If you believe the consultants, then what's called the information technology market is due for a rebound in mid-2002.

IDC, for one, forecasts that in 2002 spending on IT will increase four to six percent in the United States, six to seven percent in Western Europe and ten to 12 percent in the Asia Pacific region. IDC also warns that many IT departments will come under increasing pressure this year as users and workers with wireless and mobile Internet access demand more support than they can currently provide.

One sign that this increasing penetration of technology into the workplace was the unveiling by IBM of BlueSpace, which the company bills as an interactive and personalised office of the future.

What's different this time IBM? Here's the hype: "With a combination of technology and design, BlueSpace enriches the overall work environment by providing greater comfort and personalisation through unmatched user control.

"For companies, BlueSpace has been designed to enhance productivity, increase collaboration among employees and improve space utilisation. BlueSpace also is intended to serve as a valuable tool for employers in attracting and retaining quality workers."

Yeah, yeah. It's like a record being played over and over again, these promises of the "smart office" that have not yet been fulfilled, that lead to a vast drain on resources rather than contributing to productivity and worker satisfaction.

This new attempt at bringing businesses to the promised land centres on a touch screen, which sits adjacent to the computer monitor, and puts users in control of the office. Interactive icons allow users to adjust temperature, airflow or lighting to suit their preferences.

Users can direct heat, adjust humidity levels, or modify lighting. Interactive icons help employees share projects, communicate with their team members, and access real time news feeds.

OK, a new fandangle computer that groups controls in one place. The new addition to this package is what IBM brands as a monitor rail, a piece of furniture to allow you to move a desktop to anywhere in the office. The rail consists of a work surface that can slide to key points in the office and a dual monitor arm that almost rotates to a complete circle, allowing the executive to work from his or her computer from anywhere in the room. I call this an "executive" tool, because most of us work from cubicles, and if you have an office, it's more likely that you don't have to be a basketball player to hit the trash can.

Another tool is IBM's "Everywhere Display", a projector located at a vantage point in the wall that can display information onto any surface, be it a wall, desktop, or the floor. "Wireless computer-processed sensing technologies enable touch sensitivity, allowing fingers to act as cursors, even on walls or desktops," IBM promises. "A guest badge in the office vicinity automatically helps cloak confidential information by prompting the Everywhere Display to project a generic image."

Office privacy will be achieved through IBM's "Threshold" device. This is a moveable work surface, which interacts with devices embedded in the ceilings and walls to provide on-demand visual and territorial privacy to the user.

Colour-coded lighting at the top of the table alerts colleagues when an employee is away, busy or accepting visitors. An integrated front panel display on the threshold device can visually communicate what each employee wants to share with colleagues, such as current projects and scheduling. All these tools could be used to personalise a common office, for those on the floor who need occasional privacy for meetings or telephone discussions. On entering the office, a sensor on the door picks up a reading from the worker's ID card, and a name plaque on the door indicates who's using the room.

The device also automatically adjusts the office computer, the desk, the lighting and the temperature. Colour-coded lights on the door can be programed to indicate the level of privacy needed. Telephone calls are automatically diverted to the office phone. The computer switches to the user's usual desktop preferences. This kind of package, a meld of technology and furniture design, looks like a start at figuring out how to get the office space back to more of a personalised, more welcoming place. But the test for IBM now is on introducing the concept to those who are supposed to use and understand the technology. Is this the start of an office evolution? Hold on to your wallets.

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