Calling Innovators: Build Voice Mashups for Cash

BroadSoft, a provider of VoIP application software, today announced the BroadSoft Xtended Voice Mashup Contest to create telephony mashups that provide new, valuable services for businesses and consumers.

Running through Sept. 2, the Xtended Voice Mashup Contest challenges Web 2.0 and telecom developers to combine the multitude of BroadWorks VoIP features with other applications, including customer relationship management, business collaboration and social networking. Telephony applications such as SMS, voicemail, fax, and mobile clients also qualify for submission. Developers will have access to the Xtended Services Interface (Xsi) RESTful API during the contest.

Developers will compete for the three top prizes, which are valued at $15,500, $5,500 and $3,500. A panel of experts will select the winners, who will demo their mashups to hundreds of telecom executives from around the globe at the BroadSoft Connections 2008 executive users conference in Phoenix from Oct. 5-8. Contest winners will be announced at the Web 2.0 Expo New York 2008, which takes place Sept. 16-19.

"BroadSoft is committed to bringing voice to Web 2.0," said Leslie Ferry, vice president of marketing at BroadSoft. "This contest will spur the creation of even more innovative telephony mashups using the new REST-based API. Our customers are eager to find new services to offer to their millions of enterprise and residential end-users."

The prizes are:
--  First Place - $5,000 in cash, and an all-expenses-paid trip to BroadSoft Connections 2008 with a free Solutions ShowCase booth (valued at $10,500).
--  Second Place - $2,000 in cash, and an all-expenses-paid trip to BroadSoft Connections with a complimentary pass (valued at $3,500).
--  Third Place - $1,000 in cash, and a complimentary pass to BroadSoftConnections 2008 (valued at $2,500).


After winners are announced, approved entries will be posted on the Xtended Marketplace (http://marketplace.broadsoft.com), an online portal where service providers and their end-users can download mashups. Developers can generate revenue by charging a fee for their applications or by building customized versions of their apps for service providers.

"I was able to sell my app to a major service provider in the U.S.," said Joseph Farrar, president of JoeDeveloper.NET, who created the Click2Message application that integrates BroadWorks calling features with the Facebook social-networking site. "By working with BroadWorks through the Xtended program, I have access to a global pool of service providers who could try out my mashup. For the opportunity to sell more mashups to service providers, I will definitely be entering the Xtended Voice Mashup Contest."

"The applications on the Xtended Marketplace have already given us a competitive edge," said Dave Gilbert, president of SimpleSignal. "By offering the salesforce.com mashup -- the Unified Connector for Salesforce -- we were able to win a contract over a Tier 1 competitor. Xtended and voice mashups are the obvious next evolutionary phase of telephony services."

BroadSoft Xtended Marketplace was launched in March  to drive the integration of voice with Web 2.0 technologies. The initiative has spurred the creation of voice mashups with leading business and consumer applications, including Facebook, WebEx, Lotus Notes, ACT! by Sage, and GotVoice. Newly created mashups are available to BroadSoft's nearly 300 service providers in 59 countries.

For rules and prize details for the Xtended Voice Mashup Contest, visit http://developer.broadsoft.com/contest. The contest is free to enter. Developers can register at http://developer.broadsoft.com/contest.