Previously, Autodesk PLM users needed a standalone app, Jitterbit Connect, to connect to cloud-based services.
What Is Fusion Lifecyle?
Fusion Lifecycle is the new name for Autodesk PLM 360, the term “fusion” now being glommed onto the ever-growing, do-everything CAD product, Fusion360. With the introduction of Jitterbit’s integration tools, Fusion Lifecycle just got much easier to use and way more powerful.
Those involved in the PLM aspects of a project will be able to leverage native integration tools in Fusion Lifecycle to link any application and its corresponding data into a PLM workflow.
What Is Jitterbit?
Today businesses use a variety of applications to communicate information. But because all of these apps are siloed in their own systems, it’s impossible to manage all of the tools one uses centrally on a regular basis. Jitterbit changes that.
Because of its powerful and agile integration ability, Jitterbit will allow Fusion Lifecycle users to connect siloes of information. For example, the team communication app Slack can easily be added to a Fusion Lifecycle workflow giving a Lifecyle user quick access to new information without having to switch browser tabs or change apps. But Jitterbit isn’t just limited to communication tools. It can connect any application or service that uses a modern API with any other service, sayid Ilya Pupko, Jitterbit’s vice president of product development.
Essentially, Jitterbit is a universal translator for application data.
How Does Jitterbit Work?
According to Autodesk, the new Event Manager tool in Fusion Lifecycle will guide integration. With the Event Manager, users will be able to browse through a wide range of third-party applications and simply click to add any of the services they’d like to use in their PLM workflow. Once an application has been chosen, a second menu will pop up and display options for quick and easy integration.
“Jitterbit’s embedded integration capabilities play a key role in Fusion Lifecycle’s evolution as a connected platform that moves beyond the previously disconnected approach to product management,” said Ron Locklin, director of lifecycle solutions at Autodesk. “Jitterbit’s speed, performance and scale made it a great partner to serve the needs of thousands of Autodesk customers looking to break down administrative siloes.”
Using Jitterbit should be within the capabilities of the typical user of Autodesk software, according to Pupko. The ability to share data without having to write code or depend on third-party developers should empower ordinary users. In that way, Jitterbit integration fits Autodesk’s democratization script, where users are empowered to utilize tools once entrusted to specialists—such as PLM and simulation. Now, customized PLM connections can be quickly and easily built by a business to react to its needs.