On December 6, 2023, InCharge Energy released InControl 4.0, described as "the most significant update since launching InControl in 2021." The release included two major components: Depot View and an enhanced dashboard interface.
Depot View enabled fleet operators to create virtual parking lot layouts within the software. Operators could associate specific chargers with physical parking stalls, monitor real-time charging status across the depot, view state of charge (SoC) updates for all connected vehicles, and receive instant error notifications mapped to physical locations. The feature translated the abstract list of chargers and sessions into a spatial representation matching how depot managers actually thought about their operations.
The enhanced dashboard was redesigned with a fleet operations focus, providing real-time insights and historical pattern analysis. New widgets included Issues and Cases (tracking service requests and equipment problems), Recent Sessions (latest charging activity), Utilization (how frequently chargers were being used), and Uptime (charger availability metrics).
InCharge reported 2023 performance metrics: 12,000+ charger ports under management, 98.6% uptime across actively managed chargers, and 1.2 million+ charging sessions completed.
The timing—December 2023—positioned the release for the 2024 budget and planning cycle, when fleet operators would be evaluating charging management platforms and existing customers would be reviewing contract renewals.
Customer Feedback Driving Product Design
This release reveals how operational customer input shaped software development priorities.
The Depot View feature solved a specific problem that emerged from real fleet usage. Fleet managers didn't think in terms of "Charger ID 47-B needs service"—they thought in terms of "the charger in the third row, fourth stall isn't working." Depot operations teams needed to quickly identify which physical location had an issue so they could dispatch maintenance or redirect vehicles to functioning chargers.
This spatial thinking was obvious in hindsight but wasn't part of the initial product design. Early versions of InControl presented charging data as lists, tables, and graphs—standard SaaS dashboard interfaces organized around data entities rather than physical space. For managing a handful of chargers, this worked fine. At depot scale with dozens of charging positions, it created cognitive overhead requiring operators to mentally map abstract IDs to physical locations.
The product decision to build Depot View represented prioritizing operator workflow over technical data models. The underlying system still tracked chargers by IDs and managed sessions through database relationships, but the interface layer now matched how depot managers actually needed to interact with the system.
The 98.6% uptime metric is notable. This wasn't just a success metric so much as a market positioning statement. Charging reliability is a huge concern of charger owners in both the public and private sphere. Fleet operators would tolerate some software interface limitations, but they wouldn't tolerate chargers being unavailable when vehicles needed to charge.
By coupling the 4.0 release with uptime data, InCharge signaled that new features weren't coming at the expense of reliability. This matters in infrastructure software: customers get nervous when they see major version updates because they associate new features with bugs, stability problems, and operational disruptions.
The new dashboard widgets—Issues, Sessions, Utilization, Uptime—all focused on operational visibility rather than advanced analytics or optimization. These were tools for managing day-to-day depot operations: identifying problems quickly, understanding recent activity, tracking whether chargers were actually being used, and verifying that equipment was available when needed.
The OpenAPI architecture mentioned in earlier announcements enabled third-party integrations for customers that needed specialized analytics or optimization. The core platform focused on operational reliability and usability, and our load management handled time of use optimization to maintain a lid on opex.