NiagaraAX is one of the only software stacks designed to run across the entire range of processors from small embedded devices to server class machines. Niagara is targeted for embedded systems capable of running a Java VM. This excludes some very low-end devices that lack 32-bit processors or have only several megabytes of RAM, but opens up a wide range of processor platforms.

To speed time to market for partners designing smart devices, Tridium has developed a reference design processor core. Known as the Niagara Processor Module (NPM), this platform can be licensed from Tridium and makes it possible to quickly develop NiagaraAX-based products.