Take the example of Adaptec Inc., a marquee name in storage components for PCs and servers. Previously, these processors were fabricated in Singapore as needed. Turnaround time from order placement to delivery of the processors was 105 days. To shorten this, Adaptec virtualized this portion of its business, entering into a collaborative-computing arrangement with all of its chip suppliers and fabricators. We took the risk, got it running, and the return turned out to be even greater than we expected.
Technology is simply the enabler.
For example, if you contract out manufacturing and distribution, then you've put information about all your latest advances into the hands of companies that might also be building products for your rivals. IT functions on your systems from its own sites. Before you can get comfortable with this view, you have to radically redefine the way your company views itself. This mind change must precede all other decisions. Suppose an existing company finds the efficiencies of the virtual enterprise sufficiently compelling to explore.