We are talking to Rogier Visser, Product Manager at Enable U
I work on many different things related to our products. Broadly speaking, I make sure our products meet the needs and requirements of our customers. I monitor whether they meet the right quality standards and help prioritize the work of our developers. But I also look at the commercial side of our solutions: Are we spending our product development time in the right way? Aren’t we investing too much time in features or customizations that don’t deliver enough value for us or our customers?
One of my focus areas is our Managed Integrations Dashboard. We run thousands of integrations for our customers, and this dashboard makes those integrations visible. Customers can see how much traffic flows through each integration, which systems are connected, and which suppliers are involved. If something goes wrong, the dashboard is the go-to place to find the necessary information.
Another interesting area I work on is finding the balance between standardization and customization. At Enable U, we are true integration specialists — we can build any connection a customer wants. But in the long term, our customers also benefit from standardization. It enables scalability, since multiple customers can use the same setup.
I joined Enable U two and a half years ago. I applied for the Product Manager role because I was drawn to the combination of technology, functionality, and management. That level of complexity really appeals to me. I work with various stakeholders — coordinating with functional administrators on what the products should be capable of, and with technical specialists on how we are going to make that happen.
After studying Arabic, I wrote a thesis. That was a great time, but I did not want to continue in academia. Especially in the humanities, there are far more candidates than positions, with short-term contracts and little long-term security. So I decided to leave the academic world behind. I have always had a strong interest in IT, and in 2013 I joined OGD ict-diensten, where I specialized in the service management system TOPdesk. Since then, I have held various roles: support, functional administrator, technical administrator, team manager, and eventually department manager. I also worked as an independent TOPdesk specialist for about two years. Integration was often part of my work, so I already had experience with building connections between systems. That background is what made the Product Manager vacancy at Enable U catch my eye.
I love being the spider in the web between different people and teams — especially when they all have very different interests. Take our Managed Integrations (MI) Dashboard and MI Platform as an example: everyone has ideas on how to make them even better. Consultants want to instantly see how a message moves through the chain and where it might be failing. Customers, on the other hand, want control over the integrations they are using — being able to view statuses and easily find key information for audits or impact analyses. And Sales and Marketing also have ideas, like making it much more intuitive to show customers what additional services they could benefit from.
Unfortunately, we cannot build everything. I want to fully understand each stakeholder’s perspective. What motivates them? What will it help them achieve if we deliver the functionality they are asking for? It is impossible to keep everyone 100% satisfied. That is why we have to critically assess the cost versus the value of each development request. So finding balance, making the right trade-offs, setting clear priorities — and especially explaining and communicating those decisions well — that is what makes my role so interesting.
Keeping my eyes and ears open — in terms of technological developments and developments in the markets our customers operate in. In our business, we constantly need to stay on top of changes in organizations and standards. Technologies are regularly phased out and replaced by new versions. We really have to stay on top of things; not all changes are clearly communicated.
But most of the valuable knowledge and insights come from connecting the right people — both internally and externally. That is how you make sure knowledge is shared and transferred.
As a company full of friendly and helpful technical specialists. We can build any integration you can think of — and that is something we can be proud of. At the same time, we are also a company that actively thinks about how we can serve our customers even better in the future. One way we do that is by further developing the MI Dashboard on top of the integrations we have already realized. Examples include GDPR logging — which helps customers stay compliant with privacy regulations — and error analysis powered by AI.
Together with my partner — whom I have known since my student days — I have three sons, and of course, they take up a lot of my time. I also enjoy cycling. I have a company lease bike, which I use to commute from Landsmeer to our office at Kraanspoor in Amsterdam, but I also go on longer bike rides to relax. And if there is still time left, I love tinkering with vintage stereo equipment — and by now, I definitely have way too many of them!
That is short but sweet: Keep up the good work!
