Building Multi-Tenant SaaS Architectures

Software as a service (SaaS) is on the path to becoming the de facto model for building, delivering, and operating software solutions. Adopting a multi-tenant SaaS model requires builders to take on a broad range of new architecture, implementation, and operational challenges. How data is partitioned, how resources are isolated, how tenants are authenticated, how microservices are built—these are just a few of the many areas that need to be on your radar when you’re designing and creating SaaS offerings.

In this book, Tod Golding, a global SaaS technical lead at AWS, provides an end-to-end view of the SaaS architectural landscape, outlining the practical techniques, strategies, and patterns that every architect must navigate as part of building a SaaS environment.

• Describe, classify, and characterize core SaaS patterns and strategies
• Identify the key building blocks, trade-offs, and considerations that will shape the design and implementation of your multi-tenant solution
• Examine essential multi-tenant architecture strategies, including tenant isolation, noisy neighbor, data partitioning, onboarding, identity, and multi-tenant DevOps
• Explore how multi-tenancy influences the design and implementation of microservices
• Learn how multi-tenancy shapes the operational footprint of your SaaS environment

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. The Saas Mindset

Chapter 2. Multi-Tenant Architecture Fundamentals

Chapter 3. Multi-Tenant Deployment Models

Chapter 4. Onboarding and Identity

Chapter 5. Tenant Management

Chapter 6. Tenant Authentication and Routing

Chapter 7. Building Multi-Tenant Services

Chapter 8. Data Partitioning

Chapter 9. Tenant Isolation

Chapter 10. EKS (Kubernetes) SaaS: Architecture Patterns and Strategies

Chapter 11. Serverless SaaS: Architecture Patterns and Strategies

Chapter 12. Tenant-Aware Operations

Chapter 13. Saas Migration Strategies

Chapter 14. Tiering Strategies

Chapter 15. Saas Anywhere

Chapter 16. GenAI and Multi-Tenancy

Chapter 17. Guiding Principles

About the Author

Tod Golding is a cloud applications architect who has spent the last seven years immersed in cloud-optimized application design and architecture. As a global SaaS lead within AWS, Tod has been a SaaS technology thought leader, publishing and providing SaaS best practices guidance through a broad set of channels (speaking, writing, and working directly with a wide range of SaaS companies). Tod has over 20 years of experience as an architect and developer, including time at both startups and tech giants (AWS, eBay, Microsoft). In addition to speaking at technical conferences, Tod also authored Professional .NET Generics, was co-author on another book, and was a columnist for Better Software magazine.