Volantis still making money in mobile open source

One such place is Volantis Systems. They produce the open source Volantis Mobililty Server and the free Ubik service.

CEO Mark Watson (above) told me today they are using the open source business model just as intended. Enterprises download the code and this shortens the sales cycle.

"A lot of customers we're trying to convert to paid have already downloaded the open source product," he said. "You're not going to a marketing department to talk to the development department. It removes a lot of friction from the sales cycle."

Volantis is a global company, with most costs incurred in either England or Poland. Thus the strong dollar helps it meet its goals, a target of 30% more sales than last year, equalling the 2008 performance.

"Mobile data consumption is growing" even as handset models remain under stress, Watson said. Much of the purchasing is seen as transparent, less a considered purchase and more like buying gas.

There are also an increasing number of data-intensive devices out there, not just the iPhone but the Blackberry and others, he said.

So the world may be coming to an end in a lot of industries, even to some open source companies. But not everywhere. Not at Volantis.