14 DAY TRIAL // The Connected Services Sandbox Competitions are part of a Microsoft and BT initiative designed to drive the development of solutions based on a concert between traditional communications and Web 2.0 applications. According to the Redmond Company, the participants will have to build managed network mashups in accordance with specific service requirements that address multiple usage scenarios.
"The Web world and the telecommunications industry have the potential to complement each other in powerful ways," said Michael O'Hara, general manager for the Communications Sector at Microsoft. "By embracing the principles of Web 2.0 and leveraging the significant customer relationships and assets they already have in place, operators have the opportunity to redefine the models for doing business."
Microsoft's prediction is that for the new Telco 2.0 environment - a telecommunications equivalent to Web 2.0 - there will be a Plethora of new services available targeting specific customer segments. The Redmond Company sees the Connected Services Sandbox at the center of Telco 2.0. Microsoft informed that the Connected Services Sandbox will be divided into competitions and that the winners of each competition will receive from $2,500 to $25,000.
With the mashups competitions, the Microsoft Connected Services Sandbox has gained momentum. Furthermore, Microsoft has applauded the fact that the Sandbox has managed to bring together "ISVs, developers, system integrators, network equipment providers and telecommunications service providers in an environment that allows each participant to leverage the assets of the others."
The Sandbox will deliver the possibility of following up with the building of a new service from the conception point and all the way to the market.