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The challenges of migrating EV charging networks

Marc Mültin
Marc Mültin
Published
September 16, 2024
• Updated
September 16, 2024
2
min read
The challenges of migrating EV charging networks

Migrating a network of EV chargers from one Charging Station Management System (CSMS) to another is often considered complex and costly.

Some of the cost factors and pain points include:

▶️ 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Migration of historical data, such as charging sessions, station statuses, message logs, roaming transactions etc. can involve significant effort. This process requires custom data mapping, transformation, and integration, which can be expensive. At Switch, we‘re offering a bespoke migration service and leverage our automated data migration tool to keep efforts to a minimum while ensuring data integrity.

▶️ 𝗦𝗜𝗠 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Some CSMS providers lock their customers in by providing SIM cards that are configured to work only with their private APNs (Access Point Name, secure gateway between a cellular network and the Internet) - with little incentive to help their customers move away. The only option is then sending out a qualified engineer to replace the SIM card, which can easily cost a few hundred €/$. Best if you have several chargers per site to minimise the per-charger-cost and ideally you can time this with the regular service maintenance intervals. A solution going forward are the security profiles 2 (server-side TLS) and 3 (mutual TLS - both charger and CSMS authenticate each other with digital certificates) of OCPP 2.0.1, which are also available with OCPP 1.6's security extensions. This replaces the need for expensive APNs and VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and avoids vendor lock-ins.

▶️ 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 & 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: During the migration, stations might be temporarily unavailable, leading to a loss of revenue and potential customer dissatisfaction. However, properly orchestrated and planned (e.g. using the mandatory service intervals for a migration), these downtimes can be reduced to a minimum.

▶️ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 & 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗖𝗦𝗠𝗦: Staff will require retraining to manage and operate the new system. This may also extend to customer support teams who will need to understand new processes for handling customer inquiries. Choosing a CSMS that has been designed with the most intuitive user experience in mind (like the Switch Platform) can reduce the learning curve to an absolute minimum.

▶️ 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Informing customers about a new login, new app functionality, or different processes for managing accounts and stations involves marketing, communication campaigns, and possibly additional support. Again, an extremely intuitive user interface helps to minimise the friction.

And then there are ERP and CRM integrations that can complicate the picture further.

What's your experience with migrating EV charging networks? What major pain points do you see and which best practices can you recommend? Let me know on LinkedIn.


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Marc Mültin
Marc, the Founder and CEO of Switch, has over 13 years of experience in the e-mobility space and holds a PhD in Computer Science. He is the leading global expert and co-author of international EV communication standards (ISO 15118 & OCPP 2.0.1) that underpin the Switch platform.
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