While some companies say these co-working initiatives are too young to point to new products created from intercompany mingling, managers add the practice can help inject older firms with a start-up mentality and bring in new talent.

WSJ: Looking for Ideas in Shared Workspaces

Managers looking to plan business processes or add new functionality now have much more choice among the many services coming online.

FORBES: Increasingly, Clouds Are Built the Open Source Way