1. An interface controller for managing operation of a plurality of devices via a wide area network, each of the devices having a unique communication protocol associated therewith, the interface controller comprising: a network communications layer for communicating with the plurality of devices via the wide area network and a client application associated with the plurality of devices; and an information processing layer for communicating with the network communications layer, the information processing layer having a set of objects corresponding to each of the plurality of devices, the information processing layer also being for interacting with a data access layer on behalf of each of the plurality of devices using the corresponding objects, interaction between the information processing layer and the data access layer on behalf of all of the plurality of devices being governed by a single set of rules.