ATLANTA -- Today at the GSM Association (GSMA) Mobile Innovation Marketplace — Americas, Microsoft Corp. announced the Connected Services Accelerator Program, a series of projects designed to incubate, and ultimately commercialize, new types of consumer, business and mobile services through collaboration with independent software vendors (ISVs), developers and operators. Microsoft will collaborate with SingTel on the program’s first project, the Mobile Connected Services Accelerator. All Accelerator projects will utilize Microsoft Connected Services Sandbox as the platform for the creation, development and testing of these innovative new services.

Mobile Connected Services Accelerator

The objective of the Mobile Connected Services Accelerator is to develop a new, cutting-edge mobile application for a vertical industry, which can be supported on Windows Mobile-based devices as well as Windows Vista-enabled mobile broadband PCs. Examples of such applications include the collection of patient data in healthcare, telemetry and fleet-management solutions, real-time financial services, equipment and property management, and utilities management. SingTel will make its state-of-the-art infrastructure and resources available to participants for development and testing purposes.

To qualify, developers and ISVs must have annual revenues not exceeding $20 million (U.S.) and must not be owned by a publicly traded company or subsidiary, or mobile operator. Proposals will be evaluated according to a set of criteria that includes market potential, scalability, ease of use, ease of deployment, customer demand and originality.

“SingTel is excited to collaborate with Microsoft to accelerate the development of innovative mobile services that will transform the way we live, work and play,” said Bill Chang, executive vice president of business at SingTel. “The Mobile Connected Services Accelerator is a global initiative that will complement the SingTel Partner Programme in driving innovation and helping to turn exciting ideas into reality. Participants may not only benefit from reduced development costs but also achieve faster time to market for their innovations.”

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)