An Iris is a box which can capture IR from remotes. You don't really need it, as most devices have been captured and are available from the AMX website.

I am not familiar with the ViewPoint, but you can start by building your screens with TPDesign3. Go to file-new and select your appropriate model #.

Its fairly intuitive software. If you need to write AMX code, you've got a bit more work cut out for you, but it should be pretty cut and paste for your needs.