The Coca-Cola Company has introduced a revolutionary new interactive fountain dispenser, called the Freestyle, that delivers more than 100 beverage options, combining the traditional self-service soda fountain with visionary technology that allows consumer to tailor their drink exactly as they want it. This sleet new machine features a touch screen display consumers use to design their beverage creating a very fun consumer experience, and allows The Coca-Cola Company tremendous insight on consumer preferences for beverage combinations.

Background: As the Coca-Cola Company, Coke began designing the Freestyle, they knew that management of the new fountain would be a fundamental criteria. They chose Odyssey Software's Athena™ mobile device management software and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager as the management platform for this task. Coke chose Athena to extend the capabilities of Configuration Manager, allowing for device health reporting and consumption data reporting. Athena reports back to Coca-Cola's headquarters with real-time data on the health status of the device so fountains are kept running and downtime is minimized. Athena's reporting capabilities also gives Coke valuable marketing intelligence by allowing Coke to see exactly what flavors are being selected by consumers, right down to the time and location the beverage is poured. This specific consumer preference information helps Coke redefine products and align marketing programs to target markets.

Deployment's time period:
The Coca-Cola company began deploying the Freestyle in 2010 and continues to deploy machines in markets across the country.

Components:
The Freestyle is managed by Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manager and Athena. Athena's mobile device management software, seamlessly integrates into Configuration Manager leveraging the scalability, reliability, and security of the Configuration Manager platform. When fully deployed, the Freestyle project will be one of the largest Configuration Manager deployment in the world, with Athena providing critical device health information as well as detailed consumption data.

Learn more about Odyssey Software & Athena.