Selective data sharing
Applications that can store data at the enterprise, organization, and site levels typically store data at the enterprise level by default. Storing data at the organization level means that all sites in the organization can use the data. Storing data at the site level restricts data to just the specified site.
Job Plans application
When you create a job plan, you can specify an organization, a site, or neither. If you specify neither, the job plan is stored at the enterprise level, which makes it available to all sites and organizations. If you specify an organization, the job plan is available to all sites within the organization but cannot be accessed by other organizations. If you specify a site, the job plan is available only to that site and cannot be accessed by other sites.
When you create enterprise-level job plans, you also have the option of specifying organization-specific or site-specific tasks, labor, materials, services, and tools. Organization-specific tasks, such as labor records, are copied only to those work orders that are created in a site belonging to that organization. Site-specific tasks are copied only to those work orders created at that site.
Classifications application
By default, classification records are at the enterprise level and can be accessed by all organizations and sites. However, when you add a new classification record, you have the option of specifying an organization or site, but only if the Items check box in the Use With section is not selected. Any classification used with items must be at the enterprise level.
You can similarly add child classifications. If the parent classification is stored at the enterprise level, you can restrict the child classification to an organization or site. But if the parent classification is restricted to an organization or site, then all the children must be restricted to the lowest level of the parent classification. For example, if the parent classification is restricted to an organization, a child classification can be further restricted to a specific site. If the parent classification is restricted to a site, then all the children must be restricted to that site.
Domains application
The Domains application enables you to create several kinds of domains, including value lists and crossover fields. By default, domains apply at the enterprise level and all sites can access them. You have the option of applying domain values to a particular organization or site.
The synonym domain works differently from other domain types when you specify an organization or site for a domain value:
- For a synonym domain, if you add a new value and specify an organization or site, the records in that organization or site that access that domain show the new value as well as the existing enterprise-level values. This behavior occurs because synonym domains are part of the product and have existing business rules. You cannot add new synonym domains, only new synonym values.
- For other domain types, after you specify an organization or site for one value in a domain, records in that organization or site no longer have access to values in that domain that have no organization or site specified. Therefore, the best practice for non-synonym domains is either to leave the Organization and Site fields empty for all values in a domain or to specify an organization or site for all values in the domain.
Person Groups application
Person groups apply at the enterprise level and can be accessed by all sites, but you can restrict individual persons in the group to particular organizations or sites. When you add a person to a person group, you can specify an organization or site for that person. You can add multiple rows for the same person to specify multiple sites or organizations. If you add multiple rows, you must use multiple sites or multiple organizations. You cannot use a mixture of sites and organizations.