Deploying a shared application environment for a database-per-user architecture simplifies the operational aspects of SaaS applications but comes with trade-offs in user flexibility and data management. This approach involves deploying a single application environment shared among users, which offers simplicity and flexibility but requires a consistent schema version across all user databases, impacting the ability to stay on specific software versions. User authentication and data routing are centralized in a catalog database, which tracks user membership and database connections, ensuring that user requests are directed to the correct database. While this architecture eases maintenance by reducing the number of components needing updates, it requires careful planning for schema changes and can limit user control, especially when dealing with geographical or data residency constraints. The shared environment model is contrasted with isolated environments, which will be explored in the next article of the series.