At IBM (or not)

Recently, I was visiting IBM at their new downtown Chicago office. I was amazed at how few people were actually in the office. There were plenty of empty desks with a few people sprinkled around the office.

I asked the person showing me around where everyone is working. Her answer was, "At home, at a cafe, on the road, whereever they can find a wireless connection." We have been talking about this kind of "virtual office" for some time, but it's coming true. As commuting grows more difficult and more expensive, more people are working whereever they can connect through a computer. It seems like everyone at IBM is using IM to stay in touch.

Personally, I think it's cool that people can escape the cubicle jungles of office buildings. You almost wonder when the buildings themselves are not all that important anymore. (That said, IBM's new offices at the Hyatt Center are incredible. They are very hightech. Seeing these offices gave me pause about my office here at Purdue.)