SAN DIEGO--IBM and Steelcase have put their heads together and come up with a prototype of tomorrow's office. Just as car manufacturers demo cool concept cars at auto shows, the two companies are showing off a futuristic workplace setting codenamed Bluespace at Gartner's Symposium/ITxpo.
If you find hi-tech gear appealing or just like to wow co-workers, you're going to want a Bluespace of your own. But, like a concept car, no date has been set by IBM or Steelcase to turn the Bluespace concept into an actual product. Too bad--because I want one.
With Bluespace, the digital infrastructure that underlies your company's network and your desktop system is deeply woven into the fabric of the office. The concept solves problems-- simple and complex--that workspace designers grapple with today.
For example, consider how often you summon co-workers into your office to gather around your computer screen and collaborate on a project. At best, it's a clumsy arrangement. Bluespace takes advantage of operating systems that support multiple monitors and makes it easy to swivel the monitors to accommodate people sitting on either side of a desk. When the meeting ends, just swivel the monitors into a position where you can use either or both for your personal work.
But Bluespace deals with more complex issues, too. For example, it uses wireless technologies to detect when you've stepped away from your desk, and then minimizes the windows on your monitor to discourage curious eyes. The system will also notify fellow groupware users that you're away from your desk as well as posting a similar message on an intelligent panel outside your office door.
The message panel is also handy when you tell the system that you're in a "heads-down, do not disturb mode." Your colleagues will be able to determine your availability from either the groupware app or the panel.
Presence detection might also be useful in medical environments where compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) is required. Over the last year, I've had several IT managers from large health-care environments ask me if I knew of any technology that prevented unauthorized physical access to sensitive medical records. In fact, one hospital wanted a way to automatically minimize the Windows on a screen based on the proximity of unauthorized personnel.
Unfortunately, until global positioning systems that are accurate down to the inch are available, and we all have some sort of standard device that tracks our whereabouts, I'm not sure a solution--even one with Bluespace's potential--will ever exist.
