A single source of truth does not mean a single copy. Files are still downloaded, embedded and sent. It means there is one place that decides which version is current, and that every copy can be traced back to it.
What makes a source the source of truth
| Property | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Authoritative | Everyone agrees this is where the approved version lives. Other copies are secondary |
| Current | Replacing a file there replaces it for everyone who links to it |
| Complete | It holds the metadata needed to use the file: rights, product, market, approval status |
| Accessible | The people who need the file can reach it themselves, including those outside the company |
| Governed | Someone owns it, and changes are recorded |
If any of these is missing, people start keeping their own copies, and there are several sources again.
Single source of truth for brand and marketing assets
Brand and marketing files are particularly prone to multiple versions, because they are copied so often:
- Logos. The logo was updated in a rebrand two years ago, and the old one is still in a sales deck, a partner's website and an event banner template.
- Product images. The product was redesigned, but the e-commerce team, three distributors and the trade show team each kept the photos from launch.
- Collateral. A datasheet with a corrected specification was published, and the version attached to last quarter's email campaign is still being forwarded.
- Licensed photography. A stock image licence ended, and nobody knows every place the image was copied to.
Each of these starts with a copy taken from a shared folder or an email attachment. A single source of truth reduces the number of copies, and makes the remaining ones easier to update or withdraw.
How to set one up
- Choose the system and say so. Announce which library holds approved brand and marketing files. A source of truth that is not declared is just one more folder.
- Separate approved from working files. Drafts and layered design files stay in working storage; only approved files enter the library. See approval workflow.
- Retire the other copies. Set old shared folders to read-only and point to the library. Deleting them too early breaks links; leaving them editable keeps them in use.
- Link rather than attach. Share links, portal pages and embeds that point at the library show the current file. Attachments do not.
- Bring the library to where people work. If sales has to leave its own tools to find a file, it will keep a local folder instead.
- Record rights with the file, so the source can also say whether a file may be used.
Common mistakes
- Several "official" folders. A brand folder, a marketing folder and a sales folder, each partly up to date.
- No owner. Without someone responsible, the library drifts out of date and people return to their own copies.
- Duplicates inside the source. The same image uploaded three times with different metadata is several truths in one system. See duplicate detection.
- Confusing backup with source. An archive of everything ever produced is not the same as one current version of each file.
Single source of truth in Freedam
- Uploading a new version replaces the file on the same asset. Share links, collections and the brand portal point at the asset, so they show the new file, and earlier versions stay in the history. See version control.
- Every upload is checked for exact copies and similar images already in the library, and the uploader decides whether to keep both, replace the existing file or delete the new one.
- Workflows move assets from Draft to Published, so the wider audience sees only approved files.
- Rights policies are checked on download and each time a share link is opened, so a file whose licence has ended drops out of links already sent. See rights and compliance.
- Publication channels give websites image links that do not expire; an image stops showing when it leaves the channel or its rights expire.
- People reach the library from where they work: the Canva app and the Chrome extension search the library and insert its images and videos without opening Freedam, and on the Business and Tailored plans the Microsoft 365 Copilot connector sends chosen images to Microsoft 365 and withdraws them when they are removed.
- The brand asset management page covers the whole setup.
Frequently asked questions
What does single source of truth mean?
It means one agreed place holds the current, approved version of something, and everyone uses it from there. Other systems link to it or take copies from it, but do not keep their own edited versions.
What is the difference between a single source of truth and a single point of truth?
They are used interchangeably. Some data architects use "single point of truth" for one physical store and "single source of truth" for one authoritative source that other systems may mirror, but in marketing the two mean the same.
Can a shared drive be a single source of truth for brand assets?
It can be the declared location, but it is hard to keep current: files are copied out rather than linked, there are no rights fields, and versions of uploaded images expire. See shared drives for the published limits.
Related terms
Replace a file once, everywhere
Upload a new version of an asset in Nordi's demo library and see the share links and collections that already contain it show the new file, with the earlier version kept in its history.
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