Transitioning the globe away from the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EV) is no small task. Building out the infrastructure to support it all is even more challenging. To get it done with the speed both governments and consumers demand, while also ensuring your business stays profitable requires digitization. You need tools. Moreover, you need the right tools.
Here are the top 4 things to look for on your search for the best, EV Charging Deployment Software:
- Purpose-built Project Management
- While some organizations may be able to survive with generic project management tools, they are far from a long term solution. Demand for more EV charging infrastructure continues to swell. The result: more projects to manage, work, and track. Generic tools don’t keep up. They lack the built-in, industry expertise like common workflows you deal with on a daily basis. Keeping (or choosing) those tools means you’ll have to spend time constantly reconfiguring your software while also trying to keep up with your actual work. Find a project management software that is purpose-built for EV charging deployments. Scalability, built-in workflows, and ease of use should all be top of mind.
- Comprehensive Planning and Site Management
- If you get planning right, everything else falls into place. There are so many projects and sites that you’ll likely manage in your growing portfolio. The right software centralizes planning and development activities in easy to use templates that can be repeatedly used for future projects. Moreover, it should help you find the best sites using GIS (geographic information system) enabled tools to make the most informed decisions and then build your plans around them. Getting your permits, activities, interconnection applications, and other documentation all in there is equally important. The best EV Charging Deployment software will give you the power to plan well, identify the best sites, and connect all of your project and site documents and activities in one place so you can efficiently deploy more infrastructure at scale.
- Platforms that Easily Integrate
- As much as we all wish it was the case, no single tool can do everything our businesses need in order to succeed. Yet, if all our tools are disconnected, so too are our teams. Data will be everywhere and reporting will be time consuming. The best software tools for EV charging deployments don’t try to be everything to everyone. Instead, they act as a platform, integrating via open APIs to other tools so that your data can flow into a single source of truth. Make sure to find software that can easily integrate with your existing tools so you don’t create more work for yourself in the future.
- Quality, Connected O&M
- We can’t talk about deploying more EV chargers without talking about what happens after they are turned on. Uptime is a constant challenge throughout our industry. Consumers want more chargers but they want them to work. When looking for EV charging deployment software, make sure to also find out how the software can support the ongoing operations and maintenance of your assets. Tools that support corrective and preventive maintenance, managing parts, monitoring work in the field, and intelligent reporting are all critical to the overall success of your business. Moreover, your software should support communication and collaboration across your entire team — that means third parties too. Subcontractors and other third parties are an important component to maintaining charging infrastructure at scale, so you’ll need the ability to easily communicate with them throughout the lifetime of your assets. The best software tools will digitize all of the activities associated with your assets and keep data in one place so that your team can continue scaling your portfolio of work without ever sacrificing customer satisfaction.
Your search for the ideal EV charging deployment software may be a tough one, but it’s worth it. The right tools can be the difference from making headlines like national leaders EVgo and BP Pulse, or struggling to install a couple fast chargers at your local parking lot. Sitetracker is the leader in EV charging deployment software. From Charge Point Operators to Fleet Owners, Sitetracker provides the tools you need to manage EV charging deployments faster and at scale through a single source of truth for your organization, allowing you to create better visibility, manage your vendors with ease, and deliver the quality projects and uptime customers demand.
And if you need a little more insight into what the ideal EV charging software can handle, look no further than this infographic that details the full workflow of a leader in EV charging infrastructure. Don’t forget to check out our Buyer’s Guide either so you can have a workable path towards finding that ideal software tool.
Ready to see how this all could work for your workflows and business needs? Schedule a demo of Sitetracker for you and your team and buckle up!
