Twilio Banks $3.7M

12:40 PM -- The new year has begun just as 2009 ended, with financial activity in the VoIP-related applications market.

The latest news differs somewhat from the December acquisition of Jajah Inc. by Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF), though. (See Telefónica Buys VoIP Player Jajah.)

This time, cloud-based IP voice app developer Twilio has raised $3.7 million, according to a blog entry on its Website.

While Twilio is much more of an enterprise play -- its capabilities help companies develop applications that can interact with voice calls -- the development is worth noting because it's part of the trend toward the cloud-based management of voice-related services, something that BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) is keen to promote to its corporate customers. (See BT, Cisco Claim Cloud Coup.)

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading