FAQs
1. Who is Tridium?
Tridium, is a global software and technology company. The primary technology developed and marketed by Tridium is the Niagara Framework®. Niagara is a software infrastructure that helps manufacturers develop Internet-enabled equipment systems and "device-to-enterprise" applications. Tridium created the Niagara Framework to:- Meet the need for a strategic, general-purpose proprietary automation/information architecture built on open standards
- Merge multi-vendor automation systems, Internet-enabled infrastructure and real-time enterprise integration into one single, scalable, extensible platform solution
- Help partners bring Internet-enabled products and "device-to-enterprise" applications to market
- Increase the functionality and value of "smart devices and systems"
2. What is the Niagara Framework?
Niagara is an extensible platform that supports the rapid development of a wide range of Internet-enabled products and device-to-enterprise applications. Niagara integrates diverse systems and devices - regardless of manufacturer, or communication protocol - into a unified platform that can be easily managed and controlled in real time over the Internet using a standard web browser.Niagara has had a very significant impact on the facilities automation, M2M, security and energy management segments. It is the first universal software framework for Internet-enabled control and automation devices and the software applications that support them. Previously, these segments had been characterized by highly proprietary offerings with limited ability to interoperate, long development cycles, complex client software for system management, and feature sets well behind the state of the art seen in business and Internet applications. Niagara brought to this space a comprehensive software platform that encapsulated the core functionality needed to create Internet-enabled building automation systems, energy management applications, access control systems, and industrial automation solutions.
Niagara is the recent recipient of Frost & Sullivan's 2006 Excellence in Technology Award.
3. Who uses Tridium's solutions?
Manufacturers adopt the Niagara Framework technology to move their products to the web, reduce development time, migrate legacy systems, develop new service offerings, and open up new markets. System integrators use Niagara products to provide true open solutions without regard for specific protocols, products or technologies. End users receive multiple paybacks in the form of performance efficiencies, reduced capital and operational expenses, and greater returns.Today, Niagara is being successfully applied in the building automation, industrial automation, energy management, security and M2M segments through a network of independent systems integrators and partnerships with leading OEMs.
4. How pervasive is the Niagara Framework?
Today, there are over 230,000 instances of Niagara operating in worldwide in applications that include: building automation, M2M, industrial automation, energy management, telecommunications, security, lighting control, maintenance repair operations (MRO), service bureaus, convergence retailing and total facilities management.5. What protocols can Niagara work with?
Whether the systems are based on BACnet®, LonWorks®, MODBUS®, SNMP, OPC, oBIX, or a host of supported legacy protocols, Niagara connects almost any device imaginable and supports both wired and wireless technology.6. How are Tridium products sold?
Tridium's solutions are available worldwide through multiple partners and distribution channels, including OEMs, resellers, independent systems integrators, and energyservice companies. Together these partners provide Tridium with over 400 trained and authorized distribution outlets.7. What are the benefits of Niagara for the end user?
End users of Tridium technology benefit from:- Being able to preserve existing investments in control and monitoring devices and integrating them with new standards-based technologies.
- Ability to access and control all of their diverse systems through a standard web browser.
- Combining information from different systems to support better overall facility management and control.
- Being able to specify interoperable systems and applications from multiple vendors, thereby reducing the potential for vendor lock-in.
- Multiple paybacks in the form of performance efficiencies, reduced capital and operational expenses, and greater returns.
8. What are the benefits to Tridium's partners?
Tridium's products offer compelling value to partners. For OEM and reseller partners, the Niagara Framework solves several key business challenges present in all control-related industries:- High development costs associated with the foundation or infrastructure layer of software that communicates with devices and manipulates the data from them.
- The need to transfer information from real-time control processes into a homogeneous structure enabling enterprise and service applications.
- Integration of legacy systems to enable companies to easily migrate existing customers to new technologies and product offerings.