What is an OCPP broker – and what are its limitations?

To do justice to the topic, let's first take a brief deep dive into how an OCPP broker works. It plays a central role in a charging infrastructure setup: the OCPP broker acts as an intermediary, forwarding messages between charging points and various systems, for example for control or billing purposes. Especially in heterogeneous system landscapes, where many different types of systems – such as AI systems, billing systems, CPMS, DateWareHouse and many more – meet and need to be connected, the OCPP broker ensures interoperability and flexibility.

The OCPP broker's little brother is the OCPP proxy. It serves as middleware between charging stations, a special system (e.g. for load management) and a CPMS backend. The proxy forwards OCPP commands for smart charging bidirectionally to the load management system, while all other messages are sent unchanged to the CPMS. Like a broker, a proxy is not an official OCPP participant, but a technical intermediary.

Typical functions of an OCPP broker:

• Multi-backend support: Simultaneous connection of different systems.
• Interoperability: Supports different protocol versions (e.g. OCPP 1.5, 1.6, 2.0.1) and can forward messages in the MQTT protocol, for example.
• Routing functions: Control of data traffic between charging points and backends.

But these advantages come at a price. Using a separate OCPP broker means:

• Technical overhead: An additional communication instance leads to increased system complexity.
• No single source of truth: Data is distributed across multiple systems, which makes evaluation and analysis difficult.
• Additional sources of error: The broker itself becomes a potential point of failure in the overall system.
• Extra contract & SLA: OCPP broker providers are often start-ups with little experience in the e-mobility market. Committing to them can be risky.
• More administrative work: Operators not only have to manage their charging infrastructure and backend, but also the broker itself – maintenance, monitoring, security: everything twice.

In a nutshell

What is OCPP?
The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is a globally used, manufacturer-independent standard for communication between charging points and charge point management systems (CPMS). It ensures interoperability and compatibility – regardless of the provider. The latest, but still largely unused, protocol version is OCPP 2.1, which follows 2.0.1, 1.6, 1.5 and 1.2. The whole thing is managed by the Open Charge Alliance (OCA) – with active participation from chargecloud, by the way.

chargecloud: The better OCPP broker? Everything from a single source!

As we have seen, using a separate OCPP broker presents two major challenges: increased complexity in the overall system and an additional potential source of error in a sensitive environment. Anyone who wants to operate charging infrastructure in a future-proof and efficient manner today needs more than just a technical intermediary – they need a scalable complete solution for the entire spectrum of e-mobility use cases. The principle is simple: seamless processes without system interruptions. This is exactly where chargecloud comes in: the integrated platform combines all the important functions required for the operation and management of charging infrastructure.

An important component is the Charge Point Management System (CPMS), which, in addition to full OCPP broker integration, also bundles functions such as monitoring, diagnostics, remote maintenance, automatic firmware updates and eRoaming. In addition, the integrated OCPP broker works seamlessly via an interface with the smart functions of our marketplace partners, such as Evailable's predictive maintenance AI, RiDERgy's smart charging, or live data for national access points (in accordance with AFIR specifications). Billing processes – including tariff logic, contract allocation and validity – are also fully integrated into the platform and comply with calibration requirements.

Operators benefit from a solution that combines technical stability with operational efficiency, minimises integration effort and allows them to scale their charging infrastructure with significantly lower risk.
 
Operators benefit from an integrated platform such as chargecloud because:

• Administration is simplified. An additional OCPP broker is not necessary.
• The central functions are combined in one platform. Communication, monitoring, billing, roaming, fleet and partner management are seamlessly integrated.
• All common protocols are supported. Charging points can be connected directly via OCPP 1.5, 1.6 or 2.0.1.
• The open architecture ensures flexibility. Operators remain independent in their choice of hardware and partner solutions – additional tested services can be easily integrated via the Marketplace.
• The number of potential sources of error is reduced. Fewer interfaces mean fewer risks in operation and greater reliability.
• Compliance with calibration law is guaranteed. Established on the market for almost 10 years.
• The administrative effort is reduced. Operation becomes more efficient and easier to plan.

In a nutshell 

One solution – all use cases
chargecloud is much more than a CPMS and OCPP broker: the integrated software ecosystem, which has stood for security, scalability and operational efficiency in e-mobility since 2016, is the complete solution for all e-mobility use cases.

Scalability meets security: the technical perspective

A powerful charging infrastructure must be able to grow with your business without compromising stability or efficiency. The cloud-based architecture of chargecloud is designed to reliably support the operation of charging points in networks of all sizes.

Whether you have ten charging points or several thousand, performance remains stable because there are no additional communication layers to slow down the data flow. By eliminating external brokers, latency is significantly reduced and system stability is increased.

At the same time, the solution remains flexible and independent, with no lock-in effect: migration to your own system is easy, without the need to replace SIM cards or QR codes. Thanks to its modular architecture, the OCPP broker from chargecloud can still be used independently – with the advantages of stability, low costs and high scalability. CPOs still benefit from chargecloud's many years of experience: on the market since 2016, proven systems and significantly more stable than many young start-up solutions.

Technical advantages at a glance:

• Scalable architecture: Stable from a single point to a large European charging park.
• Direct communication: No intermediaries – low latency, fewer failures.
• Flexible connection: Wi-Fi, LAN and M2M with secure, robust SIM cards.
• Future-proof SIM integration: Multi-provider setup in planning.
• Secure hosting: GDPR-compliant & certified – no extra security required.
• Load management ready: Smart Charging API, e.g. for RiDERGY – dynamic & centrally controllable.
• Predictive maintenance: OCPP raw data as a stream for Evailable.

In a nutshell 

Cloud-based systems – a technical advantage
chargecloud reduces operating costs and system complexity by reliably performing all use cases on its scalable SaaS platform. From small CPOs to full-service providers operating across Europe – without any external communication layers.

When does an external OCPP broker make sense – and when does it not?

The use of an OCPP broker can be a sensible option in certain situations – for example, if legacy IT structures already include multiple backend systems or if different providers are being tested in parallel. In the long term, however, this model has structural disadvantages. Each additional layer in the system increases complexity, susceptibility to errors and the need for coordination – both technically and organisationally.

The weaknesses become particularly apparent when scaling: different system components must be coordinated and maintained, which can lead to higher costs and increased dependence on other service providers. In addition, the consistent mapping of different processes – such as billing or technical control – becomes more difficult when these are distributed across multiple systems.
Integrated solutions such as chargecloud avoid precisely these disruptions.

They offer a coordinated data and control basis that bundles all central functions – from communication between the charging infrastructure and operating system (OCPP broker) to smart charging connection, analysis and control. For operators who want to scale efficiently and rely on stable structures, a fully integrated architecture is therefore the more sustainable choice in many cases.

In a nutshell  

Integrated instead of complex
An external OCPP broker is particularly suitable as a temporary solution for complex, established system structures. Anyone who wants to operate charging infrastructure efficiently, economically and sustainably should opt for a complete solution with an integrated OCPP broker, such as chargecloud.