What is Odoo - a brief history

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Odoo?

Odoo was founded in 2005 by Belgian developer Fabien Pinckaers, originally as Tiny ERP. It was renamed OpenERP in 2009 and has been called Odoo since 2014.

Where does the name Odoo come from?

Odoo refers to "On-Demand Open Object", the technical framework underneath the platform. The name replaced OpenERP in 2014, when website building, e-commerce and POS made the product broader than ERP alone.

How many users does Odoo have?

As of early 2026, Odoo counts over 16 million users in more than 120 countries. By late 2025 it was adding more than 13,000 new customers per month - making it the fastest-growing ERP vendor in the world.

What is the difference between Odoo Community and Enterprise?

Since version 9 (2015) Odoo runs an open-core model: Community is free and open source; Enterprise adds paid apps, hosting (Odoo Online and Odoo.sh) and official support.

Is Odoo bigger than SAP?

In number of companies and users in the SME segment, yes: no business software is installed more often. In revenue, no - SAP sits around €34 billion versus roughly €650 million for Odoo (2025). Odoo does grow about four times faster than the ERP market.

Since when is Odoo suitable for Dutch accounting?

In our experience since version 16 (late 2022): that is when bank integrations and the Dutch VAT and ICP filings matured enough for day-to-day accounting practice. For Radical Fanatics it was the moment to switch our services fully to Odoo.

Is Odoo an Indian company?

No - Odoo is a Belgian company (Odoo S.A.), founded in 2005 and headquartered in Grand-Rosière, Belgium. The confusion is understandable: Odoo runs a large development and support operation in India (around 800-1,000 employees, based in Gujarat), alongside offices in the US, Luxembourg, Dubai and Hong Kong. The product, the company and its ownership are European.

Which country owns Odoo, and where is my data?

Odoo S.A. is a Belgian company, so it falls under EU law and the GDPR. Founder Fabien Pinckaers is still the largest shareholder with effective control; minority investors include Summit Partners, Sequoia and Alphabet's CapitalG, but Odoo is not US-owned. For data protection that matters: Odoo Online and Odoo.sh can host your data in the EU (OVHcloud and Google Cloud data centres), and Odoo ships a built-in GDPR module for consent, access requests and the right to erasure.

Is Odoo open source?

Yes, on an open-core model. Odoo Community is genuinely open source (LGPLv3) - the full source is public and you can self-host it for free. Odoo Enterprise adds paid, proprietary modules, official support and hosting (Odoo Online, Odoo.sh) on top. So the foundation is open; the commercial edition layers closed modules over it.

Is Odoo an ERP?

Yes - at its core Odoo is an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): accounting, inventory, purchasing, manufacturing, sales and HR on one shared database. What sets it apart is breadth: it also covers website, eCommerce, POS, CRM, helpdesk and field service, so it is often described as a business platform rather than 'just' an ERP.

Is Odoo a CRM?

Odoo has a CRM - pipeline, lead scoring, activities, email integration - but CRM is one of 80+ apps, not the whole product. The advantage over a standalone CRM is that the same record flows into a quotation, a sales order, a project and an invoice without an integration in between. If all you need is a CRM, a focused tool can be simpler; if you want CRM connected to the rest of the business, that integration is the point.

Is Odoo safe?

Yes, for a mainstream ERP it is well-secured. Odoo holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification for its cloud infrastructure (Odoo Online and Odoo.sh, hosted on OVHcloud and Google Cloud), encrypts data in transit, hashes passwords, and offers role-based access down to field level, an audit trail and geo-redundant backups. Being open source also means the code is auditable rather than a black box. As always, real-world safety also depends on how your instance is configured and who has access.

Is Odoo actually good?

In our experience, yes - for the right fit. Odoo is strong for SMEs and mid-market companies that want one integrated platform instead of a patchwork of separate tools, with a modern interface and a price well below the enterprise suites. It is less of a fit if you need a deep, industry-specific system for a narrow niche, or if you expect it to work perfectly out of the box without configuration. The product is good; the outcome still depends on a well-run implementation.

What is Odoo bad at?

Honestly, a few things. Very large, highly complex enterprise scenarios can outgrow it. Some deep vertical niches are better served by specialist software. Heavy customisation makes version upgrades more work, so discipline matters. And quality varies enormously by implementation partner - the same software can land well or badly depending on who sets it up. None of these are dealbreakers for most SMEs, but they are the honest limits.