Centralizado

Centralizado is an adjective used to describe systems, organizations, or processes in which authority, control, or core functions are concentrated in a single center or entity. The concept is applied across disciplines to indicate that decision-making and resource management are centralized rather than distributed.

In governance, centralization refers to concentrating political power and administrative responsibilities at the national or central government level, often reducing regional or local autonomy. It is commonly contrasted with decentralization, where authority is delegated to subnational units, and with federal arrangements that combine centralized and regional powers.

In information technology, centralized architecture relies on a central server or data store to manage processing and data. Classic client-server models and many centralized cloud platforms illustrate this approach. Advantages include unified policy enforcement, easier maintenance, and consistent data governance. Drawbacks can include a single point of failure, scalability constraints, potential performance bottlenecks, and elevated risks concentrated in one location.

In organizational contexts, centralization can streamline decision-making, standardize procedures, and improve coordination. However, it may reduce responsiveness, local adaptability, and innovation at the periphery or in local units.

Historically, centralization has featured in various political and economic systems, from monarchies to planned economies, and today it coexists with decentralized and federated models. Etymologically, centralizado derives from central and the suffix -izado, and is used in Portuguese and Spanish; in English, the corresponding term is centralized. See also decentralization, federalism, and hub-and-spoke architectures.