Odoo backs up your database every night. That backup lives at Odoo. With isorecover, our new service, we place an encrypted copy of it in a secure environment in Europe every night. With your key you can restore that copy wherever you want. And we regularly test that it actually works.
Backups used to be routine
When I started out, there was a server in the cupboard. Every night it ran a backup, of our own systems and our clients’ systems. Nobody thought twice about it. It was like locking the door.
Later I wrote a book, Cloudsource je ICT, about moving from your own servers to the cloud. I still stand by it. The cloud is better managed than most server cupboards ever were.
Still, something changed. We stopped thinking. We now lean entirely on the reliability of a few large cloud providers. That reliability is high. It is not 100%.
On 12 November 2026, Microsoft 365 was down for hours in more than seventy countries. Outlook and Teams stopped working. Microsoft said it was not a cyberattack: several servers failed and the rest became overloaded. Read the NOS report (Dutch). It happens to the best.
So a company that takes itself seriously asks one question: what do we do if our ERP is unreachable tomorrow? Maybe the answer is “we wait”. That is fine, as long as it is a conscious choice.
What is isorecover?
Isorecover is our new service for backing up, restoring and failing over your Odoo environment. It works in three steps.
- Copy. Odoo makes a backup every night: database plus files (the filestore). Isorecover automatically copies it to a secure environment at Scaleway in France.
- Key. The copy is encrypted. Restoring it requires the recovery key.
- Test. We regularly restore the backup on a staging branch of your Odoo. So we know it works.
With that key you restore the copy:
- back to Odoo.sh;
- to your own hardware, on your own server;
- or straight into the Scaleway cloud in France.
The restore test: the part that matters most
A backup you have never restored is an assumption. Almost every IT person knows the story of the backup that ran for years and, on the day it was needed, could not be restored.
That is why the restore test is part of the service. We restore the backup on a staging branch of your environment, start Odoo, and check that the database works and the files are readable. You get two things:
- certainty that the backup is usable;
- the time a recovery takes. You know it before you need it.
Ransomware you only spot months later
Ransomware attackers are in no hurry. They get in, look around and strike later. Sometimes they encrypt data slowly, file by file. You only notice after weeks or months.
The danger: all that time your backup keeps running. Every night it faithfully copies the damaged data. After a few months, every backup within the retention period is infected. They look fine, until you restore one.
That is why the restore test checks more than whether Odoo starts. We also check that the files are readable. You spot a problem as soon as it starts. Well before the day you need the backup.
Retention matters too. Odoo’s backups go back 3 months. Isorecover keeps 35 daily, 13 monthly and 7 yearly backups for as long as you use the service. Discover an attack six months in, and there is still a clean version from before it started.
October showed this is no theory. That month PHP2Shell came to light: two critical flaws in PHP, the language behind WordPress, Drupal and Joomla, among others. The first traces were found in a 2024 audit. Only in August 2026 did it become clear how attackers could exploit them, and by late October they were under active attack. Odoo runs on Python and is not affected. Your website or another server may well be. The lesson: a flaw can sit unnoticed in software for a long time. You never know exactly since when someone has been inside.
Why not just use Odoo’s own backup?
Credit where it is due: Odoo does this well. On Odoo.sh, Odoo keeps 7 daily, 4 weekly and 3 monthly backups across several data centers. Odoo’s security overview shows they take it seriously.
The issue is elsewhere. Everything sits with one party. The backup lives behind the same account and the same platform as your production. In most scenarios that is no problem. In a few it is:
When Odoo's own backup will not help you
- The platform or a data center is down, and with it the place your backup lives
- You cannot access your account: blocked login, expired subscription or a dispute
- Someone deletes data by mistake, and you notice after the retention period
- An attacker gets into your account, and with it into production and backups
- You want to fail over to another environment without waiting for anyone
A copy in a second place covers those scenarios. The industry calls it the 3-2-1 rule: three copies of your data, on two types of storage, one of them off-site. Isorecover is that off-site copy.
| Backup at Odoo | Isorecover | |
|---|---|---|
| Who makes the backup | Odoo, every night | Odoo, every night (we copy it) |
| Where it lives | Odoo’s data centers | Scaleway, France |
| Reachable without your Odoo account | No | Yes |
| Restore to | Odoo | Odoo.sh, own hardware or Scaleway |
| Retention | 3 months | Up to 7 years: 35 daily, 13 monthly, 7 yearly backups |
| Tested on your environment | No | Yes, on your staging branch |
Is it safe?
A copy of your ERP data is sensitive. It holds your customers, your books and your HR data. Three things keep it safe:
- Encrypted. The copy is stored encrypted. Without the recovery key it is an unreadable file.
- In Europe. The data stays in the EU, at Scaleway in France. Scaleway is a European company. Its data centers are ISO 27001 certified.
- Separated. The copy is isolated from production. Getting into your Odoo account does not get anyone into the copy.
One more point: Odoo is a Belgian company, but hosts partly with providers such as Google Cloud. For most businesses that is fine. If you want to show your data stays in European hands, a copy at a European provider is a welcome second line.
The objections, honestly
“Isn’t Odoo reliable?” Yes. Odoo promises 99.9% uptime and usually beats it. Think of isorecover as home insurance. You take it out while your house is perfectly fine.
“It costs money for something I hope never to need.” True. Isorecover is a paid service. The real question is what a day without ERP costs you: no orders, no invoices, no planning. Put those two numbers side by side.
“Yet another supplier.” The backup is a standard Odoo backup. Any Odoo partner or in-house IT person can restore it. You are not locked in to us.
“We are on Odoo Online.” Isorecover works with Odoo.sh and self-hosted Odoo. On Odoo Online? Call us and we will see what is possible.
“Our IT already handles this.” Great. Ask when the last restore test of your ERP was, and how long it took. If the answer is clear, you are done. If not, you know what to do next.
For the technical reader
- Source: the nightly backup Odoo makes itself. Database (PostgreSQL dump) plus filestore. We do not run a separate dump against production, so there is no extra load on your database.
- Storage: encrypted, at Scaleway in France, separated from your production environment.
- Retention: 35 incremental daily backups, 13 monthly and 7 yearly, for as long as you use the service.
- Recovery: with the recovery key to Odoo.sh, your own server or Scaleway.
- Verification: restore test on a staging branch of your Odoo.sh project. Start Odoo, check the database, check files are readable, measure recovery time.
Where to start
Start with one question: if Odoo is unreachable for a day tomorrow, what do we do? If you know the answer, good. If you hesitate, let’s talk.
Are you sure your Odoo backup can be restored? Get in touch about isorecover. We look at your environment together and schedule the first restore test. Prefer to call? Reach us on +31 20 730 3200.