Glossary

Single-Tenancy Environment

What is a single-tenancy environment in cloud computing?


A single-tenancy environment, also known as dedicated hosting or a dedicated instance, refers to a situation where each user or tenant has their own dedicated infrastructure and resources, including servers, storage and network components. These resources aren’t shared with any other users, maximizing performance and control.

What is a single-tenancy environment in cloud computing?


A single-tenancy environment, also known as dedicated hosting or a dedicated instance, refers to a situation where each user or tenant has their own dedicated infrastructure and resources, including servers, storage and network components. These resources aren’t shared with any other users, maximizing performance and control.

Related Definitions

SaaS Agreement

What is a SaaS agreement?


A SaaS agreement, or contract, details the terms of your purchase from a SaaS vendor.

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Price Uplifts

What are price uplifts?


In the context of SaaS, price uplifts refer to an increase in the price of a software subscription. While many software providers will implement price uplifts on an annual basis, typically at the point of renewal, others may review and amend their pricing more frequently, for example on a quarterly basis. It is recommended that buyers negotiate a price uplift cap during the initial contract negotiation stage, placing a limit on the maximum amount the subscription can be increased by within a specified time period.

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Reduction Clause

What is a reduction clause?


A reduction clause refers to a provision in a software agreement that allows customers to reduce the number of licenses or users covered by their subscription during the term of an agreement. This provides customers with flexibility to adjust their plan to meet evolving business needs, while avoiding paying for licenses or users they no longer require or needing to terminate the contract. The specific terms and requirements of a reduction clause may vary depending on the SaaS provider and the subscription agreement, for example it may be subject to a minimum number of licenses or users.

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Auto-Scaling

What is auto-scaling?


Auto-scaling refers to the automatic adjustment of cloud computing resources based on an organization’s current demand and workload. It dynamically adjusts the allocation of resources to match the evolving requirements of an application or system without the need for manual intervention.


There are a number of benefits to using auto-scaling, the first being cost efficiency. By ensuring that resources are scaled up or down as and when needed, organizations can avoid over-provisioning and subsequently reduce unnecessary expenses. It also helps maintain consistent performance levels by automatically adding resources during peak demand periods.

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Decentralized Procurement

What is decentralized procurement?


Decentralized purchasing in SaaS refers to the process of allowing individual departments or teams within an organization to make their own purchasing decisions for software applications. This is in contrast to a centralized purchasing model, where all purchasing decisions are approved by a single procurement team or a department such as finance.
While a decentralized purchasing model can provide teams with the flexibility to select and purchase the tools that best meet their needs, without having to wait for approvals or navigate bureaucratic purchasing processes, it can create challenges for the company. This can include reduced buying power, higher costs, lack of control over vendor relationships, and increased compliance and legal risks.

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Zero-Based Budgeting

What is zero-based budgeting?


Zero-based budgeting is an accounting technique that requires all expenses to be justified and approved for each financial period, starting from zero rather than a pre-existing spend. This enables organizations to monitor and assess the necessity of each cost on a more granular level, lowering expenses and promoting fiscal responsibility.


Originally conceived in the 1970s, zero-based budgeting isn’t a new idea — but in the current economic climate, accounting for every dollar is helping businesses to regain control over their outgoings. The technique can be applied to a wide range of costs, from research and development to asset management.

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