I came across an interesting article today on one of CogHead's blogs - the concept of "Going Bedouin". Essentially the concept is to run a start-up off the the most minimalist infrastructure as possible.

I'm interested in something more radical. By focusing almost exclusively on service-based infrastructure options, a business could operate as a sort of neo-Bedouin clan - with workers as a roaming nomadic tribe carrying laptops & cell phones and able to set up shop wherever there is an Internet connection, chairs, tables, and sources of caffeine. "Going Bedouin" is an interesting concept, but key questions naturally arise:

* "How do you do it?"
* "Why do it? What are the benefits?"
* "What are the challenges?"
________

Do not set up a server room, do not hire IT staff, and have engineers work on the company's products instead of helping with operational issues.

Full blog article here
I've had a picture in my head for a while of a mobile/configurable office space that allows people to flow together into the correct teams to achieve something and then flow into new teams as needs change. The "Going Bedouin" concept takes this to an extreme.

It is definitely possible to do with a software/web company, but maybe harder when physical hardware is involved. I like the concept.

How could you make sure that operational issues don't get in the way of your workers getting the job done?