S-Cube, the Software Services and Systems Network (www.s-cube-network.eu) will establish a unified, multidisciplinary, vibrant research community which will enable Europe to lead the software-services revolution.

By integrating diverse research communities, S-Cube intends to achieve world-wide scientific excellence in a field that is critical for European competitiveness. S-Cube will accomplish its aims by meeting the following objectives:
- Re-aligning, re-shaping and integrating research agendas of key European players from diverse research areas and by synthesizing and integrating diversified knowledge, thereby establishing a long-lasting foundation for steering research and for achieving innovation at the highest level.
- Inaugurating a Europe-wide common program of education and training for researchers and industry thereby creating a common culture that will have a profound impact on the future of the field.
- Establishing a pro-active mobility plan to enable cross-fertilisation and thereby fostering the integration of research communities and the establishment of a common software services research culture.
- Establishing trust relationships with industry via European Technology Platforms (specifically NESSI) to achieve a catalytic effect in shaping European research, strengthening industrial competitiveness and addressing main societal challenges.

S-Cube will produce an integrated research community of international reputation and acclaim that will help define the future shape of the field of software services. S-Cube will provide service engineering methodologies which facilitate the development, deployment and adjustment of sophisticated hybrid service-based systems. S-Cube will further introduce an advanced training program for researchers and practitioners. Finally, S-Cube intends to bring strategic added value to European industry by using industry best-practice models and by implementing research results into pilot business cases.