Multi-Tenant vs Single-Tenant [Pros and Cons]

Cloud computing has quite a few advantages and, yearly, increasingly more firms are making the switch. The query is then — do you have to select multi-tenant vs single-tenant architecture? 

As a result of virtualization, solutions like VMware Private Cloud bring multi-tenant environments much closer to what single-tenant ones was. Still, just a few vital differences could determine what complements your enterprise and compliance needs higher. 

Let’s explore what VMware is, discuss the professionals and cons of multi-tenant architecture and single-tenant architecture, and introduce a framework for deciding which one to make use of for your enterprise.

You may imagine single-tenant architecture as a business ecosystem reasonably than direct resource sharing — like separate buildings on the identical “server” street, where each constructing still retains complete control over its own operations and individual offices inside. 

As such, there are numerous advantages to running your enterprise on a single-tenant environment: 

• Security: Since your data is totally separate from anyone else’s, there’s little or no probability that somebody can gain unauthorized access. That’s why single-tenant private clouds are considered to be very secure. 
• Performance: An enormous advantage of single-tenant clouds shouldn’t be having to share processing power with anyone, providing you with highly reliable performance at any time. 
• Customization: Single tenancy gives you way more control over your environment, which incorporates any future customizations, hardware upgrades, and software updates. 
• Backups: It’s much easier to configure proper backup and recovery processes in a single-tenant environment, as you’ll be able to leave a replica of your files in a dedicated a part of a server. 
• Migration: Along with your environment in a single tenancy being isolated, you’ll be able to easily move it to a dedicated server or a self-hosted setup in a while.

With all the advantages that single-tenant architecture provides, there are also just a few drawbacks you’ve gotten to contemplate: 

• Cost: Since implementing and maintaining a single-tenant environment requires more involvement and resources, it often costs significantly greater than a multi-tenant one. 
• Maintenance: Usually, single-tenant environments often require more updates to be performed by the shopper (unless using a totally managed solution). 
• Efficiency: While there’s more reliability in performance with single-tenancy environments, the usage is usually not maximized, leaving all the additional processing power unused. 

Bottom Line: Single-tenant environments are sometimes utilized by firms that have to be absolutely confident in the security of their data and require continuous access to significant processing power. 

For everybody else, the advantages of multi-tenant architecture could seem more attractive. 

Extending the office constructing metaphor, a multi-tenant environment is when tenants usually are not buildings themselves but reasonably offices inside the same constructing. After all, each continues to be separate, but you’ll be able to see how they might have less control over the common environment.

Multi-tenant environments have proven to be very popular with smaller firms that need fewer dedicated resources because of just a few key advantages:

• Low Cost: Solutions with a VMware multi-tenant design use shared resources to lower per-user cost while keeping the environment for each user separate at the identical time. 
• Efficiency: It’s way more likely for resources to be utilized fully in multi-tenant environments than single-tenant ones. 
• Setup: Because multi-tenant environments usually are not as customized, the onboarding process will likely be each faster and easier for everybody. Liquid Web’s Multi-Tenant VMware Private Cloud has same-day availability.
• Maintenance: In multi-tenant environments, updates are often handled by the answer provider. 

While multi-tenant environments provide more affordability and ease of use, some usually are not without limitations:

• Security: Though multi-tenant environments are very protected, they do have more access points, which could (in theory) present vulnerabilities for cyber attacks. 
• Backups: Managing backups in multi-tenant environments is way more complicated. Very often, backups usually are not available in any respect, and even after they are, the choices could remain very limited. 
• Customization: Since multiple tenants are sharing the identical architecture, they don’t have plenty of control over customizations or other features of the environment itself. 
• Uptime: While every tenant in a multi-tenant environment is isolated, they may still be affected if something happens to the platform as a complete that requires a system-wide reset. 

You may now see how, with proper configuration, a multi-tenant environment may very well be a superb selection for businesses that don’t necessarily have the budget, time, or desire to handle maintenance.

Before deciding which variety of private cloud it is best to select, it’s essential to contemplate your server needs, budget, growth rate, and compliance requirements today. Multi-tenant vs single-tenant environments may very well be an important fit even for a similar company, just at different stages of its timeline. 

An incredible query to ask is, what are you really trying to perform? 

When you’re moving from a self-hosted environment to the cloud, a single-tenant environment may very well be a greater fit and would offer you more control over customization and maintenance. 

At the identical time, in case your company is just starting out and is hosted on a shared server, moving to a multi-tenant private cloud is an important next step in your digital transformation. Most SaaS startups, for instance, prefer to begin with multi-tenancy.