This blog is based on a recent analysis “Benchmarking of Global Charging Point Operators (CPOs)” authored by Jagadeesh Chandran, one of Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Experts from the Mobility team, specializing in the Leasing & Rental domain.
Transport electrification is well underway, and its impact is being felt across every part of the mobility ecosystem. At the heart of this transformation, charging point operators (CPOs) are evolving from simple infrastructure providers into energy and technology companies. As the industry matures, identifying the right CPO growth opportunities is key to maintaining a competitive edge.
The operators leading the pack are no longer just deploying chargers and selling electricity. They are forging cross-industry partnerships and building platform-based business models to capture growth.
Automotive software is becoming the industry’s most contested battleground, and information & communication technology (ICT) companies that are moving with clarity and speed are the ones landing the partnerships that matter. OEMs are restructuring sourcing models, externalizing software capabilities, and pulling technology partners into the heart of vehicle development programs.
OEMs are increasingly externalizing software development across cloud, AI, cybersecurity, connectivity, and middleware. For tech companies, this shift is generating opportunities that are both strategically significant and commercially substantial.
How to win new partnerships by leveraging crucial mega trends and detailed client OEM strategies?
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Which connected vehicle ICT opportunities are most commercially significant for your organization right now?
What is Driving the Software-defined Vehicle (SDV) Transformation?
- In-house Software Units Proving Unsustainable: Governing large software divisions at automotive scale is creating organizational strain, triggering high-profile resets across major OEM groups.
- Execution is Now the Bottleneck, not vision: Time-to-industry and system integration complexity are the primary pressure points for SDV programs today.
- Boards Demanding Commercial Clarity: Investment decisions are shifting from capability-building exercises to value-proven, payback-driven software engagements.
- Regulatory Obligations Intensifying: UNECE R155 and R156 are mandating cybersecurity and over-the-air (OTA) compliance across the full vehicle lifecycle, adding urgency to external partnership decisions.
The result is a structural, long-term externalization of automotive software, and a widening window of opportunity for ICT companies that are ready to step in.
SDV Technology Mega Trends Shaping ICT Demand
- OTA updates streams: Vehicles are operating as continuously updated software platforms, embedding ICT providers as long-term lifecycle partners rather than one-time vendors.
- Middleware and Vehicle Operating System Standardization: Open-source platforms are gaining traction as OEMs pursue interoperability and reduced dependency on proprietary software stacks.
- 5G and Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) Connectivity: New connected vehicle use cases across smart mobility, fleet optimization, and infrastructure communication are moving from pilot to commercial deployment.
- DevOps and Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) pipelines: ICT toolchain and validation providers are becoming embedded program partners as software release cycles compress.
Digital Twin Environments: Simulation and pre-deployment validation platforms are reducing program risk and opening high-value ICT entry points earlier in the development cycle.
Which of these mega trends offer the strongest competitive entry point for your portfolio?
Tech Growth Opportunities Across the SDV Industry
Cloud and Edge Computing
As OEM software strategy shifts toward centralized, high-performance computing architectures, cloud workloads, spanning AI training, OTA pipeline management, and vehicle data processing, are being actively externalized, creating scalable, recurring revenue models for cloud and edge providers.
Cybersecurity
Regulatory mandates are elevating cybersecurity from a compliance obligation to a strategic investment priority. OEMs are seeking partners capable of delivering integrated protection across OTA integrity, in-vehicle networking, and data lifecycle management.
AI and Data Monetization
- OEMs are building connected vehicle data platforms to unlock predictive maintenance, personalized in-cabin services, and usage-based business models.
- ICT companies are being relied upon for AI infrastructure, analytics pipelines, and cloud data management at scale.
Middleware and Lifecycle Tooling
- DevOps, OTA deployment, and validation providers are transitioning from project-based engagements to embedded, multi-year program roles
- Open-source participation at the middleware and OS layer is building the technical credibility and platform influence that automotive sourcing decisions reward.
Listen to the top Growth Opportunities for ICT companies in the SDV industry. Tune into our Podcast.
Best Practices for ICT Companies to Win in Software-defined Mobility
- Map your portfolio to the SDV stack: Focus on the layers where OEMs are actively seeking external partners.
- Lead with execution-focused value propositions: Directly address the challenges faced by OEMs, like integration complexity, regulatory burden, and time-to-industry pressure.
- Pursue co-development and ecosystem partnership models: Collaborative arrangements with Tier 1 suppliers and fellow ICT providers are proving more effective than standalone vendor positioning
- Invest in open-source automotive platform participation: Building influence at the middleware and OS layer is opening architecture-level access to OEM program decisions
- Develop deep OEM software strategy fluency: Understanding how individual OEMs are structuring their sourcing, software divisions, and partnership models is increasingly a prerequisite for winning in this space
Is your organization implementing these best practices—and where are the critical gaps?
The Path Ahead
The software-defined vehicle industry is compressing timelines and raising the stakes for every ICT company operating at the automotive edge. OEM demand for external software capabilities is structural and accelerating, and the connected vehicle ICT opportunities forming today are defining who leads the automotive technology ecosystem for the next decade.
The organizations investing now in SDV technology intelligence, OEM software strategy alignment, and the right partnership models are the ones building lasting competitive advantage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What role do ICT companies play in the SDV ecosystem?
ICT companies are filling critical capability gaps across cloud infrastructure, AI, cybersecurity, middleware, connectivity, and lifecycle tooling, areas where OEMs are actively externalizing rather than building in-house.
Which SDV technology mega trends should ICT companies prioritize?
The highest-urgency areas are cloud and edge computing, cybersecurity compliance, OTA lifecycle management, AI-driven data platforms, and middleware standardization, all of which are seeing accelerating OEM spend externalization.
How can ICT companies win automotive software partnerships?
The most effective approach combines portfolio alignment to specific SDV stack layers, outcome-oriented value propositions, co-development partnership models, and deep OEM software strategy fluency.
What is OEM software externalization and why does it matter?
It refers to OEMs sourcing software capabilities externally rather than building them in-house. As large internal software units prove difficult to scale, this trend is creating durable, high-value connected vehicle ICT opportunities for technology partners across the full SDV stack.
Is your organization ready to become a growth generator engine in the software-defined vehicle ecosystem?
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