What Applied Systems Engineering does

Applied Systems Engineering (ASE), founded in 1982 and headquartered in Campbell, California, is a Smart Grid protocol technology vendor that has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Kalkitech since late 2014. The company designs and manufactures protocol test sets, substation and DER gateways, protocol converters, alarm annunciators, and data acquisition systems used by more than 1,000 utilities and energy operators worldwide. Its core products include the ASE2000 RTU Test Set (supporting 80+ protocols including DNP3, IEC 61850, and IEC 60870-5-104), the ASE61850 Test Suite for IEC 61850 relay and IED testing, the ASEDLMS Meter Test Set, and the SYNC Gateway family for DER interconnection. The company has expanded into cloud-native offerings under the Kalki.io brand, including the DER Aggregator, DER Data Hub, and the December 2025-launched DER Test Portal for automated IEEE 2030.5/CSIP compliance testing.

ASE generates revenue through a blended model: hardware sales of test sets and gateways, recurring software subscriptions and SaaS licenses (with annual renewal for updates, support, and warranty), training services for utility technicians, and product engineering services including new product development, life cycle extension, and certification testing. Distribution is via direct enterprise sales augmented by a global network of more than 20 regional distributors across North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Named customers include Western Area Power, PG&E, and SCE, with the company also holding approved Meter Data Management Agency (MDMA) status at PG&E for EV submetering and Rule 21 DER telemetry. In 2024, ASE expanded beyond utilities into defense through a strategic partnership with AeroVironment supporting the U.S. Army's $95.9M Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor counter-UAS program, and it maintains standards-body participation in IEC TC57, UCA, DLMS-UA, and IEEE PES that reinforces its regulatory positioning.

Name

Applied Systems Engineering

Legal name

Applied Systems Engineering Inc.

Website

https://ase-systems.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Applied Systems Engineering (ASE) is a Smart Grid protocol technology vendor and Kalkitech subsidiary that builds protocol test sets, DER gateways, and cloud aggregation platforms for electric utilities and DER operators in more than 20 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart Grid Protocol Testing Equipment

NAICS

Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Testing, Commissioning & Energization Services (HV) (EUAEABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Commissioning, testing & energization services (HVT, relay testing, SAT) (EUADAKAE), DER Compliance, Certification & Testing (Commissioning, Ride-Through) (EUADALAN), Substation Automation & Digital Substations (IEC 61850) Integration Services (EUAEANAD), Interoperability Standards, Certification & Compliance (NERC CIP comms, FCC/licensing) (EUADAIAN)

Keywords

• SCADA protocol testing
• Smart grid communications
• DER aggregation platforms
• Substation automation
• Meter testing equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Campbell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hardware Products: Sale of physical protocol test sets (ASE2000, ASE61850), DER gateways, substation alarm annunciators, Bell-202 modems, and protocol converters. Hardware comes with standard one-year warranty.
2. Standard Software License: Software subscription with upfront license fee including initial 1 year of Software Updates, Support, and Warranty on Hardware Accessories. Requires annual renewal for continued updates, support, and warranty access.
3. SaaS License: Software as a Service subscription model allowing use of software for 1 year with Update & Support subscription. Annual renewal required for continued software access, updates, support, and hardware warranty.
4. Training Services: Training programs for utility technicians and engineers covering DNP3 Protocol, ASE2000 Test Set, IEC 61850 Protocol, ASE61850 Suite, DLMS/COSEM Protocol, and custom utility protocol training.
5. Product Engineering Services: Custom software development and product engineering services including new product development, life cycle extension, testing & validation, hardware development, and certification & compliance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ASE designs, manufactures, and sells protocol test sets (ASE61850, ASE2000), substation and DER gateways, data aggregation platforms, and protocol converters used by electric utilities to test, validate, and integrate SCADA, RTU, IED, and DER communications across more than 80 standard and legacy protocols. Complementary offerings include the ASEDLMS Meter Test Set, Substation Alarm Manager (SAM), Bell-202 modems, the SYNC Gateway family, and the cloud-native Kalki.io DER Test Portal for automated IEEE 2030.5/CSIP conformance testing.

Product overview

Applied Systems Engineering (ASE), a Kalkitech company, offers a portfolio of protocol test sets, substation/DER gateways, data aggregation platforms, and protocol converters for the smart grid and energy utilities industry. The core product line centers on the ASE2000 RTU Test Set (supporting 80+ protocols including DNP3, IEC 61850, and IEC 104) and the ASE61850 Relay Test Suite (IEC 61850 testing with IED Smart and SCL Manager sub-products). Complementary products include the ASEDLMS Meter Test Set for DLMS/COSEM/IEC 62051 meter testing, Substation Alarm Manager (SAM) for substation alarm management, and Bell-202 modems for legacy communication. On the DER/smart grid gateway side, ASE offers the SYNC Gateway product family (SYNC200, SYNC2000, SYNC2100, SYNC2310, SYNC3000), the IEEE 2030.5/CSIP DER Gateway for Rule 21 interconnection, and the Kalki.io DER Data Hub platform which encompasses DER Aggregator for utilities, Aggregator Middleware for DER fleets, Data Acquisition System for DER fleets, and the cloud-native Kalki.io DER Test Portal for automated IEEE 2030.5/CSIP conformance testing. The DER Data Hub natively integrates with AWS (Kinesis, S3, IoT Core, SiteWise), Azure (Event Hub, Service Bus, IoT Hub), and Google Cloud. ASE also provides training classes and product engineering services including the Advanced Grid Automation Technology Lab. Products are available as hardware units, software subscriptions (Standard License with 1-year support), and SaaS (for cloud platforms). ASE's products are used by more than 1,000 utilities worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kalki.io: Cloud-based SaaS platform for DER Test Portal and DER Data Hub solutions.
• ASE61850
• ASE2000
• ASEDLMS
• SAM
• SYNC Gateway

Products and services

• ASE61850 Test Suite User-friendly, powerful, and flexible IEC 61850 Test Set for substation relay and IED testing, used by technicians and utilities worldwide. Includes the ASE61850 Test Set, IED Smart, and SCL Manager components.
• ASE2000 Version 2 RTU Test Set Full-featured RTU/SCADA/IED Relay Test Set supporting more than 80 standard and legacy protocols, including DNP3, IEC 61850, and IEC 60870-5-104, designed for SCADA technicians and utility field engineers.
• ASEDLMS Meter Test Set User-friendly DLMS/COSEM/IEC 62051 Test Set used by field technicians for utility meter testing and validation.
• DER Aggregator for Utilities Cloud SaaS solution providing end-to-end data acquisition for monitoring, managing, and controlling renewable energy portfolios. Supports IEEE 2030.5, DNP3, SunSpec Modbus, OpenADR, OCPP, REST API, KAFKA and integrates natively with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
• Kalki.io DER Test Portal Cloud-native SaaS solution for automated validation of DERs against IEEE 2030.5, CSIP (Rule 21), and CSIP-Aus standards, providing automated, scalable, standards-driven compliance testing for utilities, OEMs, and system integrators.
• Substation Alarm Manager (SAM) Powerful, simple to use, and flexible substation alarm annunciator for substation monitoring and alarm management.
• SPT-PC SCADA Data Gateway Protocol translator gateway for SCADA data that enables communication between disparate protocols in utility and substation environments.
• SPTSRV Protocol Translator Protocol translator with integrated terminal server functionality for protocol conversion in utility and industrial automation systems.
• SYNC Gateway Products Family of SYNC protocol converter and gateway products (SYNC200, SYNC2000, SYNC2100, SYNC2310, SYNC3000) for SCADA and DER connectivity and protocol translation.
• IEEE 2030.5 / CSIP DER Gateway Secure and rugged Rule 21/IEEE 2030.5 DER Remote Site Gateway used to interconnect Distributed Energy Resources to utilities including PG&E and SCE.
• Aggregator Middleware for DER Fleets Cloud-based DER data aggregation middleware that collects data from DER plants over secure communication and routes aggregated data to analytics, forecasting, or market applications; available as SaaS or on-premises license.
• Data Acquisition System for DER Fleets State-of-the-art Data Acquisition System incorporating edge data loggers for reliable and secure data collection from DER assets, coupled with cloud-based monitoring and management.
• Bell-202/202T Modems Legacy Bell-202 and Bell-202T modems for substation and utility communication applications.
• EV SubMetering MDMA Service ASE operates as an approved Meter Data Management Agency (MDMA) for PG&E, providing EV SubMetering solutions using the DER Data Hub Platform, DER Telemetry Hardware, and Approved Meters for commercial and fleet customers in Northern California.
• Training Classes Training programs covering ASE2000 & DNP3/IEC 104 protocols, ASE61850 Suite & IEC 61850, ASEDLMS & DLMS/COSEM, and custom vPAC in-person training for utility technicians and engineers.
• Product Engineering Services Custom engineering services including new product development, life cycle extension, testing and validation, hardware development, and certification and compliance, supported by the Advanced Grid Automation Technology Lab.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IntelcoreTechnology or IntegrationASE collaborated with Intel to deploy DER Aggregator on Intel Xeon Processors, accessible as cloud-based SaaS or on-premises licensable software. The partnership leverages Intel's IoT solutions alongside ASE's optimized solutions for the energy and utility sector for real-time monitoring, control, and analytics.
• AeroVironment (AV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASE was selected as a strategic industry partner by AeroVironment to support rapid production scaling for battlefield deployment under the U.S. Army's Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor (LRKI) program. ASE supports the Freedom Eagle (FE-1) kinetic counter-UAS missile program with a $95.9M contract award.
• PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASE is an approved Meter Data Management Agency (MDMA) for PG&E, providing EV SubMetering services, Rule 21/IEEE 2030.5 DER Telemetry interconnection solutions for PG&E and SCE Rule 21 interconnection.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Doble Engineering: Provides protection relay and substation communication testing solutions (e.g., Doble F6000, Doble Protection Suite) used by the same electric utility customers ASE serves.
• Megger: Supplies electrical test and measurement instruments including protocol/relay test sets for substation commissioning, overlapping with ASE2000 and ASE61850 product lines.
• Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL): Sells protection relays, IEDs, and IEC 61850 configuration/testing tools, competing head-to-head with ASE on substation automation and interoperability tooling for utilities.
• OMICRON Electronics: Vendor of IEC 61850 and protection relay test sets (e.g., OMICROM IEDScout, StationScout) directly competing with the ASE61850 Test Suite across global electric utilities.
• Triangle MicroWorks (TMW): Specialist in SCADA/utility protocol stacks (DNP3, IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-104) and protocol test tools — a direct competitor in utility protocol software testing.
• SISCO (System Integration Specialists Company): Vendor of IEC 61850/MMS stacks and interoperability testing tools used by utilities and OEMs, directly comparable to ASE's IEC 61850 test suite.

Broad incumbents

• Kalkitech: Parent company of ASE and a broader Smart Grid optimization/communication solutions vendor — its wider portfolio (SYNC gateways, edge middleware) overlaps with ASE's gateway and DER aggregation offerings.
• Moxa: Industrial networking and protocol gateway vendor serving substations and DER/SCADA integration — overlaps with ASE SYNC Gateway and protocol converter lines.
• Siemens Smart Infrastructure: Major EPC/substation automation vendor with IEC 61850 protection, IEDs, and testing/simulation tooling — a broad incumbent that competes across the same utility accounts.
• GE Vernova (Grid Solutions): Global substation automation and grid solutions provider with IEC 61850 / DNP3-based IEDs and testing solutions that overlap with ASE's protocol testing and gateway offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/kalkitech
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Kalkitech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/applied-systems-engineering-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Applied Systems Engineering