Multi-tenancy for Cloud Architectures: Benefits and Challenges

Multi-tenancy for Cloud Architectures: Benefits and Challenges

The most successful cloud service providers, such a Salesforce.com, NetSuite and Success Factors, all utilize and evangelize a multi-tenancy approach. In fact, I contend that multi-tenancy is a requirement for any cloud architecture because of two key benefits for the cloud provider:

  • Efficiency and Sustainable Scalability: With a multi-tenant architecture, cloud providers have the ability to ensure the lowest cost of service delivery. Because practically no new software resources are required for each incremental customer, the cost of on-boarding a new customer begins to approach zero at full scale, resulting in ever-increasing marginal revenue associated with each new customer.
  • Dramatic reduction in operational cost and complexity over the product lifecycle: Since application upgrades can be applied to all tenants by simply upgrading the single instance of the application, the cost savings fall directly to the bottom line.

In this third and final installment of my implementing a multi-tenant cloud architecture series, I list the benefits of a multi-tenancy approach to cloud providers, as well as the challenges of not implementing multi-tenancy properly. The first installment explored the common strategies for implementing a multi-tenant architecture and the second explored the options for implementing multi-tenancy on each application tier.

Cloud Challenge: Rewriting an On-premise Application

Reaping the benefits of a multi-tenancy approach requires careful upfront planning. Achieving multi-tenancy can be downright hard and expensive if it is not implemented during the earliest stages of a development project — i.e. the architecture phase. For example, re-architecting an existing on-premise application to adopt a multi-tenant architecture is difficult, time-consuming, and fraught with considerable risk. It requires that the database schema (all tables and views) be changed to support the concept of a tenant identifier (tenant ID). In addition, each SQL access statement must be modified with a filter that returns data filtered by the tenant ID. What happens if a filter is forgotten? The security and integrity of all tenants’ data is compromised! Imagine one tenant running a query to return all sales leads for their company and receiving its competitors’ sales leads.

For most cloud providers, an application rewrite is not realistic for two reasons:

  • Cost of resources: In my experience (implementing multi-tenant architecture for a financial services company), weaving a tenant identifier into the average-sized application takes roughly 2.5 years and the direct cost for the development resources can range between $2M and $3M. Most developers have never undertaken such an initiative, which reduces the likelihood of having an experienced team member to lead the project.
  • Organizational impact: More than the hard costs of such an undertaking, morale can be negatively impacted when a development organization shifts focus from innovation to the creation of an infrastructure layer not directly associated with tangible product enhancements. Pulling valuable development resources off ongoing product enhancement goals for months also leaves an ISV vulnerable to more agile competitors during the conversion process.

Cloud Challenge #2: Multi-Tenancy at the Data Layer

The main challenge in almost every cloud application is multi-tenancy at the data layer. The challenge is how to share data resources (a database in most cases) among multiple users while at the same time ensuring data isolation between those users, as if they are running on completely separate servers.

The challenge with the fine-grained model is that it is fairly complex to maintain and implement. If you have an existing application, it requires a complete rewrite and also forces fairly significant changes in your existing data model. The challenge with the coarse-grained model is that cost margins per user are still rather high.

The other challenge that neither approaches addresses today is dynamic elasticity. What happens when a customer grows beyond their allocated shared capacity? Both approaches seem to rely on certain capacity assumptions and can scale by splitting multiple users between their shared resources. To address dynamic elasticity, suppose 100 tenants share an app on a server (all the way down to a shared database). Then suppose five of them grow quite rapidly such that they need to be moved off that server and the other 95 can continue to exist on the original server.

Something in the application has to know how to take the records that belong to these five, copy them off into a second instance of that database and then kill, move and restore the application service for those tenants. Of course, there’s an implied load balancer element in front of all this to keep up appearances to the clients.

Now imagine what your solution to this challenge is a database that can be easily broken down into small “chunks” without huge overhead, and image it can scale dynamically? A multi-tenant data service is just such a solution.

The following are the principles for a multi-tenant data service:

  1. With a multi-tenant database, applications can be written to a single database tenant just as they are today. How tenants are allocated and shared with other tenant needs would be completely abstracted from the application.
  2. All data tenants can share the same hardware (memory, CPU) with other tenants, ensuring efficiency.
  3. Each database tenant can be distributed and scale dynamically across multiple machines to meet demand. This includes moving data to other machines, if necessary. Scaling must be supported seamlessly without any downtime.
  4. With a multi-tenant database, the level of sharing/isolation is set on demand, based on the specific requirements. At that level, a user can choose a dedicated tenant, in which case the multi-tenant database would allocate tenants on a set of machines that is dedicated to that specific user. Clearly, the benefit of this is isolation but at the cost of efficiency. The user can also share with any individual or group under that user’s control. In other words, rather than dictating either extreme (full isolation or full sharing) for all users, with a multi-tenant database the user can dynamically choose the right level that best fits their purposes.

That concludes my implementing a multi-tenant cloud architecture series, hopefully you now have a grasp on the benefits and challenges of using a multi-tenancy approach for cloud architectures. Be sure to check out the first installment on strategies for implementing a multi-tenant architecture and the second on implementing multi-tenancy on each application tier.

devx-admin

devx-admin

Share the Post:
Software Development

Top Software Development Companies

Looking for the best in software development? Our list of Top Software Development Companies is your gateway to finding the right tech partner. Dive in

India Web Development

Top Web Development Companies in India

In the digital race, the right web development partner is your winning edge. Dive into our curated list of top web development companies in India,

USA Web Development

Top Web Development Companies in USA

Looking for the best web development companies in the USA? We’ve got you covered! Check out our top 10 picks to find the right partner

Clean Energy Adoption

Inside Michigan’s Clean Energy Revolution

Democratic state legislators in Michigan continue to discuss and debate clean energy legislation in the hopes of establishing a comprehensive clean energy strategy for the

Chips Act Revolution

European Chips Act: What is it?

In response to the intensifying worldwide technology competition, Europe has unveiled the long-awaited European Chips Act. This daring legislative proposal aims to fortify Europe’s semiconductor

Revolutionized Low-Code

You Should Use Low-Code Platforms for Apps

As the demand for rapid software development increases, low-code platforms have emerged as a popular choice among developers for their ability to build applications with

Software Development

Top Software Development Companies

Looking for the best in software development? Our list of Top Software Development Companies is your gateway to finding the right tech partner. Dive in and explore the leaders in

India Web Development

Top Web Development Companies in India

In the digital race, the right web development partner is your winning edge. Dive into our curated list of top web development companies in India, and kickstart your journey to

USA Web Development

Top Web Development Companies in USA

Looking for the best web development companies in the USA? We’ve got you covered! Check out our top 10 picks to find the right partner for your online project. Your

Clean Energy Adoption

Inside Michigan’s Clean Energy Revolution

Democratic state legislators in Michigan continue to discuss and debate clean energy legislation in the hopes of establishing a comprehensive clean energy strategy for the state. A Senate committee meeting

Chips Act Revolution

European Chips Act: What is it?

In response to the intensifying worldwide technology competition, Europe has unveiled the long-awaited European Chips Act. This daring legislative proposal aims to fortify Europe’s semiconductor supply chain and enhance its

Revolutionized Low-Code

You Should Use Low-Code Platforms for Apps

As the demand for rapid software development increases, low-code platforms have emerged as a popular choice among developers for their ability to build applications with minimal coding. These platforms not

Cybersecurity Strategy

Five Powerful Strategies to Bolster Your Cybersecurity

In today’s increasingly digital landscape, businesses of all sizes must prioritize cyber security measures to defend against potential dangers. Cyber security professionals suggest five simple technological strategies to help companies

Global Layoffs

Tech Layoffs Are Getting Worse Globally

Since the start of 2023, the global technology sector has experienced a significant rise in layoffs, with over 236,000 workers being let go by 1,019 tech firms, as per data

Huawei Electric Dazzle

Huawei Dazzles with Electric Vehicles and Wireless Earbuds

During a prominent unveiling event, Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications powerhouse, kept quiet about its enigmatic new 5G phone and alleged cutting-edge chip development. Instead, Huawei astounded the audience by presenting

Cybersecurity Banking Revolution

Digital Banking Needs Cybersecurity

The banking, financial, and insurance (BFSI) sectors are pioneers in digital transformation, using web applications and application programming interfaces (APIs) to provide seamless services to customers around the world. Rising

FinTech Leadership

Terry Clune’s Fintech Empire

Over the past 30 years, Terry Clune has built a remarkable business empire, with CluneTech at the helm. The CEO and Founder has successfully created eight fintech firms, attracting renowned

The Role Of AI Within A Web Design Agency?

In the digital age, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in web design is rapidly evolving, transitioning from a futuristic concept to practical tools used in design, coding, content writing

Generative AI Revolution

Is Generative AI the Next Internet?

The increasing demand for Generative AI models has led to a surge in its adoption across diverse sectors, with healthcare, automotive, and financial services being among the top beneficiaries. These

Microsoft Laptop

The New Surface Laptop Studio 2 Is Nuts

The Surface Laptop Studio 2 is a dynamic and robust all-in-one laptop designed for creators and professionals alike. It features a 14.4″ touchscreen and a cutting-edge design that is over

5G Innovations

GPU-Accelerated 5G in Japan

NTT DOCOMO, a global telecommunications giant, is set to break new ground in the industry as it prepares to launch a GPU-accelerated 5G network in Japan. This innovative approach will

AI Ethics

AI Journalism: Balancing Integrity and Innovation

An op-ed, produced using Microsoft’s Bing Chat AI software, recently appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, discussing the potential concerns surrounding the employment of artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism. These

Savings Extravaganza

Big Deal Days Extravaganza

The highly awaited Big Deal Days event for October 2023 is nearly here, scheduled for the 10th and 11th. Similar to the previous year, this autumn sale has already created

Cisco Splunk Deal

Cisco Splunk Deal Sparks Tech Acquisition Frenzy

Cisco’s recent massive purchase of Splunk, an AI-powered cybersecurity firm, for $28 billion signals a potential boost in tech deals after a year of subdued mergers and acquisitions in the

Iran Drone Expansion

Iran’s Jet-Propelled Drone Reshapes Power Balance

Iran has recently unveiled a jet-propelled variant of its Shahed series drone, marking a significant advancement in the nation’s drone technology. The new drone is poised to reshape the regional

Solar Geoengineering

Did the Overshoot Commission Shoot Down Geoengineering?

The Overshoot Commission has recently released a comprehensive report that discusses the controversial topic of Solar Geoengineering, also known as Solar Radiation Modification (SRM). The Commission’s primary objective is to

Remote Learning

Revolutionizing Remote Learning for Success

School districts are preparing to reveal a substantial technological upgrade designed to significantly improve remote learning experiences for both educators and students amid the ongoing pandemic. This major investment, which

Revolutionary SABERS Transforming

SABERS Batteries Transforming Industries

Scientists John Connell and Yi Lin from NASA’s Solid-state Architecture Batteries for Enhanced Rechargeability and Safety (SABERS) project are working on experimental solid-state battery packs that could dramatically change the

Build a Website

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website?

Are you wondering how much it costs to build a website? The approximated cost is based on several factors, including which add-ons and platforms you choose. For example, a self-hosted

Battery Investments

Battery Startups Attract Billion-Dollar Investments

In recent times, battery startups have experienced a significant boost in investments, with three businesses obtaining over $1 billion in funding within the last month. French company Verkor amassed $2.1