OStatic

As more applications move to the cloud, it's not surprising that developers are spending a lot of time working on ways to provide mobile access to the cloud. To create applications and services for handheld devices like the iPhone and Android-based G1, they use tools like Volantis' Open Source Mobility Server, a java-based development and runtime platform.

Volantis Systems released version 5.1 of GPLv3-licensed Volantis Mobility Server (VMS) Community Edition this week. It has connectors that integrate with many popular Web sites including Picasa, Flickr, and Google Docs, with more expected to be added in future releases. The new version is optimized for the iPhone and also includes tools to create mash-up mobile applications. When looking at the future of VMS, Dave Roberts, Manager, Business Development, says thanks to the open source community, the sky's the limit.

As we posted earlier, Marketcetera announced this week its secured $4 million in Series A funding to develop a software stack designed to automate financial trading. While Marketcetera might be one of the first open source companies to aim for the specialized world of Wall Street trading, it's not likely to be the last.

Between the continuous flow of venture capital funding toward open source projects and Wall Street's apparent readiness to embrace the open source philosophy, Marketcetera's new cash infusion looks to be just the tip of the iceberg. What does all this point to?