Introduction
When a new database is set up with Odoo, the question arises as to how the system is hosted. Odoo offers 3 variants on its Pricing-Seite :
Cloud Hosting
On Premise Hosting
Odoo.sh Cloud Platform
At first glance, it is not clear which advantages and disadvantages each hosting variant brings with it. In the following lines we will go into detail about each hosting variant and inform you about the advantages and disadvantages. The following article makes no claim to completeness, but reflects our experiences from various customer projects.
Cloud Hosting
Odoo understands cloud hosting as the classic SaaS (Software as a Service) hosting, in which access to a web system (Odoo) is provided without the client having to worry about any configuration. After a short registration, the system is ready and can be used immediately.
This solution is widely used for smaller projects that do not have special process requirements, partly because Odoo offers this service free of charge! However, there is a decisive disadvantage here: no external modules can be installed via the Cloud Hosting variant, customising of all Odoo properties is only possible via
Odoo Studio or
Editing the XML files, e.g. for reports or views.
This type of customising may be sufficient in many scenarios, but unfortunately it quickly reaches its limits - for example, when changes are made to the data model not only to add fields but also to change the process flow depicted in them. Since no 3rd party modules can be installed via the cloud hosting variant, all modules available via the Odoo App-Store are also excluded.
Advantages:
Cloud hosting is offered free of charge with Odoo in connection with an Enterprise licence.
Fast and uncomplicated setup
Data security guaranteed by Odoo
Odoo Support can access the database if necessary and provide better assistance
Disadvantages:
No customising possible via individual modules or modules from the Odoo 3rd party app store
Limited possibilities to restore backups
Limited possibilities to set up test systems
No choice of Odoo release number used
Can only be used with Odoo Enterprise Edition
Costs:
Free of charge (included in Enterprise version)
Suitable for:
Companies with a small number of users who want to use a reliable solution at low cost without (or with very limited) customising.
Odoo "Hosting on site" (On-Premise)
With the hosting variant "Hosting on-site" Odoo is classically hosted on a self-administered server. The associated web server can be a Windows or Linux machine. In addition, Postgres must be installed as a DB management system on the same machine or on an additional server. Of course, with this variant you can freely choose whether the server actually exists "on site" or is rented as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) from a cloud service provider
In this case, the data is located on the company's own server - which many companies prefer. The fact that the data is stored in the company's own database management has another major advantage: direct access to the database tables is possible via an SQL editor. This means, for example, that external BI tools can be directly attached to Odoo and individual analyses can be created (if the use case cannot already be handled directly via Odoo).
Of course, in this case the customer or his service provider bears the responsibility for the server configuration or backup management, which means additional administrative effort.
Advantages:
Hosting provider of choice can be used (keyword "regionality")
Data is stored on own server
Direct access to database possible
Only variant that can be used with the Odoo "Community Edition
Disadvantages:
More administrative effort for setting up the server and setting up a backup strategy.
E-mail functionalities that are available via other variants cannot be used.
Scaling more difficult with barebone servers
Updates of the Odoo source code have to be imported manually
Costs:
Individual according to setup
Suitable for:
Companies that want to use Odoo Community Edition or companies that focus on knowing exactly about the underlying server infrastructure.
Odoo.sh
https://odoo.sh/ is an innovative solution from Odoo that offers cloud hosting at Odoo, but still allows the greatest possible freedom. With https://odoo.sh%2C/ individually created modules or modules from the Odoo App Store can be uploaded to a Git repository managed on Github. Odoo automatically synchronises with this Git repository and offers the possibility of running different Git branches (roughly speaking, different versions of the code) on different systems. Basically, Odoo distinguishes between 3 types of systems:
Development systems: Empty databases on which the current development status can be quickly tested.
Staging systems: When changing from a development system to a staging system, Odoo copies the live database beforehand and offers the possibility to test freshly added modules on a test server with (a copy of) live data.
Productive system: The actual system with which your employees work.
Development statuses can be moved between the different systems via a simple drag-and-drop interface. This enables extremely efficient development processes and comprehensive (partly automated) testing.
The server location can also be selected at https://odoo.sh/ (at least by continent). This ensures that the DSGVO guidelines are adhered to and the proximity to the location reduces latency times.
Odoo creates daily backups of the database, which can be restored within seconds at the push of a button.
Advantages:
Servers perfectly tuned to Odoo without administrative effort.
Possibility of importing individual code and easy administration
Use of the Odoo email servers
Well implemented backup system
Test systems offer additional features such as the possibility of "catching" e-mails and not sending them to the actual recipient (for test purposes)
Permanent monitoring by Odoo
Automatic minor release update
Odoo support can access the current database if necessary (e.g. for troubleshooting)
Disadvantages:
Direct database access only possible via the https://odoo.sh/ shell interface.
The release version of https://odoo.sh/ may be a maximum of 3 months old, after which it is automatically updated to the latest release (which usually means advantages, however, as newer releases close security gaps).
Costs:
https://odoo.sh/ is charged according to 3 parameters: Number of "workers", number of "staging environments" and "storage space". In a typical environment for a medium-sized company in the low 2-digit user range (1 worker, 1 staging environment, 10GB of storage), the hosting costs in this case are approximately € 62.
More information about https://odoo.sh/ and its features can be found here: Odoo.sh
Suitable for:
Companies looking for a reliable, easily scalable and affordable hosting solution and need customising.
Conclusion
Every hosting option has its pros and cons, but our clear favourite is https://odoo.sh%2C/ as we believe it combines the best of all worlds and enables extremely efficient development and testing processes. In addition, compared to hosting with a cloud provider, this variant is also very interesting and competitive from a cost perspective.
In all cases, Odoo strives not to create a vendor lock-in. The underlying Postgres database can be downloaded in all hosting variants and migrated to another hosting variant.
(Credit: Cover by İsmail Enes Ayhan on Unsplash)
