To a tradition-bound C-level executive, this prediction might suggest a nightmare future of unstructured workplaces bordering on anarchy. In fact, Ross and his fellow panelists at a recent presentation here, sponsored by CoreNet Global's New York chapter, were discussing ways in which new and emerging technologies will continue to transform how--and where--people work. This transformation has enormous implications for corporate real estate.

Already, said panelist George Bouri of Deloitte Consulting, real estate decisions are being driven less by CRE managers and more by CIOs. The transformation does not render CRE professionals obsolete, he said, but represents a new language they must learn. Conversely, technology service providers must learn to understand the corporate environment and speak in terms that CRE professionals can relate to.

Bouri, principal of Deloitte and leader of its capital and real estate transformation practice, said telepresence technology is bringing video conferencing to a level of in-person tangibility that is making some corporations question the need for inter-office air travel. He cited telepresence and Second Life--the 3D virtual world first launched as a video game in 2003--as the two technologies most likely to have a major impact on CRE.