CPO, third-party CPO, CPMS platform and backend
In practice, these terms almost always refer to the same thing: the platform the charging station is connected to. The difference is mainly the perspective.
| Term | Perspective | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| CPO (Charge Point Operator) | The company | The party that manages and operates the charging station, e.g. Smappee Services, E-Flux or Mobiflow |
| CPMS / CSMS (Charge Point / Charging Station Management System) | The software | The platform the CPO uses to manage charging stations |
| Backend | Technical | The server the charging station “talks” to via OCPP. In practice, this is the CPMS |
| Third-party CPO | From Smappee’s point of view | A CPO other than Smappee Services |
| Other CPMS platform | The setting in the Smappee Dashboard | The option you select when the charging station needs to be connected to a third-party CPO instead of Smappee Services |
In short
- The CPO is who does it.
- The CPMS is what they do it with.
- The backend is where the charging station is technically connected.
- Third-party CPO and other CPMS platform are the terms Smappee uses for “a CPO other than Smappee Services”.
Related terms that often come up
- eMSP (e-Mobility Service Provider): the party that issues the charging card, e.g. the employer’s charging card. This is a different role from the CPO.
- OCPP: the “language” the charging station and the backend use to communicate.
- Host URL / websocket URL: the backend address you enter in the charging station.
- Roaming: the agreements between CPOs and eMSP that allow charging cards to work on other parties’ charging stations.