Within a few years, we may not have to worry about our cell phones losing battery power. By 2015, mobile phones could be powered by oxygen.

According to IBM's annual "Five in Five" predictions about innovations that are expected to materialize over the next five years:

When it comes to preventing corporate-wide Swine Flu outbreaks this winter, this move may be even smarter than companies issuing hand sanitizer to every employee.

IBM announced on Thursday plans to offer its U.S. employees 100 percent coverage for primary health care - meaning no co-pays or deductibles - in an effort to reduce healthcare bills down the road.

Global IT spending will grow from $1.4 trillion this year to $1.7 trillion in 2013, according to a new study from research firm IDC. The report, which covers 52 countries, argues that the IT sector -- and software in particular -- will play a major role as economies try to bounce back from the recession.

The overall numbers are fairly convincing. IT spending is expected to grow 3.3 percent annually through 2013, which is more than three times the GDP growth rate in the countries studied. And between technology vendors and business' in-house IT staff, 5.8 million new jobs will be added through 2013. That's good for a 3 percent increase in the IT labor force -- 3.4 times greater than for overall non-farm jobs.

 
This week, I looked at a perennial idea with staying power—that is the office of the future. Maybe it’s the sci fi-ish, future-adoring side of our culture, or maybe it just has to do with the never ending drive to improve efficiencies, but the quest for the better office hasn’t stopped since productivity experts began theorizing about how to reduce paper records.

Fast forward, and Hewlett Packard continues the tradition with its CoolTown Innovation Center in Singapore, which features smart surfaces that make use of RFID tags and data-reading pens, and sensors on document trays that record when a document is input or output. Cisco has its Smart + Connected building solutions, now on display at the Incheon Global Fair and Festival in Korea. There have been other models from IBM and other tech firms.

Yet, in the short run, for many workers, “tomorrow’s office” is turning out to be one based at home. Looking at these trends got me wondering if more of you are supporting greater numbers of home-based workers (or adopting other distributed workforce schemes). Maybe this is in response to the recession, or maybe it is part of a longer term plan.  If so, I’d love to hear how you have been coping with the technical—and other aspects—that such a set-up requires.

It’s 2009: do you know what your data management strategy is?

Maybe you’re sizing up offerings from vendors such as D&B Purisma, DataFlux, or Siperian or going larger with something like IBM’s InfoSphere. Or, you might have attended a conference on Master Data Management and want to take your program to the next step.