Odoo is a business management software suite developed in Belgium. It includes modules for

customer relationship management Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategic process that organizations use to manage, analyze, and improve their interactions with customers. By leveraging data-driven insights, CRM helps businesses optimize communication, enhance cus ...

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

, billing, accounting, manufacturing, warehouse operations, project management, and inventory management. In October 2022, Odoo S.A. announced changes to its enterprise edition licensing, switching from an application and user based license model to single user based license model which included all applications. Odoo is distributed in two editions: a Community edition, licensed under the GNU LGPLv3, and an Enterprise edition, which includes additional proprietary features and services. Odoo can be deployed on-premises or accessed through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.

Overview

From inception, Odoo S.A (formerly OpenERP S.A) has released the core software as open source. Since the V9.0 release, the company has transitioned to an

open core The open-core model is a business model for the monetization of commercially produced open-source software. The open-core model primarily involves offering a "core" or crippleware, feature-limited version of a software product as free and open- ...

model, which provides subscription-based proprietary

enterprise software Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), is computer software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than its individual users. Enterprise software is an integral part of a computer-based information ...

and cloud-hosted

software as a service Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike o ...

, in addition to the open source version. In 2013, the not-for-profit Odoo Community Association was formed to promote the widespread use of Odoo and to support the collaborative development of Odoo features. Odoo's extensible architecture allows a large number of freelancers and organizations to develop Odoo Apps or Modules and place them in the marketplace for sale or to be downloaded for free. The main Odoo components are the framework, about 30 core applications (also called official modules), and thousands of community modules. Odoo has been used as a component of university courses. A study on experimental learning suggested that Odoo (then known as OpenERP) provides a suitable alternative to proprietary systems to supplement teaching. Several books have been written about Odoo, some covering specific areas such as accounting or development.

Version support

The last three

Long-term support Long-term support (LTS) is a product lifecycle management policy in which a stable release of computer software is maintained for a longer period of time than the standard edition. The term is typically reserved for open-source software, where it ...

versions (LTS) are supported in parallel. This means that when a new, fourth LTS version is released, the oldest version will reach the end of its useful life and will no longer be supported. As an example, 16.0 LTS is supported along with 17.0 LTS and 18.0 LTS, but 16.0 will reach End of Life when 19.0 LTS is released.

History

In 2005, , the founder and current

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Odoo, started to develop his first software product, TinyERP. Three years later, the name was changed to OpenERP. The company started to grow quickly and in 2010, OpenERP had become a 100+ employee company. In 2013, the company won a

Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

award for being the fastest-growing company in Belgium, with 1,549% growth over five years. In 2014, the company was renamed Odoo, to differentiate itself from the term "ERP". The name 'Odoo' was chosen by then OpenERP after they saw a correlation between company valuation and the number of "O"s in the names of the top 10 internet companies in 2014. In 2015, Inc. Magazine placed Odoo in the top 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in Europe. In 2019, the company raised a $90 million investment. In 2021, Odoo products were used by more than 5 million customers. Odoo expected to hire 1,000 new employees, according to CEO Fabien Pinckaers.

Reception

Odoo has received industry recognition for powerful and versatile Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Before its name change, it received awards as OpenERP including

Trends A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors that ...

Gazelle,

Technology Fast 50 Award and the

InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (''IW'') is an American information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a Web-only publication. Its parent company is International Data Group, and its sister pu ...

's BOSSIE Award 2013. After changing its name to Odoo, it won consecutive BOSSIE Awards in 2014, 2015, and 2016.

References

External inks