What is multi-tenant architecture?
Your data sits in the same database as every other customer's. Only the access rules keep it apart.
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Multi-tenant — Multi-tenant architecture runs many customers on one shared application and database, separated by software rules rather than by separate servers. It costs less to run, and it's how most SaaS is built.
Why it matters
A multi-tenant system keeps every customer's data inside the same running app, and often the same physical database. Code in the app, and most often access rules in the database too, decide which rows each customer's users can see. Most SaaS products are built this way. One shared system for thousands of customers costs far less to run than a separate copy of the app for each one.
The trade-off shows up when you have real needs around keeping data apart. Maybe a contract promises your data never sits next to another customer's. Or a regulator wants a dedicated environment for you. Multi-tenant systems can clear many of these bars. But they rely on the access rules between customers being right. A bug in those rules hits every tenant at once, rather than one. People often assume an "enterprise" tier means a separate database. In most multi-tenant SaaS products it means more seats or features on the same shared servers everyone else uses.
SalesCrew takes the other route: each client gets its own database, not a shared one. That is what the SalesCrew agency plan gives an agency that runs sales for several clients: each client instance is separate and exports in full. The pricing page lists every tier.
How multi-tenant systems separate customers
- 1
One copy of the app goes live
One running copy of the software serves every customer.
- 2
Customer data shares a database
Most or all customers' records live in the same physical database.
- 3
Each row is tagged to its tenant
Records carry a tag linking them to the customer they belong to.
- 4
Access rules keep tenants apart
Queries are fenced so a user only ever sees their own tenant's rows.
- 5
The app adds a second wall
The app's own code adds another check on top of the database rules.
The mistake to watch for
Questions
- How is multi-tenant different from single-tenant?
- Multi-tenant runs many customers on one shared app and database, split by software rules. Single-tenant gives each customer a database and app of their own, kept apart by the servers, not only by access rules.
- Is multi-tenant less secure than single-tenant?
- Not by nature. Its safety rests on the access rules that keep tenants apart being right. A flaw in those rules can leak data across customers. That's a different risk from single-tenant's physical split.
- Why do most SaaS products use multi-tenant architecture?
- One shared system for many customers costs far less to run and look after than a separate copy per customer. That keeps costs down and makes updates simpler to ship.