Today Microsoft and The Coca-Cola Company announced that they have entered a five-year partnership in an effort to standardize the business operations of the latter. The food company will rely on Microsoft's AI and cloud-based services to "modernize how the company engages with employees and customers".
The Coca-Cola company will be using the full suite of tools Microsoft offers to businesses, including Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure. Specifically, tools such as Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Microsoft's Power Platform, and Teams will be deployed to Coca-Cola's employees to enable insights into customer satisfaction and better communication between employees.
Barry Simpson, senior vice president and chief information and integrated services officer of The Coca-Cola Company, commented on the announcement:
“At The Coca-Cola Company, innovation and growth are key pillars of our business (...). This partnership with Microsoft allows us to really step change our employee experience through replacing previously disparate and fragmented systems. These platforms allow us to deliver relevant, personalized experiences as we network our organization.”
It seems that this partnership comes, in part, as a result of the current global conditions and the need to keep employees connected while working remotely. That shouldn't be much of a surprise, considering how Microsoft Teams has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic began to set in. At the same time, Coca-Cola's goal is to create a more unified experience than what it's been using so far, which is why the partnership includes many other tools from Microsoft.
