One of the most interesting collaborative business networks to emerge recently is a group of ambitious Northern Irish technology companies who have founded Whisple and are now actively recruiting new members from software and service companies who need a ready-made platform into the multi-billion global cloud-services market.

I was part of a fascinating panel session "Mobility, Teams, The Cloud and Collaboration" at the recent Mobile Cloud Summit (London: 21 September). The summit and the session was chaired by Jeffrey Peel of Quadriga Consulting and my co-panelists were Brian Caulfield of DFJ Esprit and Chris Horn of Movirtu.

In Dot.Cloud business strategy expert Peter Fingar explains the main ideas of cloud computing and what it will mean for both businesses and business models. Peter contends that companies will carry out their work in "the Cloud" instead of in office buildings and deliver their "services" via the Cloud as well. Peter proposes a key role for human interactions in the Cloud, the end of traditional "management" and the rise of self-organizing, self-managed "Bioteams".