Single-Tenant vs Multi-Tenant Databases: Choosing the Right Approach for Your Business

In today’s digital landscape, data management has transcended the traditional boundaries of shelves and manual cataloging. To remain relevant in this dynamic environment, professionals must embrace the shift towards cloud platforms and databases.

Two predominant models in software architectures are single tenancy and multi-tenancy. Each model offers unique benefits and challenges, tailored to accommodate diverse business requirements and priorities. So, whether you’re a burgeoning startup or a well-established enterprise, understanding the distinctions between these two models is crucial in choosing the best fit for your business’s needs.

What is multi-tenancy?

A multi-tenant cloud architecture is where a single instance of the software and its supporting infrastructure support or serve multiple customers at the same time. Each tenant shares a single database and SaaS server but each tenant’s data is isolated – private and has a dedicated space in the system – from other tenants.?

This is accomplished by partitioning the data storage and processing; providing each tenant with their own dedicated space in the system. A tenant interacts with the application and can access their own data.

To better define it, think of multi-tenancy as an apartment building offering housing, security, and utilities to different tenants through self-contained units. Likewise, a software application can handle different requests and processes from different customers within the same database without compromising privacy.

Implementing multi-tenancy in the cloud offers numerous advantages like:

• Lower operational costs — Multiple customer sharing in a single environment means reducing infrastructure and operational costs, making multi-tenant databases cost-effective solutions.
• Better scalability — Multi-tenant architectures scale effortlessly with a large computing capacity, enabling? efficient resource allocation.
• Ease of management – Operating in a single database makes management easier as it simplifies administrative tasks such as backups, updates, and monitoring. Additionally, the vendor handles most multi-tenancy aspects, reducing the burden of maintaining the environment yourself.

While multi-tenancy has visible benefits, it also presents potential drawbacks, such as:

• Limited customization — Integrations with other SaaS products are possible in a multi-tenant database. However, some customizations and updates may not be compatible with the environment as the software is shared, thus affecting all tenants.
• Security concerns — Shared data infrastructure raises security concerns, as a breach affecting one tenant could potentially compromise the data of others. Also, having multiple users from different organizations on the same database can limit your control over security measures.
• Downtime — Depending on the provider, multi-tenant environments can experience longer downtime due to collateral impacts. For instance, one server problem can affect many tenants.

Generally, multi-tenancy is well-suited for public and private businesses and enterprise SaaS environments with fewer hardware requirements, lesser maintenance costs, limited provider updates, and ample computing capacity.

What is single tenancy?

Single tenancy in SaaS refers to a data architecture where a single instance of the software application and its supporting infrastructure caters exclusively to one tenant.? Unlike in multi-tenancy, every tenant will have their own database and software instance, isolated from one another. Tenants can customize the software to fit their requests without accessing the underlying code.

While muti-tenancy resembles an apartment building, single-tenant architecture can be compared to a street with individual houses. Each house has its own security system and facilities. Similarly, a single tenant can have control over the software and infrastructure.

Choosing a single-tenant environment over other options has its potential advantages including:

• Better control and customization — A 1:1 tenant and software instance allows for better customization of functionalities to fit the needs of the tenants.? Having complete control over the infrastructure also allows individual upgrades and third-party integrations without impacting other tenants.?
• Heightened security — Operating on dedicated servers ensures robust security measures, minimizing the risk of data breaches that could affect other tenants. The isolation of resources on dedicated servers enhances overall data protection.?
• Reliable Performance — Single-tenant cloud architecture allows clients to work in dedicated servers, databases, and software, thus any customizations and problems from one tenant wouldn’t affect everyone else. Performance remains consistent as it is based on a single instance rather than being influenced by multiple tenants.
• Portability — Single tenancy, commonly utilized through cloud or SaaS platforms, facilitates easier data migration compared to multi-tenant databases, enhancing flexibility and scalability.

The adoption of single-tenant cloud architecture is quite common. Before implementing this type of data architecture, here are some cons to take note of:

• Higher costs — Serving a single tenant’s instances means managing different databases, apps, and servers. This incurs costs for different servers, maintenance, and operational processes.
• Complex setup and management — Managing multiple applications becomes increasingly challenging as your clientele expands, requiring the deployment of an instance and database for each customer.
• Maintenance — Handling multiple instances, each with its unique configurations and customizations, can be complex and prone to errors. Applying updates and patches individually to each instance further compounds the challenge.

Single-Tenant vs Multi-Tenant Data Architecture: What’s Best For You?

In summary, multi-tenancy is ideal for businesses seeking a cost-effective solution with extensive storage capacities and minimal customization and maintenance requirements. Use cases for multi-tenant databases include e-commerce websites, social media platforms, and SaaS applications.

Whereas, if security and full data ownership are your priorities, you may opt for single-tenant data infrastructure. Though more costly than multi-tenancy, such is ideal for large enterprises and highly regulated industries like health and finance, where data isolation is required.

Board portal software is one of the many board solutions that use single-tenant architecture.? Storing all board meetings, confidential documents, and decisions within such a platform banks on the security and data control offered by single tenancy. Additionally, it facilitates easier customization for board administrators, as changes won't impact other clients.

Choosing between multi-tenant and single-tenant data architecture depends on various factors, including scalability, security, customization, and cost considerations. By understanding the advantages and challenges of each approach and assessing your organization's specific needs, you can make an informed decision that aligns with your business goals and objectives.

Learn about Convene, our board portal software designed with single-tenant data architecture. Explore how our features guarantee the security and integrity of your data.