by Brianna Crandall — June 2, 2017 — Cutting-edge coffee machine manufacturer Scanomat, the Danish pioneers behind the “world’s first” smartphone/tablet-controlled coffee machine, has launched an Internet of Things (IoT) cloud management system for its TopBrewer coffee machines. The innovative platform, aptly named CoffeeCloud, is touted as the “world’s first” cloud management system for coffee machines, delivering unique business intelligence and a completely connected next-generation user experience for “smart coffee.”
Available now as a stand-alone app, CoffeeCloud is an industry first as a fully fledged cloud application, providing TopBrewer customers and dealers with real-time operational insights, key metrics and live dashboards to ensure the smooth operational running of commercial coffee machines in a way that has never been seen before. Scanomat believes this will change the game of the operation of physical products.
The importance of fresh coffee in today’s agile work environment
As Scanomat pointed out in a recent blog, coffee “used to be a minor consideration for facilities managers” (FMs), but as coffee culture has boomed, so serving premium, quality coffee in the workplace is now considered a much-valued office perk. Research suggests that serving premium, bean-to-cup coffee keeps staff on-site and happy, and has a positive impact on attracting and retaining the best talent.
As the blog points out, with the agile environment needed for the Millennial workforce, the coffee experience has become an “integral feature of modern workspace design and a central focal point for breakout spaces and informal work environments.” FMs can no longer rely on a box of tea bags and a jar of instant coffee, or even vending machines; freshly brewed, barista-quality coffee is put forth as the only way forward for FMs who want to stay ahead.
The TopBrewer’s elegant stainless steel tap is designed to be built into any tabletop. With the “world’s smallest” milk foamer installed at the tip of the coffee tap, TopBrewer brews a cup of fresh-bean coffee, then self-cleans all hoses with water. It also provides chilled drinking water, cold milk, or hot water for tea.
The solutions that Scanomat has come up with include its TopBrewer machine, which it touts as the “world’s first smartphone/tablet controlled coffee machine.” The TopBrewer’s elegant stainless-steel tap is designed to be built into any tabletop. With the “world’s smallest” milk foamer installed at the tip of the coffee tap, TopBrewer brews a cup of fresh-bean coffee, then self-cleans all hoses with water. It also provides chilled drinking water, cold milk, or hot water for tea.
CoffeeCloud connected system
Frederik Vibe-Petersen, business development manager at Scanomat, led the CoffeeCloud project. He explained:
We wanted to introduce a cloud-based system for TopBrewer that would bring genuine operational benefits to our clients and dealers around the world, changing how they run their businesses and disrupting the entire landscape of coffee machine operation. With state-of-the-art real-time data, CoffeeCloud is designed to improve productivity, reduce downtime, and enhance the overall coffee experience.
After an extensive development and testing phase, we are pleased to announce that CoffeeCloud is now available to current and future TopBrewer clients and dealers worldwide (simply by receiving a new software update). There has never been a platform like this, and we think our customers are going to love it.
Business intelligence at your fingertips
Available on Android, iOS, Mac and Windows, CoffeeCloud allows users to work smarter and faster in the connected world. With cross-platform compatibility, data can be accessed on the user’s preferred device (smartphone, tablet or PC) at any time of day, making it easier than ever to keep a close eye on business operations.
The innovative CoffeeCloud platform is touted as the “world’s first” cloud management system for coffee machines, delivering real-time business intelligence and a completely connected next-generation user experience.
The data analytics tool is particularly interesting as it allows clients the freedom to deep dive into various data points, providing a range of insights such as drink counts, cleaning reports, fault reports and much more. Diagnostics and error reporting are also available in real time, allowing customers to make necessary machine adjustments or contact a TopBrewer expert for advice — directly from the app.
According to the company, a unique and proactive feature of CoffeeCloud is that it allows businesses to predefine alerts to notify when tasks need completing. For example, the coffee machine operator can be sent an e-mail when the TopBrewer needs replenishing or cleaning, allowing for much more efficient service and an improved customer experience.
In order to connect with the ever-growing IoT landscape, Scanomat has developed CoffeeCloud to be at the forefront of technology with full API and ERP integration capabilities.
Frederik further commented:
The exciting thing about CoffeeCloud is that you can connect your fleet of TopBrewer coffee machines to your building or your own app. The connected cloud-based technology allows for API and ERP integration, opening up a world of smart possibilities. For example, in the workplace you could control employee drink count, or charge drinks to department cost centres via the cloud. The system is also extremely scaleable and flexible as we built it from scratch, meaning we can quickly react to individual client needs to enable new features as required.
Security is always a top priority when it comes to the Internet of Things, and at Scanomat we take data very seriously. We use the latest encryption and certification standards to ensure that data collected in the CoffeeCloud is protected at all times.
From a service perspective, CoffeeCloud gives Scanomat a live overview of every TopBrewer machine in the field, and sends real-time data via the company’s own proprietary connectivity built into each machine. All traffic is routed through the iPad that is already online. This live information allows Scanomat to view unique insights and trends, equipping them to respond much more efficiently to service calls via phone, e-mail or in person, and prevent errors from occurring before they are even detected by the client.
Frederik concluded:
A great feature of CoffeeCloud, and major goal for Scanomat, is the broader aspect; we can diagnose faults much more quickly, act more responsively, and customers can order spare parts in advance to ensure that TopBrewer downtime is kept to a minimum and that the coffee experience is uninterrupted. We really want to change the game with this, and we believe it’s going to be a huge asset in the future for us, for our customers and most importantly our end-users of our machines.
CoffeeCloud is the latest in a long line of innovations from Scanomat, which continues to disrupt the coffee industry with its smart technology and cutting-edge designs. The company even took its smartphone/tablet-controlled coffee machine a step further by opening the world’s first app-controlled café. For other innovations, visit the Scanomat Web site.
