Applied Information, Inc. | Top Traffic Infrastructure Management Solu
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Applied Information, Inc.
Modernizing Transportation for a Connected Future

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Bryan Mulligan, Applied Information, Inc. | Gov CIO Outlook | Top Traffic Infrastructure Management Solution 2026Bryan Mulligan, President and CTO
Transportation infrastructure has always been built for the long haul. Traffic signals, roadside equipment, and communication networks are designed to serve communities for years, sometimes decades.

But the future is arriving faster than those systems were built to accommodate, making traditional replacement cycles painfully slow. Vehicles are becoming electric and connected. Autonomous systems are moving closer to reality. New communication standards are emerging, while AI is reshaping how infrastructure is monitored and managed.

Yet public agencies cannot simply remove everything in the field and start over whenever new technology appears.

The challenge extends beyond transportation. Communities are being asked to prepare for rapid technological change while relying on systems built for a different era. The organizations that succeed will not necessarily replace the most infrastructure, but make what they already have more adaptable, connected, and capable.

Applied Information has built its business around this challenge: helping transportation agencies modernize without abandoning the infrastructure they already own. The company’s approach is less about replacing the past and more about making it capable of adapting to what comes next.

Making Old Infrastructure Act New

Applied Information’s work sits at the intersection of transportation, public safety, and connected technology. Its goal is to help cities create infrastructure that can evolve as transportation changes.

“The future of transportation is electric, connected, and autonomous, and in order for us to have this vision of efficient transportation with no fatalities and zero avoidable delay, it’s going to take everybody working together,” says Bryan Mulligan, president and CTO of Applied Information.

That philosophy has shaped the company’s development of systems that connect traffic signals, vehicles, roadside devices, and cloud-based platforms. Instead of forcing agencies into expensive rebuilds, Applied Information focuses on upgrading existing environments with newer capabilities.

The company points to the shift from traditional city server rooms to cloud computing as an example of how transportation systems can leap forward. Older infrastructure does not always need to be removed; sometimes it can be bypassed by introducing more flexible technology.

The same idea applies to communications. Many transportation networks once relied on aging physical connections. Wireless technology has opened new possibilities, allowing agencies to expand capabilities without replacing every piece of equipment already installed.

Safety at the Speed of Data

One of Applied Information’s most visible impacts is in emergency response. Its priority and preemption technology allows emergency vehicles to communicate with traffic systems, helping intersections respond when seconds matter.

When a fire engine, police vehicle, or paramedic vehicle approaches, traffic signals can coordinate movement by giving responders a safer path while stopping surrounding traffic. The goal is not only faster emergency response but reducing the risks created when vehicles attempt to move through intersections during critical situations.

  • The future of transportation is electric, connected, and autonomous, and in order for us to have this vision of efficient transportation with no fatalities and zero avoidable delay, it’s going to take everybody working together.

School safety is another area where connectivity plays a major role. Connected flashing beacon systems allow communities to manage school zone operations remotely and adjust schedules when circumstances change.

For agencies, that flexibility solves a practical problem: safety systems only work when they operate at the right time. Weather delays, holidays, and schedule changes can all affect when school zones are active.

Preparing for Transportation’s Next Chapter

The challenge ahead is not knowing which technology will dominate transportation but preparing for multiple possibilities. Applied Information addresses this uncertainty through initiatives such as its Infrastructure Automotive Technology Laboratory, where connected vehicle technologies can be tested. The company also designs systems for upgradeability, including radios that adapt as communication standards evolve and devices capable of receiving secure software updates.

This approach recognizes a reality familiar to public agencies: infrastructure investments must last. “We are living in a world where technological advancements are accelerating away from cities and counties’ ability to absorb that change,” Mulligan says.

As transportation becomes increasingly connected, agencies will need systems that balance innovation with practical constraints such as budgets, existing assets, and long replacement timelines. Applied Information combines transportation expertise with cloud technology, wireless connectivity, artificial intelligence, and adaptable hardware to help communities modernize without leaving existing investments behind.

The future of transportation will not arrive all at once. It will be built gradually, one upgrade at a time, on infrastructure that can keep learning, adapting, and changing with the world around it.

Deep Dive

Modern Traffic Control without Rebuilding the Network

Traffic agencies rarely get to replace a citywide signal network on a clean slate. Cabinets, field controllers, school-zone devices and communications links were often installed across different budget cycles and technical standards. Their remaining life can vary just as widely. A new traffic infrastructure management system therefore has to improve control without turning every useful legacy asset into an immediate replacement project. For executives, the buying question is less about feature volume than how much new intelligence can be added around infrastructure already in the ground. Compatibility carries more weight than a long specification sheet. A credible system should preserve controller interfaces and third-party traffic systems while allowing communications to move away from aging wireline links toward wireless or cloud-managed access. That reduces the disruption of modernization and protects prior capital spending. It also gives agencies room to phase upgrades by corridor or intersection instead of tying technical progress to a citywide hardware refresh. Once assets are connected, the purchase becomes a management decision. Supervisory software should surface controller status, power faults, device health and timing changes without requiring routine field visits. Remote schedule changes matter for assets like school-zone beacons, where weather closures or altered calendars can make a fixed timing plan wrong within hours. The same visibility can shorten maintenance response and help smaller agencies use scarce traffic-engineering expertise across a wider footprint. “Applied Information combines remote infrastructure monitoring and traffic-signal communications with secure over-the-air updates that can extend field equipment as protocols change.” The harder procurement risk appears after installation. Vehicle-to-infrastructure standards and radio technologies will keep changing, while edge software will evolve on its own cycle. Buyers should test whether field devices can accept secure software updates remotely and whether communications modules can be upgraded rather than replaced. Interoperability also matters at the boundary between traffic control systems, emergency fleets, transit services and connected vehicles. A platform that performs well only inside its own hardware stack can create another silo at the moment a city is trying to remove one. Procurement economics should follow that lifecycle reality. Upfront device cost matters, but repeated truck rolls and premature hardware replacement can erase an apparent saving. The stronger proposition is a system that gives agencies a practical migration path while keeping existing investments useful. It should also reduce the number of separate tools needed to understand field conditions. Contracts should make maintenance responsibility explicit, since cloud connectivity does not remove the field burden of power failures, damaged devices, battery faults or communications outages. Budget review should also account for communications fees and software service costs over the period the field hardware is expected to remain installed. That combination makes modernization easier to pace against budgets without freezing the network in its current state. Applied Information aligns closely with that buying logic through Glance, its smart city system and field hardware designed to connect existing traffic infrastructure rather than force broad replacement. It combines remote infrastructure monitoring and traffic-signal communications with secure over-the-air updates that can extend field equipment as protocols change. Its scope covers connected school beacons, emergency vehicle preemption, continually optimized signal timing and connected vehicle infrastructure. Glance Complete, its traffic-system management and maintenance service, gives agencies the option to place more day-to-day system responsibility with the company. For buyers focused on modernizing installed infrastructure while preserving room for new communications standards, Applied Information is the premier choice. ...Read more

Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions Info

Q1

What Are Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions?

Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions assist transportation agencies in linking, monitoring and managing the systems which control traffic on roads. Such solutions may involve traffic signal communication, remote monitoring of the infrastructure, connected devices, cloud platforms and tools that allow for changes to schedules or in response to field conditions. As transportation agencies seek to incorporate digital capabilities without having to replace their existing infrastructure, the importance of this category is growing. Applied Information's profile focuses on this type of modernisation, linking together traffic signals, vehicles, roadside equipment and cloud-based systems so that the current transportation assets can support new technologies.

Q2

How Does Applied Information Approach Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions?

Applied Information aims at improving current transportation systems rather than asking transportation agencies to rebuild them. Its systems are constructed to link traffic signals and roadside equipment to more modern communication and cloud technologies. The company makes use of wireless technology in order to enhance network capabilities in areas where the older physical connections have limited flexibility. This method makes the Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions suitable for agencies that need to modernize in a step-by-step way without having to abandon their existing infrastructure.

Q3

What Capabilities Should Agencies Look For In Traffic Signal Management?

A traffic signal management system that is practical should offer visibility of the field equipment and make it easy to handle routine changes from a remote location. Features that are relevant include monitoring the status of the controllers, detecting any power or device faults and adjusting the timing or schedules without having to make constant visits to the site. Furthermore, Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions can support step-by-step upgrades, so that agencies can improve specific corridors or intersections rather than tying network modernisation to a full replacement of the network. It is also important to consider interoperability with existing controllers and with third-party traffic systems.

Q4

How Do Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions Support Emergency Response?

A key application of emergency vehicle preemption is that when an emergency vehicle is approaching an intersection, the connected systems are able to communicate with the traffic signals in order to organise the flow of traffic for the responders while at the same time stopping the surrounding traffic. Furthermore, Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions can be applied beyond emergency response to include school zone safety, with connected flashing beacons enabling schedules to be managed remotely. These applications demonstrate how connected transport systems can meet operational requirements that rely on up-to-date information and control.

Q5

Why Does Upgradeability Matter In Connected Transportation Infrastructure?

Transportation technology advances more rapidly than most public agencies can replace field equipment. Upgradeable radios and secure over-the-air software updates over the air can help the devices keep up as communication standards change. Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions should therefore provide for the entire lifecycle of installed infrastructure, not merely its first deployment. Applied Information has an Infrastructure Automotive Technology Laboratory where connected vehicle technologies can be tested, and its devices are designed to accept secure software updates as requirements change. For public agencies carrying out modernization in phases, upgradeability can also lessen the need to replace field hardware each time communication technology moves forward.

Q6

What Does Applied Information Offer For Ongoing Traffic System Management?

Applied Information combines traffic infrastructure technology with services that support ongoing system operation. Its Glance smart city system connects existing traffic infrastructure with remote monitoring and communications, while its scope includes connected school beacons, emergency vehicle preemption, optimized signal timing and connected vehicle infrastructure. Glance Complete adds traffic-system management and maintenance services. Within Traffic Infrastructure Management Solutions, this model links field equipment, software and continuing operational support.

Top Traffic Infrastructure Management Solution 2026

Company
Applied Information, Inc.

Management
Bryan Mulligan, President and CTO

Description
Applied Information is helping reshape transportation infrastructure by enabling cities to modernize existing systems for a connected future. Through cloud technology, wireless networks, AI, and adaptable solutions, the company helps agencies improve safety, efficiency, and resilience without replacing valuable infrastructure.