Mobile Internet technology
Applications must be able to communicate with users over a variety of pull and push channels (Web, WAP, E-mail & SMS). Both mobile client delivery technologies (WAP, cHTML, IMode etc), and mobile networking, technologies (GSM,GPRS etc.) are fundamental. In addition there are a number of portal integration technologies needed to provide application support for basic features such as session management, and user recognition via mobile operator gateways, as well as to integrate additional features such as spatial location, messaging (SMS and WAP push) and event charging.

Mainstream Internet technologies
Internet applications are built over Internet protocols and standards such as TCP/IP, DNS HTML & XML, SOAP, WSDL. The deployment of the technologies also requires consideration of practical issues of connectivity, hosting and virtual hosting, firewalls & security management. These technologies provide a context for development of Internet applications, which need to be robust, portable, scalable and easy to modify. For this reason advanced component software development technologies such as Java, Java Servlets, EJB are needed, backed with high performance databases to support personalisation and other persistent services.

Travel Information Systems (TIS)
TIS systems represent a complex set of application domains in their own right, and in order to build Internet scalable systems based on them, you need an good understanding of journey planning engines, data factories, realtime data feeds, and their attendant quality and operational management issues. There are a range of standards relevant for MTIS applications, both UK national (CIF, ATCO-CIF, TransExchange, Journey Web) and international (for example Transmodel, TPEG). Kizoom is an active participant in The UK Department for Transport's Transport Direct initiative.

Core Mobile Travel Information System (MTIS) applications & components
At the heart of mobile delivery systems are a number of specific software elements needed to support mobile services; such as travel profiles for travel personalization; travel alert push engines, travel service models, and specialised UI components to show timetables, departure boards disruption information and other dynamic information. Usability models are also important as while an ever increasing amounts of travel information data is becoming available, mobile access devices will remain constrained in their size and capabilities for the next few years. Dynamic adaptive interfaces, which also make use of automatic personalisation and location cues can help to make applications simple and quick to use by maintaining an intelligent context to blend personal travel profiles, whatever the delivery channel.

Internet Scale software engineering & operations
Realtime travel information systems have all the characteristics of the most challenging type of software application to operate: dynamic data, large numbers of users, persistent user data, heterogeneous environments, 24x7 operation and multiple points of potential failure - all in a rapidly evolving technology environment. Only robust software engineering will deliver working systems, and only flexible development techniques will do it on a useful timescale.

Spatial technologies
Location can be valuable for making travel services easy to use and can be used both to present data and to process it for relevance. Travel applications need to be location aware and able to draw on GIS mapping and spatial reference systems both by reference coordinate and by gazetteer point of interest. In addition to the user of location for reference context and mapping purposes, some mobile operators are able to supply the actual location of a device at a particular time, to varying degrees of resolution. Typically location is obtained from the mobile operator's Location Server using a special location API and requires some form of mobile portal integration, as well as careful design to make appropriate use of the location fix in the application. Furthermore, because of privacy considerations, use of location in applications needs to under user control so that it can be switched on and off.

Synchronization technologies
Personal travel information needs to integrate as seamlessly as possible with the user's personal time management tools, such as calendar and address book functions. Exchange formats such as vCal and vCard as well as more sophisticated approaches to synchronization such as WTAI and SyncML are all relevant to building personalised services.

Monetisation technologies
For some types of service the user may need to pay for information. Kizoom has developed subscription and event charging mechanisms for micropayment and integrated these with a variety of billing mechanisms such as on-line credit card payment, reverse charge SMS, direct CDR.