Read Time, 2 min.

Modern coffee is complicated. Gone are the days when a quick cup of ‘instant’ in the morning would satisfy most of us. Coffee is a living, breathing culture, and with it comes a burgeoning set of consumer expectations. Meeting and exceeding them determines whether coffee businesses sink or swim in an industry where you’re only as good as your last latte.

It’s amazing to think that when Swiss coffee machine provider, Thermoplan, was founded in 1974, there was only a single Starbucks store worldwide. 45 years later, the American coffee giant operates more than 28,000 locations globally. That’s a lot of coffee machines. And it’s Thermoplan that supplies most of them.

Here’s why

What makes Thermoplan’s machines the coffee-makers of choice for businesses in 72 different countries, including clients like Starbucks and Nespresso?

They’re connected to the cloud.

Rolf Hochstrasser, Project Manager at Thermoplan, explains:

“Previously we did not have our coffee machines connected to the cloud and could not receive data that would help us track any possible issues with the machines. We relied heavily on time-based maintenance to keep them running. The move to an IoT-based solution was driven by a request from one of our key accounts, expressing the need for a cloud connected machine that can give valuable insights”.

Here’s how

Using Microsoft Azure as a cloud platform, Thermoplan developed a solution that enabled them to remotely monitor and gain deeper insights on the statistics for every coffee machine used by its customers. Insights like the amount of coffee being consumed, or customers’ favourite drinks, or when machines parts needed changing.

The impact for Thermoplan’s clients was immediate. Now they can enjoy benefits such as proactive stock control, reduced product wastage and better maintenance of machines via predictive analytics. By being able to record all of their machines’ activities, Starbucks, Nespresso and all of Thermoplan’s other clients can rest assured they are consistently serving coffee that meets their customers’ increasingly high standards.

 

Thermoplan’s migration to the cloud came with help of company’s long-term Microsoft partner, bbv Software Services.

The Factory of the Future: Manufacturing a smarter, more connected world

The “Factory of the Future” goes beyond the walls of production to transform the connected manufacturing ecosystem, across R&D and the supply chain.

Discover more related articles per industry:

Education

  • Unlock the potential of your students with Microsoft’s new Learning Accelerators

    Unlock the potential of your students with Microsoft’s new Learning Accelerators

    Personalized learning is a goal that educators everywhere have been trying to achieve for years. But the pandemic shone a light on the complexity of that challenge for teachers, who face a more diverse set of student needs than ever before.  Because delivering a truly personalized learning experience for every student has traditionally required lots […]

  • a person sitting at a desk in front of a computer

    Reimagining Uninterrupted Learning at Sacred Heart School in Tullamore

    As students and teachers found themselves away from the classroom environment and learning from home, schools were again adapting to different ways of learning to ensure quality education continues. For the Sacred Heart School in Tullamore, Co Offaly, the staff and student body were well prepared to deal with this upheaval and continued to deliver […]

Finance & Insurance

Government

  • Two people inside using Surface Go in office

    How technology is transforming the work of governments

    Governments have the ultimate responsibility to their citizens. People depend on the services they provide like no other institution. Whether in healthcare, education, business, roads, railways, water – it’s essential that government institutions are always at the forefront of social and digital trends. Cloud-powered technologies are playing a critical role in helping government agencies to […]

Healthcare

Manufacturing

  • Smart moves help save water, money … and the planet

    Smart moves help save water, money … and the planet

    Grundfos is a global leader in advanced pumping solutions and water technology. It contributes to global sustainability by pioneering technologies that improve the quality of life and health of people worldwide. As part of these efforts, Grundfos continues to increase the IQ of its smart pumping solutions with the Microsoft IoT Suite and Microsoft Dynamics […]

  • Vanoord ship in St Peterburg

    Van Oord eliminates manual processes to access real-time data and insight from any location

    By taking advantage of cloud-based AI solutions, one of the world’s largest dredging fleets was able to enhance its processes, free up resources, and focus on future innovation and growth. Imagine the scenario. Multiple ships in locations around the world, all with equipment documentation and certifications requested on a regular basis by internal staff, legislative […]

Retail

  • Whitepaper: Retail Insights – Harnessing the Power of Data

    Whitepaper: Retail Insights – Harnessing the Power of Data

    The retail industry contributes a significant portion to the GDP of many countries, employs tens of millions of people and touches nearly everyone. In order to gain insight at a particularly volatile time for the industry, we recently conducted a survey with 100 retail executives to gain insight into their business challenges and learn about […]

  • A man standing in front of a truck

    Why leading Irish retailer Musgrave is ready for anything with cloud technology

    “When assessing the potential effects of major digital transformation projects on our business, we always think about three key constituents: colleagues, retailers, and consumers.” So says Paul Baguley, IT PMO for Musgrave Retail – Ireland’s leading food retail, wholesale and food service company. Together with its retail partners, who operate under leading brands including SuperValu […]

Discover more related articles per dossier:

Customer Stories

Digital Transformation

  • a man holding a paint spray

    What we can learn from AkzoNobel’s digital transformation

    Savvy businesses are always on the lookout for ways to improve what they do and differentiate themselves from the competition. From organisational restructure to the development of entirely new business models, the quest for continuous improvement takes many forms. But one common factor in almost all modern business leaders’ plans is an emphasis on technological […]

Press

  • Image of a man and woman smiling

    Microsoft and Connect at Catalyst Inc

    Microsoft and Connect at Catalyst Inc It’s an exciting time to be working in the technology sector in Northern Ireland. More than ever before we’re seeing increased numbers of entrepreneurs, start-up businesses, and indeed multinationals setting up in the North. Working together and learning from each other encourages a strong technology ecosystem and ultimately yields […]

Security & Privacy

Tips

  • Group of two female and one male office workers brainstorming in informal office setting. Both women are using laptops while the man is writing. Large screen shown in background.

    2019 Modern Selling Trends in 5 webinars

    The relationship between buyers and sellers grows more complicated each day. Every potential partnership requires finding the right buyer, fully understanding their business, tracking progress through the buying cycle, and engaging them with the right content—when and how they want it. These shifting dynamics underscore the artistry of modern selling. When the time is right, […]