Niagara is designed from the ground up to assume that there will never be any one “standard” network protocol, distributed architecture, or fieldbus. Niagara's design goal is to integrate cleanly with all networks and protocols. The Niagara Framework standardizes what's inside the box, not what the box talks to.

The Niagara software suite implements a highly efficient adaptation of the JavaBean component software model and Internet technologies to provide true interoperability across a wide range of automation products. The Niagara object model can be used to integrate a wide range of physical devices, controllers, and primitive control applications including LonMark profiles, BACnet objects, and legacy control points. The architecture supports future enhancements by allowing legacy systems to be brought forward, where they can readily adopt new standards, solutions, and applications.

Enterprise-level software standards include Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), eXtensible Markup Language (XML), Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and others. These standards provide the foundation on which to build solutions that allow information to be shared between the control system and the enterprise information system.