Odoo is a suite of business management software tools including, for example, CRM, e-commerce, billing, accounting, manufacturing, warehouse, project management, and inventory management. The Community version is a libre software, licensed under the GNU LGPLv3. The Enterprise version has proprietary extra features and services. The source code for the framework and core ERP modules is curated by the Belgium-based Odoo S.A. Odoo is available for both on-premise and ready to use SaaS environment. The source code for the OpenObject framework and the core ERP modules are provided by Belgium-based Odoo S.A. managed. The current open source release is version 15.0.
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.
In 2005, Fabien Pinckaers, the founder and current CEO 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 award for being the fastest-growing company in Belgium, with 1549% growth over a five-year period.
In 2014, the company was renamed Odoo, to diversify itself from the term "ERP". In 2015, Inc. Magazine placed Odoo in the top 5000 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 expects to hire 1,000 new employees, according to CEO Fabien Pinckaers.
