All Grown Up
Not to date myself but I’m old enough to remember when saving data to the cloud was still considered risky business. No one really knew what the cloud was, let alone if it was safe or not.
Those days are long gone.
In this more digital landscape, business owners trust their data on the cloud and depend on it. Cloud storage is widely regarded as one of the most convenient and efficient methods of storing data online and it’s evolved into many different forms in a relatively short time frame.
In fact, according to management consulting company Gartner, the trend in adopting cloud technology is expected to continue in 2023. They’re projecting an over 11% growth in software spending next year alone.
Right now, the most widely adopted cloud-based solutions are multi-tenant and single-tenant.
I want to highlight the differences between these two and explain why here at Projectmates, we believe the single-tenant solution is the best choice for Owners.
What Exactly Is the Cloud Again?
Before we talk about the differences between cloud solutions, we need to figure out exactly what the cloud is. The cloud was explained to me like this and it really stuck.
The cloud is technically anything you can access remotely over the internet. When data is in the cloud, it means that it’s stored on an internet-connected database instead of your computer’s hard drive.
Using that definition, we can see why cloud solutions are so attractive to businesses. Companies can now manage all of their data and access software remotely without the need for physical servers.
Less maintenance, less space, less hassle.
Now that we know exactly what the cloud is, I want to get into the two cloud solutions mentioned earlier. I’ll be using an office building analogy to illustrate the differences between them.
Multi-Tenant Cloud
A multi-tenant cloud is much like the office buildings many of us work in. Multiple businesses, working in multiple offices, sharing communal facilities, and using the same security system. Each company has a key to its respective offices so privacy is guaranteed, but the activities of fellow tenants can have an impact on how the entire building operates.
Similarly, customers using a multi-tenant solution cannot see each other’s data, however, they do operate in the same database, meaning the same server processes all of that data.
The three main reasons a company may choose to go with this option are reduced cost, ease of deployment, and efficient resource usage.
Unfortunately, the lack of data segmentation puts multi-tenant cloud users at a higher risk of a security breach. If one customer’s data is compromised, it’s more likely that it will affect other customers.
Many construction technology providers use this solution. However, Projectmates feels that the enhanced threat of a security breach is not worth the cheaper price tag.
Multi-Tenant Cloud
A multi-tenant cloud is much like the office buildings many of us work in. Multiple businesses, working in multiple offices, sharing communal facilities, and using the same security system. Each company has a key to its respective offices so privacy is guaranteed, but the activities of fellow tenants can have an impact on how the entire building operates.
Similarly, customers using a multi-tenant solution cannot see each other’s data, however, they do operate in the same database, meaning the same server processes all of that data.
The three main reasons a company may choose to go with this option are reduced cost, ease of deployment, and efficient resource usage.
Unfortunately, the lack of data segmentation puts multi-tenant cloud users at a higher risk of a security breach. If one customer’s data is compromised, it’s more likely that it will affect other customers.
Many construction technology providers use this solution. However, Projectmates feels that the enhanced threat of a security breach is not worth the cheaper price tag.
Single-Tenant Cloud
On the flip side, a single-tenant cloud can be described as an office building that is solely occupied by one company. The company has its own security system and can tailor its offices to suit its unique business needs since they are completely independent of neighboring tenants.
This single-tenant solution provides more configuration opportunities than a multi-tenant setup because each client has its own dedicated software and hardware.
Single-tenant is Projectmates’ preferred cloud solution as many of our clients require strong privacy and security protocols to protect their data. The ability to audit data and control what goes in and out of the system is of utmost importance.
Handling a client’s data becomes a much easier task on a single-tenant cloud instance as well. Everything can be backed up in one fell swoop. No complicated backup scripts need to be run to ensure everyone’s data stays separated.
Remember when we talked earlier about multi-tenant clients affecting the performance of the other people sharing their cloud? This is where single-tenant has another leg-up.
It’s considered to be much more reliable because no one can affect the instance performance but the one client using the instance.
Single-Tenant Cloud
On the flip side, a single-tenant cloud can be described as an office building that is solely occupied by one company. The company has its own security system and can tailor its offices to suit its unique business needs since they are completely independent of neighboring tenants.
This single-tenant solution provides more configuration opportunities than a multi-tenant setup because each client has its own dedicated software and hardware.
Single-tenant is Projectmates’ preferred cloud solution as many of our clients require strong privacy and security protocols to protect their data. The ability to audit data and control what goes in and out of the system is of utmost importance.
Handling a client’s data becomes a much easier task on a single-tenant cloud instance as well. Everything can be backed up in one fell swoop. No complicated backup scripts need to be run to ensure everyone’s data stays separated.
Remember when we talked earlier about multi-tenant clients affecting the performance of the other people sharing their cloud? This is where single-tenant has another leg-up.
It’s considered to be much more reliable because no one can affect the instance performance but the one client using the instance.
Final Thoughts
I hope our little lesson has cleared up any confusion and made it easier to tell the difference between the two main types of cloud solutions.
As I mentioned earlier, Projectmates believes that a single-tenant solution lends itself best to what Owners are working to accomplish through Projectmates.
Your construction program deserves to have its data work in an environment of stability, security, and configurability.
