What is Odoo? An Honest Review
Odoo is a modern, full suite ERP product. An open-source business management software that covers all the needs of small, medium and large businesses alike. This all-in-one ERP software includes CRM, eCommerce, accounting, inventory, point of sale and project management business applications, making it an impressive product that surpasses the traditional ERP Software.
The goal of Odoo has been to design a product that could be tailored to the needs of any organisation and compete with products like SAP. Over the years, Odoo has widely been seen to have achieved that goal.
In terms of business scope, Odoo has been positioned to compete with the biggest players in the ERP market like SAP, Microsoft Dynamics and Netsuite. The key differentiator for Odoo however, is it’s ease of use. Odoo is an extremely easy application to use and the usibility scales consistently across all Odoo modules and applications, providing the user with all the tools that they need in one application.
Another differentiator of note is that Odoo regularly (annually) releases updates across the entire suite, which means Odoo evolves faster than any other solution we have seen before.
An ERP is the backbone of a business. ERP tools enable businesses to improve performance while simplifying operations because they allow for a streamlined workflow and eliminate a number of pain points in day-to-day operations. However, not all tools are created equal and if you’re implementing a system of such importance, it is critical that the solution is a good fit now but also has the ability to scale and grow over the next 15 years.
What attracted me to Odoo is the simplicity of a really powerful and rich application. It's Cloud based so you can deploy it over Cloud. It also runs on a browser, you can deploy it on premise. If you think about how our phones operate today, all of us have got app based phones, like Android or Apple, everything is app based. Well, that's Odoo. Odoo is app based. If you want to download and install the help desk functionality, there's an app for it. Or if you want invoicing or sales management, there's a module or app for it." - Awie Van den Berg, Director of Enabling
Odoo has over 7 million users globally. Yet in NZ, there are very few. Why?
Odoo is one of the fastest growing ERP systems in the world and just 3 to 4 years ago, was not known in the NZ market at all.
There are two main reasons for the low uptake of Odoo in NZ:
1. Odoo's Open Source, Belgium Origin
Open source software has never been a leader in the NZ market and most businesses are very much Windows based. It is evident that those countries where free/open source software is appealing are where so many of Odoo’s initial users come from. Along with dev offices in Belgium, the differing time zones made support difficult and slow.
The tide turned however, once Odoo set about becoming a fully commercialised offering by providing a formal release with a powerful sales and marketing engine. Backed up with full support and offices around the world, Odoo is burgeoning with users and quickly grew from 3 to 7 million users within a few years.
2. Localised Investment & Knowledge
Introducing an ERP system as an offering takes a lot of effort and expense. Hence there has been a lack of credible, experienced vendors in NZ with the ability to make the investment required to take Odoo to the nation as a viable ERP solution.
We have trained and built our resources up to where they are now.
Odoo was not localised for the specific needs of New Zealand businesses and therefore significant investment was first required to tailor this powerful ERP system to those needs. Enabling has since built these localised functionalities, and are taking this product to New Zealand businesses nationwide.
After selecting Odoo as our flagship product, Enabling entered the market with the product not as a side solution but as our primary company offering. This means we do Odoo differently. More professional, more focused.
How can you benefit from Odoo's relatively minor presence in New Zealand?
Becoming an early adopter of Odoo in NZ provides a significant advantage to any industry by improving, automating and applying efficiencies to business processes whilst developing a single platform that will allow for rapid growth.
Odoo offers a full suite of ERP functionality that has the capability to develop and customize to fit the needs of any business. For this reason, Odoo has been the ERP solution sought by small and medium sized companies who are growing quickly and need a flexible solution.
One of the differentiators of the Odoo solution is that it offers an incredible range of modules and applications to give it its market-leading flexibility. Businesses can configure the Odoo system specifically to their requirements through its choice of modules.
A Single, Cost-Effective Modular Solution
What Customers Are Saying
Some of the benefits we hear our customers reflect about Odoo include:
It is easy to extend
Odoo is super convenient being a fully cloud-based solution
It has a wide feature set that can be configured to each specific department
What’s important is that if you are looking for a new ERP solution, and especially one like Odoo, that you explore those aspects or features which will impact your specific circumstances and requirements.
7 Key Features Of Odoo
1. Open Source Model
What we love about Odoo is that its open source model allows it to stay relevant with the speed of light changes in the business performance world. Odoo was built and developed to follow the fast moving focus and needs of companies in growth mode. So, add new applications to enhance and support business performance as you need it, with ease!
2. Wide Range Of Core Modules
The core modules in Odoo ERP include: Accounting, Project Management, MRP, POS, CRM, eCommerce, Reporting, Timesheets and Inventory Management.
3. API Friendly
Odoo’s other perk is that it is very API-friendly. This allows it to seamlessly integrate with other applications. Imagine connecting Odoo with everyday applications like Amazon, QuickBooks, WhatsApp, and about 16,000 other 3rd party apps.
4. Cost Effective
From a cost and usability perspective, it allows you to start small and basic, then add on more modules or apps as you need them, ensuring your ERP solution is efficiently bringing you the very best to your business.
5. Customer Support
Odoo’s customer support is legendary. It’s often the key difference between the best software vendors and the worst. Go to the Odoo website and score yourself a wide range of educational content and learning resources. It’s all free. A perfect starting point for those in your business who want to get their head around the Odoo solution and how it works.
6. Community
The open-source model for Odoo has additional benefits from a support standpoint. Open-source communities by nature are very generous with their time and help. There’s always several developer forums online that you can find. Reading through previous Q&A or asking new questions to the Odoo community is all part of the open-source experience, so you’re never alone.
7. User Friendly
Odoo has a modern and elegant technical design with usability that scales across all of their apps. Improvements are continuously and automatically applied to all apps, ensuring a top-notch, user-friendly design.
Odoo Pricing
ERP solutions for small to midsized businesses come with a hefty price tag. This is not the case with Odoo. Odoo can be applied with a relatively basic budget. However, it is not a matter of just plug and play with Odoo. Just like any comprehensive ERP system, it takes expertise to implement the right solution. There is a need to invest some budget into tailoring the software to your company’s needs, which is why most Odoo prospects come to Enabling.
What Are Odoo's Downsides?
Odoo does require a complex installation and setup. The initial learning curve is a steep one That is why working with a certified Odoo partner is so important. Installation and setup need to be done right the first time so that time and resources aren’t wasted.
Reviews on Odoo support are mixed. It is difficult to get the right answers directly from Odoo support for specific development related help. Combined with the time lag of offices on the other side of the globe, their customer service team is not going to be as responsive as you require them to be. Again, this is why working with a partner is so important. With the knowledge and experience in Odoo as a software as well as the specialised knowledge that is built throughout the implementation process, ongoing, available anytime, anywhere and specialised support is the responsibility of a value add partner.
We also found another perceived downside of Odoo is that it has a complicated pricing model. It is easy to see how one would arrive at this perception. After all, Odoo is an ‘add as you go’ software that means you only pay for the applications you need and you can add more at any time. Fortunately, there is a user friendly calculator on Odoo’s website where you can get an estimate of the monthly charges for each app you add to the system, making the pricing model much easier to comprehend.
Odoo Community vs Odoo Enterprise. What you need to know.
The Odoo Community version is a free, basic version of Odoo supported by open source software. Whereby Odoo Enterprise is a paid, licensed and shared version that is more flexible to business functionalities. The Enterprise version offers functional support, frequent version upgrades and the ability to utilise and integrate any of the Odoo apps available across Finance, Sales, Websites, Inventory & MRP, HR and Marketing. A table view of the comparison of these Odoo Editions is available here.
Should You Choose Odoo?
Odoo's open source platform has been a revelation. Skeptical at first, the entire Enabling team has developed a passion for the suite of business apps and their potential to see business grow, enabled by technology.
There’s never been an easier way to fully customise and automate business processes via one open source ERP solution.
The business processes that an ERP system will manage can be incredibly complex, making that initial investment and steep learning curve a downside to any ERP system. The flexibility, cost efficiency and usability of Odoo makes it a great ERP solution that will cover your needs today while also ensuring your needs over the next 15 years can be planned for and met.
Based on implementations to date, customer feedback and decades of expertise in implementing and crafting ERP solutions for businesses across Australasia, Enabling recommends Odoo as the #1 ERP software solution.
Left wondering if Odoo is the right ERP for your business?
Whichever form of contact suits and wherever you may be across New Zealand, Australia or the Pacific Islands, we'll endeavour to have one of our consultants touch base with you as soon as possible for no obligation chat.