When to create multiple organizations and sites

When using the multisite capability, you must first decide whether you want to set up multiple organizations. Then, for each organization, you must decide whether to set up multiple sites. You can set up multiple sites even if your implementation has only a single organization.

When to create multiple organizations

You create an organization to identify a unique business entity to which one or more sites can belong.

Table 1. Situations in which you can create multiple organizations

Situation	Example	Recommendation
An enterprise has multiple legal entities, each of which maintains its own general ledger account.	An aerospace company has two legal entities: International and North American.	Create an organization for each legal entity.
An enterprise has multiple businesses. The maintenance operations are independent of each other and have their own general ledger accounts.	A large multinational company has two businesses: a utilities operation and a fleet of vehicles.	Create an organization for each business.
An enterprise has two different departments, one of which manages IT assets while one manages general assets. Each department has a unique set of general ledger accounts and cost centers.	A manufacturing company has a facilities department for managing general assets and an information technology department for managing IT assets.	Create an organization for each department.

When to create multiple sites

You typically create multiple sites within an organization when you want to have separate work management practices. When you create multiple sites, each site can maintain its own work orders, assets, inventory, and preventive maintenance orders.

Table 2. Situations in which you can create multiple sites

Situation	Example	Recommendation
An enterprise has a North American organization with facilities in multiple cities, each with independent maintenance operations.	An aerospace company has facilities in Boston, Chicago, and Denver.	Create a site for each facility.
A service enterprise maintains assets in facilities that are located in several countries. The enterprise deals in multiple currencies, but uses one general ledger system with a single base currency.	A large multinational company has facilities in Peru, Chile, and Argentina.	Create a single organization, and then create a site for each facility.
An enterprise has maintenance operations that occur in multiple facilities, but only some of the facilities use the same inventory and work orders.	A manufacturing company has three locations in the state of Ohio, all which share the same inventory and work orders. Two other facilities in another state do not use the same data as the Ohio facilities and also do not use the same data as each other.	Create a site for the three facilities in Ohio, then create a separate site for each of the other facilities.