Industries We Serve
AWS Consulting for SaaS Companies
Multi-tenant architecture, SOC 2 readiness, deployment automation, and AWS cost optimization built for SaaS teams scaling from seed to Series B and beyond.
SaaS on AWS
The infrastructure challenges every SaaS team faces.
SaaS companies on AWS face three compounding challenges: designing tenant isolation that satisfies enterprise security reviews, maintaining deployment velocity as teams grow, and controlling AWS cost as the user base scales. Forged Concepts builds AWS infrastructure for SaaS companies with these constraints in mind: ECS or EKS for container workloads, RDS/Aurora for relational data, CloudFront for global delivery, API Gateway or AppSync for the API layer, Cognito for authentication, and Secrets Manager for credentials.
Multi-tenant isolation is designed from the start, not bolted on after the first SOC 2 request. SOC 2 evidence (CloudTrail, Config, GuardDuty, and access control documentation) is built into the CI/CD pipeline and observability stack, not assembled in the week before an audit. The 6 to 12 month observation period starts when the controls go live. Start before you need the report.
Tenant isolation
Designed at the account, VPC, or application layer, not retrofitted.
SOC 2 controls
CloudTrail, Config, GuardDuty, and documented CI/CD change management.
Cost per tenant
Cost Allocation Tags + CUR for true unit economics by customer.
Architecture
Multi-tenant isolation on AWS.
The core SaaS infrastructure decision is how to isolate tenants. There are three common patterns, each with real tradeoffs in compliance scope, operational overhead, and cost per tenant. Forged Concepts designs the isolation model that fits your requirements, not the model that's easiest to build.
Account-per-tenant provides the strongest blast radius containment and the cleanest audit boundary, but requires AWS Organizations and Control Tower to manage at scale. VPC-per-tenant is the practical middle ground for dozens to low hundreds of tenants. Shared infrastructure with row-level security works for high-volume SaaS where per-VPC isolation is economically impractical.
| Model | Description | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Account-per-tenant | Each customer gets a dedicated AWS account | Strict compliance, enterprise contracts, highest isolation |
| VPC-per-tenant | Shared account, isolated networks per tenant | Mid-market SaaS needing isolation without account overhead |
| Shared with app-level isolation | Single account and VPC, isolation enforced in application | High-volume, cost-sensitive SaaS |
AWS services
The AWS surface area for SaaS infrastructure.
| Requirement | AWS Service | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Container workloads | ECS (Fargate) or EKS | Scale independently per task; no EC2 management with Fargate |
| Relational database | RDS / Aurora (Multi-AZ) | Managed failover eliminates single-node database risk |
| Global content delivery | CloudFront | CDN + origin shield for APIs, assets, and presigned S3 URLs |
| API layer | API Gateway + AppSync | REST via API Gateway; GraphQL via AppSync |
| Auth / identity | Amazon Cognito | User pools, identity pools, MFA, and SAML enterprise SSO |
| DNS and routing | Route 53 with health checks | Latency-based routing with automatic failover |
| CI/CD pipeline | GitHub Actions / CodePipeline | Git push to production ECS or EKS in under 10 minutes |
| Secrets management | Secrets Manager | Automatic rotation; no hardcoded credentials in code |
| SOC 2 audit evidence | CloudTrail + Config + GuardDuty | API logging, configuration compliance, and threat detection |
| Cost visibility per tenant | Cost Allocation Tags + CUR | Per-customer cost analysis via Athena and CUR |
Compliance
SOC 2 for SaaS companies.
SOC 2 Type II evaluates whether your security controls operated effectively over a 6–12 month observation period, not just whether you have the controls documented, but whether they actually ran continuously. Enterprise buyers require Type II. The observation period starts when the controls go live.
Forged Concepts builds the technical foundations and helps you document the controls that auditors examine. Start before you need the audit.
Key insight: The 6–12 month observation period starts when the controls are in place and running. Start building controls 6–12 months before you need the audit report, not when the enterprise deal is signed.
Records every API call across the account, the primary access log auditors examine
Continuously evaluates resource configurations against compliance rules; catches drift before the auditor does
Machine-learning threat detection that flags suspicious API activity, credential misuse, and network anomalies
Rotates database credentials and API keys automatically; eliminates hardcoded credentials
Documented deployment pipeline with approval steps, automated testing, and rollback satisfies change management controls
How we engage
Three ways SaaS teams bring us in.
Greenfield SaaS architecture
A correct AWS foundation from day one: tenant isolation model, IaC, CI/CD pipeline, and SOC 2-ready observability baked in.
Common when an early-stage team is building their first production AWS environment and wants to avoid a rewrite in 18 months when technical debt becomes structural.
Reliability, cost, and deployment overhaul
Targeted re-architecture of bottlenecks: deployment pipeline rebuilds, cost reduction, multi-AZ resilience, and observability that fires before customers notice.
Common when deployments take 45 minutes and everyone holds their breath, AWS spend is outpacing revenue, or an enterprise prospect is requesting SOC 2 documentation.
SOC 2 Type II readiness for enterprise sales
Technical controls plus auditor-facing documentation, with engagement continuing through the audit so the answers are immediate.
Common when an enterprise contract requires SOC 2 Type II and the 6 to 12 month observation period needs to start now, not when the deal closes.
FAQ
Common questions about AWS for SaaS.
What is multi-tenant AWS architecture?
Multi-tenant architecture means multiple customers (tenants) share the same AWS infrastructure. The key decision is how to isolate them: account-per-tenant (dedicated AWS account per customer; strongest isolation, highest overhead), VPC-per-tenant (shared account, isolated networks), or shared infrastructure with application-level isolation (single VPC, isolation enforced in code). The choice affects compliance scope, cost per tenant, and operational complexity. Forged Concepts designs the isolation model that fits your compliance requirements and tenant count.
How do I prepare my AWS environment for SOC 2 Type II?
SOC 2 Type II evaluates whether your security controls operated effectively over a 6–12 month observation period. For AWS-based SaaS, the key controls are: access logging (CloudTrail), configuration compliance (Config), threat detection (GuardDuty), secret rotation (Secrets Manager), and evidence of change management in your CI/CD pipeline. Forged Concepts builds the technical foundations and helps document the controls that auditors examine.
What AWS services are used for SaaS applications?
Compute: ECS Fargate or EKS for containers, Lambda for serverless. APIs: API Gateway (REST) or AppSync (GraphQL). Auth: Amazon Cognito. Database: RDS/Aurora (relational), DynamoDB (NoSQL). CDN: CloudFront. DNS: Route 53. CI/CD: GitHub Actions or CodePipeline. Secrets: Secrets Manager. Compliance: CloudTrail, Config, GuardDuty. Cost: Cost Allocation Tags + CUR.
What is Amazon Cognito?
Amazon Cognito is AWS's managed user authentication and authorization service. It handles user pools (sign-up, sign-in, MFA), identity pools (federated identities, social login), and integrates with API Gateway and AppSync for request authorization. For SaaS applications, Cognito eliminates the need to build and maintain a custom auth system. It handles token management, refresh flows, and integrates with SAML for enterprise SSO.
How do I control AWS cost per tenant in a SaaS application?
Cost per tenant requires cost allocation tags applied to every AWS resource with a tenant identifier, plus the Cost and Usage Report (CUR) analyzed with Athena to aggregate cost by tag. This gives you a cost-per-customer view that informs pricing decisions and identifies unprofitable tenants. Forged Concepts implements the tagging strategy and CUR analytics as part of SaaS infrastructure engagements.
Can you help with GDPR compliance for SaaS on AWS?
Yes. GDPR compliance for SaaS on AWS involves: storing EU customer data in EU regions (eu-west-1, eu-central-1), encrypting PII at rest with KMS, implementing data deletion capabilities (right to erasure) in RDS or DynamoDB, and configuring S3 lifecycle policies for data retention. AWS provides a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) to satisfy GDPR Article 28 processor requirements.
What is a CI/CD pipeline for SaaS?
A CI/CD pipeline for SaaS automates the path from code commit to production deployment: running tests, building container images, pushing to ECR, and deploying to ECS or EKS using blue/green or canary strategies. Forged Concepts implements pipelines that reduce deployment frequency from weekly to daily or multiple times per day, with zero-downtime rollouts and automated rollback on health check failure.
Do you help SaaS companies prepare for enterprise sales?
Yes. Enterprise SaaS sales require security documentation that buyers review before signing: SOC 2 Type II report, security questionnaire answers, penetration test results, and incident response plan. Forged Concepts builds the AWS technical foundations (CloudTrail, Config, GuardDuty, IAM documentation) that feed into all of these.
What is the difference between SOC 2 Type I and Type II?
SOC 2 Type I is a point-in-time snapshot. It validates that your controls are designed correctly as of a specific date. SOC 2 Type II evaluates whether those controls operated effectively over a period of time (typically 6 to 12 months). Enterprise buyers almost always require Type II. Forged Concepts helps SaaS teams build the AWS infrastructure and operational processes that generate the evidence Type II auditors require.
Ready when you are
Need senior AWS expertise without building a full internal team?
Forged Concepts helps growing companies improve AWS performance, control cloud costs, modernize infrastructure, and build with confidence. If your team needs stronger cloud architecture, better operations, or a clearer path forward on AWS, let's talk.