What implementation structure would be described for a company that wants each of its departments to have its own autonomous website?

The implementation structure that best fits a scenario where each department of a company wants its own autonomous website is indeed multitenant. In a multitenant architecture, a single instance of a software application serves multiple customers or tenants, where each tenant maintains its own separate and independent data and functionality.

This approach allows different departments to have distinct websites while sharing the same overall infrastructure. Each department can operate autonomously, making decisions about their design, content, and functionality, while still benefiting from the centralized management and resource utilization offered by a shared platform.

In contrast, while a multisite configuration may allow multiple sites to be hosted within a single Sitecore instance, it may not provide the same level of autonomy and isolation as multitenancy does, especially in terms of data and administration. A single tenant structure generally refers to a setup where one customer owns and manages a site without sharing infrastructure, which wouldn’t apply to multiple departments wanting distinct websites. Similarly, a single site configuration would not accommodate the requirement of multiple departments having their own websites.

Therefore, multitenancy best supports the need for independent departmental websites under one umbrella while leveraging shared resources, making it the most suitable choice for this scenario.