Multi-site management: The hidden costs of manual database syncing vs. the push for Centralized Cloud control.

Hi all,

I'm currently consulting for a client with 5 small satellite offices across the region. They are struggling with the manual overhead of updating user permissions at each site. Every time they hire someone new or a staff member leaves, someone has to VNC into local servers or, worse, travel to the site to update the standalone controllers.

They are asking about moving to a Centralized Cloud-based system, but their IT security lead is worried about "real-time visibility" and what happens if the local internet goes down.

For those of you managing multi-site installs, are you seeing a major shift toward Cloud centralization lately? How do you sell the 'Real-Time' benefit to the IT guys without triggering their fears about network reliability and data privacy?

Is the reduction in truck rolls worth the potential security trade-offs in your experience?