multi-tenancy
An architecture where a single instance of software serves multiple customers (tenants), with logical separation between each customer's data and configuration. Most SaaS products are multi-tenant — one deployment serves thousands of customers with shared infrastructure. The alternative, single-tenancy, gives each customer their own isolated environment, which is more secure and customizable but more expensive to operate.
When you'd see it: Enterprise SaaS sales (data isolation questions), architecture reviews, compliance assessments.
Why it matters: Multi-tenancy is what makes SaaS economics viable — one deployment serving many customers. But enterprise buyers often want single-tenancy for compliance and security reasons, which affects pricing and architecture decisions.
Common mistakes: Underestimating the complexity of tenant isolation. Multi-tenant architectures need careful data segregation to prevent one customer's data from being accessible to another.
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