Transforming sustainable mobility: our projects for MobilityPlus

The most rewarding partnerships are those where, as a supplier, you can actively contribute to the growth story of your customer. And that is exactly what ACA Group has been doing with MobilityPlus for over a year now.

It all started with the development of a mobile app for charging card users. Since then, the scope description has expanded from three to thirty pages, including a web portal for fleet managers, an Azure data platform, and a backend application that will also integrate AI and machine learning in the future.

About MobilityPlus

MobilityPlus is the Belgian market leader in smart charging solutions and plays a crucial role in shaping the landscape of sustainable mobility. MobilityPlus offers tailor-made smart charging solutions for electric vehicles, ranging from convenient charging cards to innovative charging stations. With a commitment to local expertise, outstanding service, and brand independence, MobilityPlus ensures a seamless and sustainable electric driving experience.

When Jean-François Cheyns founded MobilityPlus in 2016, the focus was on installing charging stations. Soon, the demand arose to also provide charging cards. "From the very beginning, we have evolved along with the market," says Michal Lubanski, Manager of Software Development at MobilityPlus. "Today, we provide large corporations such as Umicore and Siemens with extensive charging parks, integrated with their own building management systems. Additionally, we handle the installation of charging stations for employees. Through our smart platform, everything is automatically calculated, relieving both employers and employees from concerns about administration and billing."

Why MobilityPlus chose ACA

Due to limitations in the old mobile application and web portal, there was a need for a new solution to meet customer demands. Two years ago, Michal started as the first IT professional at MobilityPlus to outline the scope of this project. Initially, it involved the development of a simple app and web portal.

"We ultimately received four quotes from different providers," says Michal. "We evaluated them using various criteria." Based on that assessment, ACA Group came out as the winner.
"It was remarkable how unanimously positive ACA's reference clients were about their collaboration," Michal explains. "That completely convinced us to choose them."

Participation in Ship-IT Day

In 2022, MobilityPlus participated in Ship-IT Day, an annual one-day hackathon organized by ACA. "That was around the time of the contract signing," says Michal. "Together with ACA's experts, we built a dashboard using Azure that optimizes parking space usage and justifies potential investments with real-time data. In the end, we came out as the winners. After that day, it was clear to me that ACA was the best possible partner for our challenges. As a developer with 25 years of experience, you quickly sense the caliber of your collaborators."

From installer of charging stations to a data and IT company

"The start of our collaboration had its ups and downs," recalls Michal. "There was initially some turnover in the project team, partly because we resolutely chose Microsoft Azure as our technology stack, while the initial developers at ACA primarily had AWS expertise. However, ACA quickly found the right people with extensive Azure knowledge. Once they were on board, we made rapid progress. I've noticed that every ACA employee is very driven to achieve success, which makes it great to work together."

The initial project of developing a new mobile app and portal quickly evolved and expanded. It became apparent that there was a significant need for a stable and flexible solution for processing, managing, and valorizing data. ACA's data team, led by Vincent Mees, built a data lake solution that ensures data can be used in a structured way to provide users and fleet managers with more insights. Or as Michal puts it, "With ACA's support, MobilityPlus is set to transform from being a supplier of intelligent charging solutions to also a company driven by AI and data."

High expectations for the launch of the mobile app

Through the new mobile app, users of MobilityPlus charging stations can monitor their charging sessions, review charging history, locate charging stations on a map, and check charging rates. The anticipated launch was set for January 2024. "Following successful sprints and well-received demos, the expectations are now quite high," shares Michal.

In the new web portal, companies and fleet managers can observe their charging station portfolio, analyze usage, and effectively manage the entire billing process. 

"The development of the app and the portal were two separate tracks, with two different ACA teams working on them," says Vincent Mees, Data Solutions Architect at ACA Group.
"To streamline the process for MobilityPlus, we designated a single point of contact for the entire project. The project scope gradually expanded to include backend development, where fostering communication between various applications became a primary focus. My role was to shape the data platform."

ACA as a sounding board

The project continues to evolve. Together with ACA's AI specialists, MobilityPlus is currently exploring the opportunities presented by AI and machine learning. The goal is to initially implement this for internal reporting and subsequently integrate it into the portal and the app. The integration of the Azure data solution has already proven to be beneficial in quickly gaining insights into internal processes, allowing errors to be identified more promptly.

"Without the expertise and know-how of ACA, we could never accomplish this," says Michal. "And I don't just mean the developers who assist us in developing the right tools, but also the architects and analysts who serve as a sounding board to assess ideas. As a technical lead, the support and input from true experts provide me with a lot of confidence. In internal discussions, ACA has often acted as an objective party that encouraged us to consider things from a different perspective. Their analytical mindset has frequently helped us find new solutions."

"It's also impressive how they are fully immersed in our philosophy and way of thinking," adds Michal. "It's as if they are real colleagues. We often need only three words to understand each other and to give direction to a module. It makes collaboration very pleasant."

Unprecedented Expertise and Dedication

"We operate in a rapidly changing market," says Michal. "As a company, we must continue to evolve. 🚀 With ACA, we have found the ideal partner for this. In my 25-year career, I have rarely seen this level of collaboration. The expertise and dedication of all ACA employees have been crucial to our business development. We hope to continue working with ACA for a long time."

Go check out our Data Services!