Jive Social Business Software Powers Premier Farnell's element14, the First Online Community for Electronic Design Engineers

PORTLAND, Ore. (Map) - PORTLAND, Ore., July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Jive, the Social Business Software leader, announced that Premier Farnell, a leading multi-channel distributor of electronic components, has selected Jive Social Business Software (SBS) platform to power element14 (www.element-14.com), a first-of-its-kind site that unifies and supports the global electronic design engineering community.

The success of electronic design engineers is closely related to the ability to access up-to-date technology, product, design, industry and legislative information. Before element14, there was no open, independent-minded online community in which engineers could come together to candidly address common technical challenges, review products and share information. With support from Premier Farnell's supplier community and industry experts, element14 brings together all of the information electronic design engineers need to be successful - from design conception to production -- in an unbiased community environment. Now, as an alternative to searching a variety of vendor websites, engineers can solicit design feedback and component suggestions from trusted peers on this engineering social networking platform. When engineers are ready to make a purchase from a wide range of vendors, they can do this seamlessly via element14 as well.

Premier Farnell selected Jive SBS for the platform's breadth of functionality, ease of use and quick deployment.

"Our customers had no central location to connect with other engineers, leaving them to scour the web for advice and recommendations on components and product designs," said Dianne Kibbey, Director of eProcurement and Online Portals. "element14 centralizes these conversations in an unbiased environment, reducing research time while simultaneously providing a simple interface for selecting and purchasing components from a large and diverse selection of vendors."

"Social Business Software allows customers to become a company's biggest brand champions," said Dave Hersh, CEO, Jive Software. "element14 is a great example of how a leading distributor has improved its overall customer experience and built loyalty by providing an unbiased community where its customers can have candid discussions and share data and experiences the whole community can benefit from."

Jive SBS is the industry's only suite of social business applications purpose-built for Global 2000 enterprises. Jive's solutions go beyond community software, allowing people both inside and outside of the enterprise to connect, communicate and collaborate like never before, reducing the cost, time and risk required to produce business results.

About element14

element14 is a new, innovative information portal and eCommunity specifically built for electronic design engineers. It provides product data, design tools and technology information, whilst incorporating web 2.0 functionality to facilitate communication, interaction, collaboration and information sharing between colleagues around the world. Users can consult experts, discover trends, post blogs, articles and comments in this world-wide forum.

element14 is another innovative offering from Premier Farnell plc (LSE: pfl), FTSE 250, a leader in multi-channel distribution and specialty services for electronic design engineers throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. It has a stocked range of 450,000+ products, and access to 4,000,000 more items from 3,500 top manufacturers. The company has group sales of 804.4m pounds Sterling and over 4,100 employees globally.

For more information about element14 visit: www.element-14.com.

About Jive Software

Jive Software is the global leader in Social Business Software. For more information, visit Jive Software online at www.jivesoftware.com.