Virtual Organizations [Guest Editors' Introduction]

Today's organizations are no longer constrained by traditional time and place barriers. Instead, information technology supports virtual organizations: flexible networks of independent, globally distributed entities that share knowledge and resources and work toward a common goal. Resources aren't limited to computing power, but include elements as diverse as storage, network links, data sets, analysis tools, sensors, and scientific instruments. Sharing policies are highly diverse, given that sharing must be controlled, secure, flexible, and limited in time.