Multi-tenancy is an architecture in which a single instance of a software application serves multiple customers, known as tenants. In a multi-tenant environment, tenants share the same underlying infrastructure and application codebase, but their data is isolated and managed separately to ensure privacy and security. This architecture is commonly used in cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) models, where resources are efficiently shared among multiple users, reducing costs and simplifying maintenance.

Multi-tenancy offers several advantages, including cost efficiency, scalability, and easier updates. Since all tenants use the same application instance, updates and upgrades can be applied simultaneously across all users, reducing the complexity of managing multiple instances. However, it also presents challenges, such as ensuring data security and performance isolation between tenants. Effective multi-tenancy design requires careful consideration of these factors to provide a seamless and secure experience for all users while maximizing resource utilization.