“Should business IT systems be centralised or decentralised?” There isn’t one straight answer… In reality, most businesses fear to commit to either a wholly centralised or decentralised IT function, and will lie somewhere in the middle.
When operating a centralised IT network, all users are connected to a central server that stores complete network data and user information. A decentralised network will have several user groups, where there may be separate server that store data and information relevant to only that group.
In this article we’re covering the benefits of centralisation; to help you to determine if this is right for your business. Please bear in mind that you should always be planning for future growth and opting for solutions that support your goals and there is never a ‘one size fits all’ solution.
Here are some of the benefits of a centralised IT operation:
Less hardware expenditure
Hardware costs are typically reduced by keeping all servers and networks in one place, whether that be on-premise, or in the Cloud.
Improved productivity
Centralisation gives your internal team better accessibility, making routine tasks easier. For example, new software installations would only need to be carried out from a single location.
Collaboration
Data can be easily shared across departments, leading to better productivity, efficiency and communication.
Regulatory compliance
Some industry regulations require IT and database centralisation in order to be compliant for data security reasons. As an example, financial companies that store personal information opt for centralisation to meet data security requirements.
Scalability
Centralising IT operations is fantastic for future scalability. When the business infrastructure can be accessed via a single portal, it makes going up and down in resource as required simple.
Quick implementation
Following on from scalability, changes and new additions can often be implemented quickly with a simple action in one place. Something that could take days, weeks or months with a decentralised operation!
As an overview of decentralisation – it is a practical solution when different departments and teams have differing requirements; allowing each business function to maintain separate hardware and software based on its individual needs. A common challenge with decentralised IT operations is that they are difficult to scale due to the need to bring disparate systems together.
No matter the solution you require, we’re here to advise and support you.
At INFINITY we understand the technical challenges faced by businesses, particularly in recent months. We are therefore offering our advisory consultation services free of charge to UK businesses.
Please book an appointment below with one of our IT Experts to discuss which solution is right for your business.
