The one spec line that prevents vendor lock-in (OCPP)
Insist your chargers are fully OCPP-compliant and you can switch software or mix brands later. It's the cheapest insurance in the project.
Last updated 15 August 2026
If you take one requirement into your charger procurement, make it this: the hardware must be fully OCPP-compliant. It’s a single line on a specification that protects you for a decade.
What OCPP does
OCPP — the Open Charge Point Protocol — is a common language that lets chargers from different manufacturers work with different management software. With it, your chargers and your back-office system aren’t welded together. Without it, they usually are.
Why lock-in is the real risk
A charging system lives in your yard for many years. Over that time you may want to change your software provider, add chargers from another brand, or renegotiate on price. If your equipment is locked to one supplier’s proprietary system, none of that is easy — you’re stuck with their hardware, their software and their pricing until you rip everything out. OCPP keeps those doors open, so you can switch software or mix brands without a forklift upgrade.
Get it in writing
The catch is that “smart” and “OCPP-compatible” get used loosely. Ask every supplier directly: are these chargers fully OCPP-compliant, and to which version? Put the answer in the contract, alongside terms on who owns the charging data and how you export it. Genuine compliance costs nothing extra to specify — it only costs you later if you skip it.
This is the heart of the standards and future-proofing guide, and it pairs with the procurement guide’s advice on writing a tender that protects you. One clause, big payoff.