Actually it is kind of unique. The idea is that different users can have access to different servers. The log files are not all generated by syslog, most of them are generated by in house programs.

Also, I have no control over what servers may be added or removed. If a server is added I cannot guarantee that it would be configured for centralized logging.

With the method I have planned, any user with telnet access to a server could watch any log files that their login allows them to see. I could distribute the app among users and not have to worry (relatively) about who sees what data on what servers. We have over 70 servers here not to mention all of the workstations (probably over 400) distributed across our WAN.

I do agree with you that centralization has it place, unfortunately this does not seem to be one of them. If I were administering a web farm or email farm that might make a lot more sense, but most of the servers are stand alone with varying access and applications.