**Editor’s Note: Click here for a list of November’s important channel-program changes you should know.**

Jive Software has improved its certified technology partnership program to create a framework for newly certified partners building on its platform.

Ryan Rutan, Jive’s director of developer evangelism and partner innovation, tells Channel Partners the primary driver for the revamp was the need for “alignment on both sides of the partnership.” Jive provides communication and collaboration services for businesses.

“For more than 10-plus years, Jive has amassed numerous technology partners to work with,” he said. “As the platform [had] evolved, so has Jive’s view of a technology partner and how they should function in the ecosystem. Technology partner certification was a process for Jive to help reset these expectations across the board and elevate the status of quality solutions developed by partners that exemplify what it means to be a part of the Jive user/customer/product/partner experience.” 

The revamped program builds on Jive’s existing integration framework. Working closely with partners, it provides a “rich app experience that allows customers to create custom workflows within Jive, and embed Jive components in external applications.” In addition, the framework provides the capability to develop, test and simulate integrations, and also host apps that provide service level agreements and cater to an enterprise use case, the company said.

Jive has more than 100 technology partners that have built services on its platform.

“The biggest difference in this program is the cross-functional alignment across the organization that the certification process brings to the table,” Rutan said. “By seeking out and certifying solutions in key areas of focus, Jive is able to pack more power into each certified solution using the force of its entire company, rather than any one department. As Jive continues to grow, it is important that partners and customers alike have confidence that their investments will work as enhancements are added to the core platform. This program allows an organized and predictable way to align all efforts.”

Jive also announced that TemboSocial, an employee social-recognition provider, is the first partner to receive certification in the revamped program. TemboSocial enables companies of all sizes to add an employee recognition program integrated within Jive’s services.

“The reality for most companies is that their existing recognition program competes with the corporate intranet and duplicates many features such as the all-important employee profile,” said Steven Green, TemboSocial’s CEO. “By bringing enterprise recognition into Jive, the intranet is infused with frequent stories of success and achievement, building a public archive of repeatable behaviors that drive business success.”