Purpose of multiple Spaces vs multiple Pages?

[Blaine Elliott]

What is the value of having multiple Spaces for each department vs one single Space as the home plus a child Page for each department?

I'm creating a new confluence for an existing company.  I designed the confluence such that there is one space for each department.  This company has 5-10 employees, meaning the content volume is relatively small.  I can't create a Page Tree in the left nav to view every Space/Page in the confluence.  Meaning I think I should have created one Space then a new Page for each department.  I don't see the value in having more than one space.  What am I missing?  Should only large (1000+ employee) companies be using spaces?

[Kelly Albrecht]

Using separate Spaces will give you one more level to distinguish content types by. For example, having department specific meeting notes will group together more naturally. If you do everything in a single space, you will need to use labels and ancestor pages to create these types of sections. Spaces also each have their own robust permissions. 

That being said, I would go with one single space for 5-10 people. It’ll bring you closer together in how you communicate through Confluence. It will make cross department visibility easier and more valuable. 

And if the need to a separate out a Space, or Spaces, arises over time as you grow, then it is pretty easy to create one and move the relevant pages into it. 

[Blaine Elliott]

Thanks for confirming my suspicion.  For a small company, a single space seems optimal.