To date, two main forms of organization of information processing have developed – centralized and partially or fully decentralized.

Centralized information processing is based on the concentration of computing resources of information systems in a single center, which process information in it, and then transfer the result to users.

The advantages of the centralized model of information processing include:

• availability of strong control over the information system, its maintenance,
• availability of information resources located in one place in the company, which entails a reduction in the cost of their creation, maintenance,
• simplification of security settings for access to data located in one place,
• the availability of experienced and qualified professionals to work with the information system in a central computer center,
• availability of a more manageable process of managing large volumes of information,
• ease of consolidation and standardization of data in accordance with the corporate rules of working with data
• ease of implementation of methodological solutions for the development and improvement of information technology of information processing.

Disadvantages of a centralized organization of the information system are as follows:

• the functions of the information system should emerge from the real needs of the business, rather than from the tasks of self-development of the information system,
• information services are not aimed at personal service. Users are seen as buyers of services, hence the limitation of user capabilities in the process of obtaining and using information,
• great difficulties in planning information services for the use of information resources,
• Responsibility and motivation of the information system staff is limited, which does not contribute to the prompt receipt of information by the user.

The centralized approach to the organization of the information system is best used if:

• there is a need for complete control over the information system,
• the organization is small,
• the information system uses very expensive resources or the use of resources is limited,
• different parts of the organization have similar or identical needs, and similar operations are used;
• there is a monolithic organization with a centralized autocratic approach to management,
• centralization is a vital necessity.

Decentralization of information processing involves the implementation of functional subsystems and the implementation of information processing directly at the workplace.

The advantages of a decentralized information system organization are:

• information systems are more integrated with the business and better meet business needs, data is close to users, and users have a good understanding of the information,
• flexibility in structure, allowing room for user initiatives, users have much more autonomy,
• telecommunications costs are reduced,
• systems are smaller and simpler, so they are easier to manage, create and maintain, centralized control is reduced,
• resource and effort goals can be carefully considered,
• increased responsibility of lower level employees.

The disadvantages of a decentralized information processing system are as follows:

• duplication of resources occurs,
• there is a possibility of inefficient use of information resources,
• there are large problems with interoperability and standardization of resources due to the large number of unique data storage formats,
• there are problems in the management of systems and projects between units, access to the same resources from different units,
• there is an imbalance in the development of the level of information culture and the level of automation in different departments,

A decentralized approach to information system organization is best applied if:

• the organization is significant in size,
• decentralization is supported by management bodies,
• there is a need for speed and flexibility of information services,
• different operations are applied, the service is unique to each part of the organization and must be controlled by this unit,
• there is an organization with predetermined units, in which the motivation of employees and units, delegation of authority is actively used,
• there is a link between productivity and decentralization.

As a hybrid of these two ways of organizing information processing, the company uses a partially decentralized approach. In this case, there is both a powerful computing center (common strategy, training, assistance, standards and policies for the application of software and hardware) and local computing resources networked together.