Multi-tenancy in cloud computing refers to a single instance of a software application that serves multiple customers. In this architecture:
1. Each customer, known as a tenant, shares common infrastructure and software but retains privacy and security over their own data.
2. Resources such as databases, computing power, and storage are dynamically allocated and shared among tenants, which can lead to cost savings and efficient resource utilization.
3. Despite the shared environment, each tenant's data is isolated and remains invisible to other tenants.
4. It is a common feature in public and private clouds and is integral to Software as a Service (SaaS) applications.
5. Multi-tenancy enables cloud service providers to run one application instance while managing different user experiences tailored to each tenant's needs.
The main advantage of a multi-tenant architecture is that it can significantly reduce costs by maximizing resource pooling and minimizing redundant resources .