The Consumer Electronics Show concluded this past January with tons of fanfare surrounding the consumer products showcased in what is the premier tech show of the year.

Lost in all this techie talk was the fact there were some innovative products focused on improving the office.

We did some research and discovered some very interesting products that could provide your office with cutting-edge tech that will make your workplace a little more interesting.

In our conversations with exhibitors who hawked their creations to the country’s top investors and businesses, we found everything from the Google of video footage to innovative community phone chargers to ultra-durable power strips that can withstand power surges and the every-day abuse of the workplace.

Stepping Up Your Security with IC Realtime’s Ella

Let’s say you drive to work one day, put in a solid eight of hours of work and, when you head to the parking lot to drive home, you notice somebody sideswiped your car at some point in the day.

Normally, you’d have to connect with your building’s security department and ask them to pore over hours of footage to figure out who hit your car.

With IC Realtime‘s Ella, you can search your footage by using keyword searches just like you would when looking for something on Google.

For example, if you see black paint at the impact point, you can search “black car” and Ella will search through all the footage and isolate clips that include a black car.

The service also recognizes letters and numbers. So, if FedEx is late on a delivery or you never receive a shipment that was supposedly delivered, you can search “FedEx truck” and Ella will pull up all footage of FedEx trucks that pulled up to your delivery dock during the hours you specify.

“There was a lot of interesting buzz, for sure,” a company rep told us. “The Wall Street Journal included Ella in their list of the best tech to see at CES.”

Design Meets Device Charging: Humavox NEST

We’re not saying that charging your phone at your work desk is archaic but using a cord to charge your phone can be annoying for those who work in small spaces.

Humavox NEST has solved this problem by creating technology that can turn virtually anything into a charging station by incorporating near-field radio frequencies to charge phones and tablets.

Here’s how they explain the problem they say they’re solving:

“With the growing number of devices, charging has become a daily hassle that must be resolved with a simple, natural charging solution. But when thinking of what would be the most natural charging experience for users, we realized that it’s not unanimous, (it) changes with different products and between different users.”

Current NEST designs available on the Humavox website reveal personal-sized charging pods as well as community bowls where multiple phones and IoT devices can charge.

This novel idea for charging stations would be a great fit in communal areas where employees take breaks, brainstorm or meet, all without the need for charging cords.

Power to the People: Juice Mobile Power

Imagine the following scenario. You’ve got an event going on at the office — new employee orientation, for example — and dozens of people are crammed into a meeting room. The combination of phones, tablets and laptops needed to take notes means that some people are left without an outlet.

That’s the type of scenario some office managers had to be thinking about when they stopped by Bretford’s booth at CES and saw the company’s newest power solution: Juice Mobile Power.

Juice provides DC power for up to 20 mobile devices. One main power source plugs into the wall, and, from there, you can connect multiple power lines that roll out like a red carpet. The power strips are low-profile, durable and, as the company’s website says, they provide simple power solution without any retrofitting.

Here’s how a company representative explained the problem that Juice Mobile Power solves:

“Juice Mobile Power is the solution to this problem – the cost of rewiring a given room, whether that is an office conference room, an event space, or a classroom, is thousands of dollars and lots of time and energy. Juice Mobile Power takes the existing power available in the room and spreads it in a mobile, safe, adaptable way so people can stay charged and productive.”

There’s not much difference in the way that Bretford approaches power and the way we approach existing cubicles. We provide a simple solution that doesn’t require any work stoppages or costly disassembly of existing cubicles or desks.

Our panel and privacy extenders can be added to existing desks and walls in a matter of minutes. In many cases, we can add our panel extenders without interrupting your team’s workflow.

To learn more about our office solutions, call us at or head to our website.