Defining multi-tenancy: A systematic mapping study on the academic and the industrial perspective

Software as a service is frequently offered in a multi-tenant style, where customers of the applicationand their end-users share resources such as software and hardware among all users, without necessarilysharing data. It is surprising that, with such a popular paradigm, little agreement exists with regard to thedefinition, domain, and challenges of multi-tenancy. This absence is detrimental to the research commu-nity and the industry, as it hampers progress in the domain of multi-tenancy and enables organizationsand academics to wield their own definitions to further their commercial or research agendas.In this article, a systematic mapping study on multi-tenancy is described in which 761 academic papersand 371 industrial blogs are analysed. Both the industrial and academic perspective are assessed, in orderto get a complete overview. The definition and topic maps provide a comprehensive overview of thedomain, while the research agenda, listing four important research topics, provides a roadmap for futureresearch efforts.