Gunderson noted that many private-sector companies have figured out how to best find collaborators across the globe, teaming up "very quickly and loosely" to address needs. But the military has been known to take up to 10 years to adopt technologies already used in the private sector, he said.

Communications Project

The W2COG, which marked its first anniversary last month, has already used its collaboration process to help develop new ways to deliver emergency communications in disaster-stricken areas.

In that project, a vendor collaboration effort used off-the-shelf technology to create a mobile Internet service to help emergency workers in parts of the Gulf Coast that were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. The need for a mobile, "hastily formed network" that could provide Internet connectivity and collaboration tools in disaster zones was presented as a problem to the 40 vendors participating in the W2COG.

The companies working together on the project included Rajant Corp., a maker of wireless networks; Cisco Systems Inc.; Redline Communications Inc., a wireless equipment maker; Tachyon Networks Inc., a satellite network provider; Skype Technologies SA; and Microsoft Corp.