In cloud computing, what does the term "multi-tenancy" refer to?

Multi-tenancy in cloud computing refers to the architecture where multiple customers (tenants) share the same application instance while maintaining their data privacy and security. This approach allows for efficient use of resources, as the cloud service provider can serve many customers simultaneously without the need for separate instances of the application for each one. This not only reduces operational costs but also simplifies maintenance and updates, since changes can be deployed universally across all tenants.

In multi-tenant environments, the cloud provider typically employs various techniques to ensure that the data of each customer remains separate and secure, such as data isolation, role-based access controls, and encryption. This is beneficial for businesses, as they can leverage powerful applications and infrastructure without the overhead of managing dedicated resources.

The other options presented do not align with the concept of multi-tenancy. Single user access to cloud services implies a one-to-one relationship, which is contrary to the multi-tenant model. Exclusive use of resources by an organization suggests a single-tenant architecture that isolates individual workloads, while individual software installations for every user indicate a lack of shared resources, further deviating from the multi-tenancy concept.