---
published: true
layout: post
title: Using Common Instead of Centralized
date: 2025-04-23T09:00:00.000Z
tags:
  - Common
  - Organizations
  - Sharing
  - Socialized
  - Centralized
image: https://kinlane-productions2.s3.amazonaws.com/algorotoscope-master/america-under-socialism-autom-leaves-street.jpeg
---
As I have developed my understanding of how folks within enterprises wield certain words I am pulling back from using the word centralized to using the word common. There are some things that could and should be centralized, but in my experience the reasons behind why people want to centralize things are not in alignment with the best business outcomes, and what diverse teams across a large enterprise will need. In my opinion, focusing on what is common across teams is a more pragmatic and human-centered way of talking about what teams are needing.

I am seeing more enterprises centralize APIs to provide common resources, but really are more interested in consolidating power over actually strengthening or investing in the shared resources available to teams in a centralized way. Centralizing infrastructure and processes is a very top-down interpretation of what is needed to produce APIs, which seems easy when done by top-down mandate, but I find when done in this spirit, tends to fall short on the actual resources and guidance that teams need for success. Centralized efforts tend to feel like you are being told to do something without often being given the resources to properly do it, where if something is put into a commons or made common across teams, it changes the tone.

Moving forward you will hear me replace centralized with the word common. I feel like some things can be centralized and meet the needs of API operations, but I feel like making things common will go a lot further when it comes to getting the buy-in and contribution of teams. Centralizing is what leadership who can be seen as out of touch mandates, where common resources and guidance can be shared across the Venn diagram of an enterprise that makes sense to API operations. I will continue to evaluate where I use central vs. common, but also think a little more about the relationship common has with federated, platform, and other words in use that may be getting at some of the same things. The words we use matter, and will set the tone of how teams approach producing and consuming APIs, and using common instead of centralized reflects the human reality on the ground across enterprises.