Content Organization, User Management, and Access Control Strategies for Embedded Multi-Tenant Reporting in Bold Reports
When implementing an embedded multi-tenant reporting solution in Bold Reports, defining an effective content organization and access control strategy is essential for scalability, administration, security, and long-term maintenance.
As the number of tenants, reports, and users grows, organizations must determine how reporting content should be organized, how users should be managed, and how access to reports should be controlled. These decisions influence scalability, governance, administration, and the overall user experience.
Designing a successful multi-tenant reporting architecture involves more than deciding how reports connect to data. Organizations must also determine how reporting content is organized, how users are managed, and how access is controlled across tenants.
Although often discussed together, content organization, user management, and access control address different aspects of a multi-tenant reporting architecture. Understanding the relationship between these architectural decisions helps organizations choose an approach that aligns with their scalability, administration, and security requirements.
The two most common content organization approaches are:
- One Site per Tenant
- Single Master Site with Categories
Understanding the Architecture
Embedded Application
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Multi-Tenant Reporting Architecture │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
┌─────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
Content Organization User Management Access Control
│ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼
Report Structure User Lifecycle Permission Model
Content Organization
Content organization determines:
- How reports are organized.
- How shared and tenant-specific content is maintained.
- How report catalogs are structured.
- How content is deployed.
- How administrators manage reporting assets.
User Management
Content organization determines where reports are stored, while user management determines where users are maintained and authenticated.
Access Control
Access control determines who can view, manage, and administer reporting content.
Content Organization Models
Option 1: One Site per Tenant
In this approach, each tenant is assigned a dedicated Bold Reports site.
Architecture Flow
Master Site
│
┌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
Common Reports Shared Data Sources Shared Templates
│
▼
Content Publishing Process
│
┌─────────────────┴─────────────────┐
▼ ▼
Site: Company1 Site: Company2
│ │
┌──────┼──────┐ ┌──────┼──────┐
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
Reports Users Groups Reports Users Groups
│ │
▼ ▼
Schedules Schedules
Example Structure
Master Site
├── Common Reports
├── Shared Data Sources
├── Shared Templates
└── Deployment Source
Site: Company1
├── Tenant Reports
├── User Reports
├── Users
├── Groups
└── Schedules
Site: Company2
├── Tenant Reports
├── User Reports
├── Users
├── Groups
└── Schedules
Benefits
- Strong tenant isolation.
- Independent administration.
- Separate report catalogs.
- Separate schedules and settings.
- Easier tenant-specific customization.
Option 2: Single Master Site with Categories
In this approach, all content is managed within a single Bold Reports site.
Architecture Flow
Master Site
│
┌───────────────────┼───────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
Company1 Company2 Company3
Category Category Category
│ │ │
┌────┴────┐ ┌────┴────┐ ┌────┴────┐
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
Reports User Reports Reports User Reports Reports User Reports
│
▼
Shared Reports Library
Example Structure
Master Site
│
├── Company1
│ ├── Tenant Reports
│ └── User Reports
│
├── Company2
│ ├── Tenant Reports
│ └── User Reports
│
├── Company3
│ ├── Tenant Reports
│ └── User Reports
│
└── Shared Reports
Benefits
- Centralized administration.
- Easier onboarding.
- Reduced maintenance overhead.
- Simplified deployment.
User Management Models
Application-Managed Access
Architecture Flow
Application Users
│
▼
Application Authentication
│
▼
Application Authorization
│
▼
Generate Embed Token
│
▼
Bold Reports
Benefits
- Centralized user management.
- Reduced administration.
- Simplified architecture.
Synchronized Application Users
Architecture Flow
Application Users
│
▼
User Synchronization
│
▼
Bold Reports Users
│
▼
Groups
Permissions
User Profiles
│
▼
Embedded Reports
Benefits
- User-level permissions.
- Group-based access control.
- Hybrid administration.
Static Tenant Users
Architecture Flow
Application Users
│
▼
Tenant Resolution
│
▼
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
│
▼
Generate Embed Token
│
▼
Bold Reports
Benefits
- Simple administration.
- Tenant-level configuration.
- Common in embedded SaaS environments.
Access Control Models
Application-Managed Access Control
Architecture Flow
User
│
▼
Application Authentication
│
▼
Application Authorization
│
▼
Determine Accessible Reports
│
▼
Generate Embed Token
│
▼
Bold Reports
Benefits
- Centralized security management.
- No permission synchronization.
- Consistent authorization.
Bold Reports Managed Access Control
Architecture Flow
User
│
▼
Bold Reports User
│
▼
Group Membership
│
▼
Category Permissions
│
▼
Report Permissions
│
▼
Content Access
Benefits
- Built-in permission management.
- Delegated administration.
- Fine-grained report access control.
Recommended Architecture for Most Embedded SaaS Applications
Embedded Application
│
▼
Application-Managed Users
│
▼
Application-Managed Access Control
│
▼
Generate Embed Token
│
▼
Bold Reports
│
▼
Single Master Site
│
▼
Tenant Categories
│
▼
Reports
Recommendation
For most embedded SaaS applications, we recommend:
- Single Master Site with Categories
- Application-Managed Access
- Application-Managed Access Control
- Embed Tokens for secure report embedding
- Centralized report administration
Ultimately, content organization, user management, and access control should be selected independently based on business, operational, and security requirements. Together, these decisions form the foundation of a scalable embedded multi-tenant reporting architecture in Bold Reports.
