Independent software vendors, developers, systems integrators, network equipment and telecommunications service providers all stand to benefit from the Microsoft Connected Services Sandbox. ITU Telecom World 2006 on December 4, 2006, was the stage on which the Redmond Company introduced a new program aiming to ease the creation and testing of communication services.

"Currently, operators are offering network services such as voice, video and data services either individually or in service packages," said Michael O'Hara, general manager for the Communications Sector at Microsoft. "Operators now can open their networks to next-generation Web 2.0 applications that can be mashed together with traditional services to create new connected services - the foundation of Telco 2.0. The goal of the Sandbox is to facilitate the rapid development and market deployment of scores of new service offerings, creating new opportunities for Sandbox participants and delivering new options for consumers and businesses."

In fact, the Sandbox is an integer part of Microsoft's Software as a Service initiative. The Connected Services Sandbox is designed to enable the mash-up of web-based and traditional telecommunications services via SaaS models. In this context, the result - what Microsoft refers to as the "managed network mash-ups" - will be available on the vast majority of networks and devices.

For the Connected Services Sandbox, Microsoft has worked with Bell Canada, BT, Ensim, Nortel, Ubiquity Software Corp., Schakra and Tech Mahindra. The Sandbox will be accessible via the Internet to help the integration with publicly available Web services that are not limited to the Redmond Company.