The pendulum that swings every 3 years.
Author:Sambath Kumar Natarajan(Connect)Version:1.0
Centralized vs Product Teams
Every CTO oscillates between "We need efficiency" (Centralization) and "We need speed" (Product Teams).
The Cycle of Pain
- Phase 1 (Product Teams): "Move fast and break things." Every team builds their own Auth service.
- Result: Fast speed, duplicated chaos. 5 different ways to log in.
- Phase 2 (Centralization): "Standardization." A Platform Team is formed to build The One True Auth.
- Result: Consistency, but the Platform Team becomes a bottleneck. Product teams wait 3 weeks for an API change.
- Phase 3 (Matrix): "Guild/Chapter Model." Guilds and Chapters.
- Result: Nobody knows who their boss is.
- Repeat.
The Reality
You cannot solve this organizationally. You can only solve it architecturally.
- Centralize: Infrastructure (Cloud, Networking, Security). Things that must be consistent.
- Decentralize: Business Logic (Checkout, Search, Inventory). Things that must move fast.
Component Ownership
| Component | Model | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes Cluster | Centralized | Requires 24/7 expert SREs. Product devs shouldn't touch kubectl. |
| User UI | Product Team | Needs daily iteration based on A/B tests. |
| Design System | Hybrid | Central core team maintains primitives; Product teams contribute patterns. |