The Complete Guide to Multi-Tenant Architecture

Defining Multi-Tenancy

Multi-tenancy is the architecture where a single instance of software serves multiple customers (tenants). It's the backbone of modern SaaS, but doing it right is complex.

Data Isolation Strategies

1. Database per Tenant: Complete isolation, high cost, and operational complexity.
2. Schema per Tenant: Shared database, isolated schemas. Good middle ground.
3. Shared Schema: All tenants in the same tables, separated by tenant_id. Highly scalable, requires strict access controls.

Choosing the right strategy depends on your compliance requirements, scale, and specific business model.