The SharePoint Cultural Shift from Centralized to Decentralized
As companies consider moving from a more centralized, traditional portal model for their SharePoint environment toward a 
decentralized model -- both as a way to embrace the new social features, and to utilize the many service applications in SharePoint 2010 -- they will need to consider the organization's ability to change. The "cultural shift" is the second paradigm identified in my SDTimes article on moving from centralized to decentralized models.
Why is change so difficult? From an administrative perspective, it means giving up control, and letting go (at least that's the perception). It may also be a recognition of the gap between the philosophical idea of allowing people to manage their own sites and metadata, and the reality that, in general, unmanaged environments are messy. Collaboration itself can be a difficult concept for people to embrace. It takes time to incorporate new tools and processes into the corporate culture, and many of the exciting new features may be counterintuitive to the way your business is run.
It's something you need to stop and think about. SharePoint is a platform -- it can be shaped and molded. There is no such thing as a homogenous SharePoint deployment. While there are many benefits to the new features and services, such as increased innovation and improved process efficiencies, it is important to understand and prepare for the cultural impacts:
- How do these new features fit into our business focus?
- How it they affect productivity?
- What does this change about our security policies?
- How much visibility / transparency will I have, or will my manager have?
- How will these features be supported?
I don't know your organization, and what degree of change they are ready to accept, but I can advise you to work closely with your stakeholders to identify the overall vision and business priorities for moving from a structured to a less-structured SharePoint model.
And please plan to involve your end users in these discussions. Capture their feedback, let them help shape (or define the limits of) your new system. Provide visibility and regular communication around your plans, and you will be successful in your new deployment. (Review my latest presentation on this topic)