Why Cloud Computing is Essential for Multi-Site IoT Projects

The Multi-Site SCADA Reality

Imagine you're responsible for energy management across 50 retail locations. With traditional SCADA systems, here's what your Monday morning looks like:

• Open VPN connection to Site #1's network
• Launch remote desktop to access the local SCADA server
• Export last week's energy data to CSV
• Disconnect, repeat for Site #2... and #3... and all 50 sites
• Manually merge 50 spreadsheets to create a portfolio view
• Realize Site #23's server is offline—schedule a technician visit

By the time you have a consolidated view, the data is already stale. And when the CFO asks for a quick comparison of energy costs across regions? That's another day's work.

The Hidden Cost: Data Silos

Perhaps the most damaging aspect of site-by-site SCADA deployments is who doesn't get access to the data. In most organizations:

• ESG and Sustainability Teams need carbon footprint data for reporting, but can't navigate SCADA interfaces or don't have VPN access
• Finance Teams want to correlate energy costs with revenue, but data lives in operational systems they can't reach
• Executive Leadership makes strategic decisions without visibility into operational performance across locations
• Facilities Managers at individual sites can't benchmark against other locations to identify improvement opportunities

The data exists—it's just trapped in systems designed for control engineers, not business stakeholders.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Let's examine the practical differences across key operational areas:

Real-World Scenario: ESG Reporting

Your company committed to carbon reduction targets. The sustainability team needs quarterly reports on energy consumption and carbon emissions across all facilities. Here's how each approach handles this:

With SCADA:

1. ESG team requests data from facilities management
2. Facilities contacts each site's SCADA operator
3. Site operators manually export energy logs (if they have time)
4. Data trickles in over 2-3 weeks in various formats
5. ESG team manually converts kWh to CO2 using emission factors
6. Report is compiled in spreadsheets, often with gaps
7. Timeline: 3-4 weeks. Accuracy: Questionable.

With Cloud Platform:

1. ESG team logs into their dashboard
2. Selects date range and clicks "Generate Carbon Report"
3. Platform automatically calculates emissions using grid-specific factors
4. Report exports to PDF or integrates with ESG software
5. Timeline: 5 minutes. Accuracy: Real-time data.

The Maintenance Burden

SCADA systems require ongoing care at each location:

• Server Hardware: Physical machines that fail, need upgrades, and require climate control
• Operating System Updates: Security patches that must be applied site-by-site, often requiring downtime
• Backup Management: Each site needs its own backup strategy and disaster recovery plan
• License Management: Track renewals and compliance for software at every location

With cloud platforms, the vendor handles infrastructure, updates, backups, and scaling. Your team focuses on using the data, not maintaining the systems that collect it.

When Does SCADA Still Make Sense?

To be fair, there are scenarios where traditional SCADA remains appropriate:

• Air-Gapped Environments: Ultra-secure facilities with no external connectivity (nuclear, defense)
• Single-Site Operations: One facility where centralization isn't needed
• Legacy Integration Requirements: When proprietary protocols can't be bridged to modern systems
• Extreme Latency Requirements: Real-time control loops that can't tolerate any network latency

For most multi-site commercial and industrial operations, however, cloud-based IoT platforms deliver dramatically better value.

Making the Transition

Moving from SCADA to cloud doesn't have to be a forklift upgrade. Modern platforms like Cereb can run alongside existing systems:

1. Deploy IoT gateways that read from existing sensors and PLCs
2. Stream data to the cloud while SCADA continues local control
3. Build cloud dashboards and analytics on top of existing infrastructure
4. Gradually migrate control logic as confidence builds

This hybrid approach lets you realize cloud benefits immediately while maintaining operational continuity.