T-Systems tied up with longtime partner ServiceNow, Deutsche Telekom’s electric vehicle (EV) charging subsidiary Comfortcharge, and Austrian charging infrastructure enabler ENIO on a new service called AMBIKA that aims to “improve the structuring of service processes between all parties involved in the planning, installation, and operation of electric charging stations”.
On LinkedInSarah Wiese, Senior Solution Consultant at ServiceNow, indicated that the AMBIKA Charging Station Management System (CSMS) was developed to solve the problem of how to support the approximately 65 million charging stations estimated to be needed in Europe by 2035 if sustainability goals are to be met.
According to a DT spokesperson, the service is offered through ServiceNow’s Knowledge 2022 event in May. T-Systems acts as system integrator, and the service is based on cloud platforms from ENIO, a DT investment (Deutsche Telekomwatch, #82), and ServiceNow. Comfortcharge provides expertise in the installation and operation of charging stations, while ENIO also brings knowledge in the operation and charging of charging stations.
CSMS is actually named after Ambika Chopra Bhandari, Solution Consultant at ServiceNow. On LinkedInChopra already mentioned the name Ambika means “mother“or”warrior goddess” and said he was asked to present the new solution to Knowledge 2022.
The DT spokesperson added that “smart, well-developed charging infrastructure is still a work in progress. This is mainly due to the fact that the supplier market is highly fragmented, with non-standard software, incompatible hardware, many individual players and many different roles. All this significantly hinders the successful rollout of millions of charging stations in Europe”.
The AMBIKA the collaboration aims to reverse this situation by providing what the partners describe as a “strong, adaptable and flexible”CSMS. The overall goal is to digitize processes and connect all parties in the supply chain, from charging station operators to energy providers, fleet operators, retailers, airports, hotels, and the public sector, to in “make sure charging stations are consistent for different providers”.
Comfortcharge, a DT startup focused on suitable vehicle charging facilities inside the operator’s street cabinets, is within the infrastructure business of the Deutsche Funkturm Group. According to its website, it has already launched 160 direct current (DC) stations as part of an ongoing deployment program announced in early 2018 (Deutsche Telekomwatch#71 and passim). Deutsche Funkturm is also the largest shareholder in ENIO, which was founded in 2013. The Vienna-based company offers software and services to help charging station owners and operators run their sites.