The smarter your buildings get, the more control you need over your data 

The world generates approximately 402.74 million terabytes (TB) of data per day¹. In fact, Internet of Things (IoT) devices alone, such as smart monitors and industrial sensors, are expected to generate 73.1 ZB of data this year².

For large enterprise customers, such as hospitals, airports, and universities, this data explosion driven by AI and IoT represents new possibilities for automation, digital twin modeling, and real-time decision-making. But these opportunities create real challenges. 

The problem: 5 common challenges of multi-tenant environments

As enterprise infrastructure evolves, many organizations are realizing that multi-tenant cloud models can no longer keep up with the performance, compliance, and demands of AI deployments, leading to the following: 

  1. Data fragmentation: Streams of data from devices collected across cloud and edge can create silos, impacting operational efficiency. 
  2. Security vulnerabilities: Data in shared environments is at risk of cross-tenant breaches. 
  3. Compliance & data sovereignty: All services securing data must continue to stay compliant with geopolitical and industry regulations – e.g. GDPR or HIPAA. 
  4. Latency and performance bottlenecks: Real-time processing is critical for many IoT applications and inadequate infrastructure with growing data sets can create unpredictable latency a la Noisy Neighbor problem³. 
  5. Data ownership & control: Organizations may lose visibility into where and how their data is stored or processed. 

The solution: Willow’s single-tenant architecture 

To solve these challenges, leading enterprises must shift to single-tenant cloud architecture dedicated entirely to their own environment—Willow’s answer to these growing pain points. 

What does single-tenant mean for Willow? 

Willow’s single-tenant architecture enables a cloud computing model where each customer, or tenant, has exclusive access to the entirety of Willow’s software and its supporting Azure platform. This means that all your data, from IoT sensor data streams to insights generated from Skills to data visualization dashboards, are all secured in your own dedicated instance.  

Along the same lines, GenAI-driven Willow Copilot is grounded in data that resides only in your Willow instances—be it your knowledge graph or the documents you have uploaded and Copilot-enabled.

Fig 1. Simplified Willow Architecture illustrating your secure Single Tenant instance  

How does Willow deliver on data protection without compromising performance and scale? 

Take a look below to see how Willow handles these modern challenges.

Benefit How Willow’s single-tenant architecture delivers
Data Isolation All your data is stored in your dedicated environment. As data is ingested from IoT sources into the Willow graph for processing with skills, generating insights and work orders, risk of data leakage is minimized as all underlying services run within your instance.
Access Control Fine grained access control settings that you can configure as an admin for your Willow instance allows you to onboard other users in your org with control over individual user data access by defining roles and permissions.
Data Sovereignty Data sovereignty can be tailored to your requirements by standing up your Willow instance and the underlying Azure services in a geographical region of your choice, ranging across the US, Europe and Australia.
Auditability Logs and audit trails simplify monitoring and troubleshooting for connectors and pauses in IoT data feeds for your Willow instance.
Data Lifecycle Control Your instance is backed up periodically and can be securely restored when needed. Willow manages on your behalf how, when and where your data is stored, backed up, and deleted.
Fig 2: All your data for generating insights and grounding GenAI driven Willow Copilot resides in your single tenant instance
Fig 3. Data Sovereignty with Willow enables deployment across geographical regions

How Willow ensures performance and scale 

Benefit How Willow’s single-tenant delivers
Predictable Performance Because you are in your own instance with no other Willow customers, consistent response times are ensured.
No Noisy Neighbor Effect Other Willow customers’ spikes in usage of the underlying Azure services won’t degrade your instance’s performance.
Optimized Resource Allocation Willow can fine-tune resource allocation like CPU, memory, and settings specifically for your workload. This is particularly helpful for BMS integrations with large data sets, or as your deployment grows to tens or hundreds of buildings.
Improved Troubleshooting Performance issues are easier to diagnose since the environment is isolated.
Real-Time Processing Willow runs skills and generates insights on your real time data streams like occupancy data or HVAC monitoring and control, all of which are latency-sensitive.

 

Summary and key takeaways 

  • As organizations across the globe rely more on AI and IoT, shared environments can introduce real risks. From data security to system performance, multi-tenant models often fall short of what modern infrastructure demands. 
  • Willow’s single-tenant architecture gives you full control. Each customer runs in a dedicated environment. This isolates your data from others, reduces security exposure, and makes it easier to meet compliance requirements like GDPR and HIPAA. 
  • Your performance stays consistent as you grow. With exclusive access to computing and storage resources, your Willow instance delivers predictable performance no matter how much you scale out. 
  • Real-time data stays responsive and reliable. Whether you are generating insights from occupancy data or monitoring HVAC systems, a single-tenant setup helps ensure latency stays low and insights stay immediate. 
  • Your infrastructure scales with your needs. You can scale up during peak demand and expand your footprint over time. All of this happens while maintaining full ownership and visibility over your environment. 
  • A dedicated instance means fewer risks and better results. Single tenant is not just about data separation. It gives you the speed, protection, and flexibility needed to run AI-driven operations with confidence.

What can this kind of control unlock for your team? We look forward to hearing how Willow’s single-tenant architecture can power your next phase of growth. 

¹ Amount of Data Created Daily (2025)

² Internet of Things statistics for 2025 – Taking Things Apart

³ Noisy Neighbor antipattern – Azure Architecture Center | Microsoft Learn