Profile: Ann Marie Fisher
Meet Ann Marie Fisher. Director of Alliances at Jitterbit.
Name: Ann Marie Fisher
Job: Director of Alliances at Jitterbit
City: Cleveland
Hometown: Cleveland
Q: What do you do at Jitterbit?
Jitterbit offers an integration and API software application that is lower-code and quick to deploy so you don’t have to have a major team of developers to use it. Our platform is called an iPaaS (integration platform as a service).
We help our clients reduce data silos to gain a 360-degree view of the business, via APIs and integration.Today it’s all about data. Companies can have upwards of 100 different on-premises, SaaS, and cloud applications all containing different data points. To grow, and create amazing customer experiences, this data needs to be integrated to help define how the business is doing and what needs improved or changed.
I recently transitioned to our Alliances team helping to recruit and support partners so that they can use our platform to better serve their clients. We work with many different orgs that implement solutions including NetSuite, Salesforce, eCommerce, and more. They need to integrate their client’s applications to deliver on projects and they utilized Jitterbit to do this.
Q: What’s a problem that you are working to solve?
There has been a lot of focus on ecommerce at my company as of late. The complexity of global supply chains and the continued growth of ecommerce has put extra pressure on all sizes of companies to change the way they do business. Especially now with Covid. Businesses that don’t have real-time access into shipping, supplies, or sales for their customers will likely not survive seeing as the major players have it.
We work with businesses who need to connect to web stores, 3PLs, shipping partners and more, and it can seem daunting, but it’s necessary to drive growth. Replacing custom code integrations with one central and lower-code integration tool can allow a business to flourish especially when in-person shopping is decreasing and people want info on their mobile phones, computers, and all things digital. One of our ecommerce clients now has the ability to set up and integrate new storefronts in hours instead of weeks/months. These integrations also helped create 98% order accuracy and saved many man hours in manual data entry.
Q: What’s a lesson you’ve learned that has helped shaped your work?
I think in a position like mine it is really as simple as listening. If I am trying to offer up a solution and I don’t completely understand how the problem is affecting the business at the highest level, I won’t be able to effectively show how I can help.
Also, listening in general is a great thing to master. I recently read an article that stated there are 3 things to know when trying to master it: (1) the importance of silence (2) the value of reflections and (3) the power of open-ended questions.
They stated that “If you want to improve the quality of relationships with your friends, significant others, and colleagues, consider what good listeners do.” They provide silence, which can be uncomfortable at first but will allow the person speaking time to reveal more.
Good listeners reflect. Meaning that they focus on what the words actually mean, and then repeat their interpretation back to the person speaking to make sure there is alignment. Lastly, it’s all about asking open-ended questions. It all seems obvious but there have been many times I’ve left a meeting feeling like I could have achieved better results asking better questions. Luckily, I’m of the mind frame that life is about continuous learning so I keep trying.
Q: What’s a trend in technology or innovation that you believe doesn’t get enough attention?
I feel like clean energy needs to take a giant leap.
Q: What’s one moonshot idea that could help make Ohio a world leader in technology and innovation?
I admire how our government officials in Ohio push learning technical skills. It makes me excited. We need to think about the future and our youth.
When I was younger, I didn’t know about all of the different technology skills I could have learned and how they would be so in demand. We need to put more focus on younger people to learn technology. I fell in love with technology when I learned how much it is involved in all aspects of our lives.
It’s not just in our computers or iPads, so there are so many interesting sectors and jobs that involve tech. Younger people just need to be made aware of them.
Related to this thought, curriculum in K-12 needs to be able to be changed and flex more easily to accommodate the ever-changing tech landscape. There are jobs that aren’t even created yet that my child could be doing when he is older.
Q: What’s a recent book, podcast or news story that you found interesting?
I always read the news in the morning and there is a newsletter called the Morning Brew that I get each day. It’s got a great summary of what’s going on in the world.
Q: What's your favorite place in Ohio?
I love to be by the lake. I just went up to Kelley’s Island this month and it’s such a beautiful spot. We are lucky to have such an amazing resource so close by. I’ve been threatening to take up kayaking too! I need to get on that.
Q: What makes Ohio special to you?
I grew up here. It’s just home to me.
Connect with Ann Marie on LinkedIn.