilled that ICP is once again sponsoring and participating in the world's leading Digital Asset Management conference.

As I've been reviewing this year's agenda, five sessions have captured my attention. Each addressing the most pressing challenges we're seeing organisations face today: AI integration, seamless workflows, and the evolving demands of customer-centric content delivery.

Here's why I think that these sessions are particularly interesting for insights into optimising a DAM strategy, and what I'm hoping to learn from each.

From Storage to Strategic Enabler

Panel: Building for impact: Harnessing DAM's Transformational Power in a Customer-Centric, AI-Ready Content Supply Chain:  Click for more details

This session addresses the maturation of DAM thinking. We're finally moving beyond the "digital filing cabinet" mentality to recognise DAM as a critical component of the content supply chain.

I'm particularly excited about the opening keynote on harnessing DAM's transformational power in customer-centric, AI-ready content supply chains. This session promises to tackle the fundamental shift we're all navigating; moving beyond viewing DAM as a static repository to embracing it as strategic infrastructure that connects people, processes, and technology within a company’s wider technology stack. The emphasis on customer-centricity resonates deeply because I've seen too many organisations optimise their internal processes without considering whether those improvements translate to better user experience. The AI-readiness focus is crucial, companies that don't prepare for AI integration now will be scrambling to catch up. Organisations that successfully transform their DAM from a back-office function into a customer impact driver will have significant competitive advantage, and I'm hoping this session provides the strategic framework for that transformation.

The Taxonomy Challenge That Makes or Breaks Success

Panel: Building Taxonomy and Metadata Strategy for DAM and Beyond: Click for more details

When discussing DAM as a dynamic repository, this can only be made possible with a strong and scalable taxonomy and clean data. The masterclass on building taxonomy and metadata strategy particularly intrigues me because it features a collaboration between Dovecot Studio and Sesame Workshop. Using Sesame Workshop's 50+ years of organisational legacy as a case study, they'll explore how enterprise taxonomy can unify fragmented workflows and siloed teams across Marketing and Communications ecosystems.

This hits on something I see regularly, metadata and taxonomy strategy is often treated as an afterthought. Sesame Workshop's approach of treating taxonomy as the bridge between DAM and other systems like IP/rights management, video distribution, and content management is exactly the holistic thinking organisations need. I'm especially interested in how they're supporting new user groups across diverse teams, as DAM success depends on adoption.

A well-designed taxonomy strategy doesn't just improve findability; it enables true system interoperability. Organisations with robust metadata frameworks will be better positioned to leverage AI tools, maintain compliance, and scale efficiently.

Real-World Integration Realities

Panel: DAM Integration at CHG Healthcare: Plug-and-Play or Puzzle Piece? : Click for more details

Integration is one of the most underestimated and costly elements of DAM implementation.

The CHG Healthcare session on DAM integration catches my attention because it questions whether DAM systems can truly deliver on their promise of being a single source of truth while seamlessly integrating with existing tools and automated workflows. The "plug-and-play vs. puzzle piece" framing perfectly captures the tension between vendor promises and implementation realities.

With the added pressure of compliance, multi-stakeholder workflows, and the need for rapid access to critical information, healthcare brings a unique perspective to the conversation.

CHG's experience will provide valuable lessons for any organisation dealing with complex integration requirements. Integration challenges are often the hidden costs of DAM implementation, and understanding real-world complexities could help organisations avoid the common pitfalls.

Scale and Speed in Global Content Operations

Panel: Instant Access, Global Impact: How A+E Global Media Meets Digital Asset Immediacy: Click for more details

Managing content across 60+ FAST channels, three direct-to-consumer apps, and 30+ streaming partners is no small feat. Yet A+E Global Media is doing it while maintaining real-time access to over 3 million photography assets and expanding internationally.

The scale and complexity here is staggering, but what really impresses me is their achievement of indexing and optimising three million assets for "rapid deployment." This addresses the modern reality where content velocity can make or break business opportunities. As the "we want it now" economy accelerates, organisations need to understand how to architect their DAM systems for instant access without sacrificing quality, brand consistency, or compliance. A+E's approach provides a blueprint for scaling content operations globally while maintaining operational excellence.

AI Competition That Cuts Through the Hype

Panel: AI-Tech Play Off 2025: Click for more details

Finally, there’s a lot of talk about AI in DAM, and this session will highlight existing tools and use cases to inspire you to take a new lens to current challenges your organisation is facing and consider whether AI tools could help you solve them.

The AI-Tech Play Off will feature four vendors going head-to-head in a live demo, displaying real solutions for workflow and metadata automation, search enhancement, and rights management. This format is brilliant because it moves beyond theoretical AI discussions to practical demonstrations of current capabilities.  This will provide valuable insights that I will be able to leverage when evaluating solutions against our clients' challenges.

AI integration in DAM is not a future consideration; it is happening now. This session offers a unique opportunity to compare leading solutions side-by-side and gain an understanding of current AI capabilities. For organisations planning their AI strategy, this could help inform their process for vendor selection.

Why This Matters Now

These sessions are indicators of how rapidly our industry is evolving. The themes address challenges I see organisations facing every day: AI & automation, building workflows at scale, seamless system integration, and business transformation. 

The future of content operations is being shaped by organisations transforming their DAM strategies from traditional asset storage to intelligent, AI-powered content engines that drive customer and business impact. These sessions will provide the insights and inspiration needed to make that transformation successful. As sponsors, ICP is proud to be part of the conversation and to continue supporting organisations evolve their DAM strategies to meet the demands of today’s content landscape.

I look forward to seeing you there, learning together, and continuing to push the boundaries of what's possible in digital asset management.

Ready to transform your DAM strategy? Connect with our team at Henry Stewart DAM New York 2025 to discuss how these emerging trends and technologies can be applied to your specific challenges and opportunities.