Odoo Gives You Choices, and Each One Moves Work onto Your Team
Online, Odoo.sh and on-premise hosting divide the upgrade and maintenance burden differently. Know who carries it before go-live, not after.
Odoo Gives You Choices, and Each One
Moves Work onto Your Team
Moves Work onto Your Team
Online, Odoo.sh and on-premise hosting divide the upgrade and maintenance burden
differently. Know who carries it before go-live, not after.
differently. Know who carries it before go-live, not after.
Odoo’s own hosting guide draws clear lines. Odoo Online is run by Odoo and is available only
with Enterprise. On-premise is open to Community and Enterprise and allows customization,
but the customer carries infrastructure, security, backups and updates. Odoo.sh sits between
the two, with cloud-hosted databases and room for custom development
[1]
. Upgrades follow
with Enterprise. On-premise is open to Community and Enterprise and allows customization,
but the customer carries infrastructure, security, backups and updates. Odoo.sh sits between
the same split. On Odoo Online the customer requests an upgrade once Odoo has run a test;
on Odoo.sh the production upgrade runs when a commit is pushed, and custom modules must
already be compatible with the target version; on-premise, the customer runs the upgrade
command on its own machine
[2]
.
Figure 1.
Support life of an Odoo major version and the cadence of minor versions, from Odoo’s upgrade
documentation
[2]
.
1. Who owns the custom code?
on Odoo.sh the production upgrade runs when a commit is pushed, and custom modules must
already be compatible with the target version; on-premise, the customer runs the upgrade
Odoo’s documentation is plain on this. When a new version breaks a customization, it is the
responsibility of the maintainer of the custom module to make it compatible, and the
Enterprise upgrade service covers standard apps and Studio customizations but not
unmaintained in-house or third-party modules
[2]
. The same page lists what a tested upgrade
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responsibility of the maintainer of the custom module to make it compatible, and the
Enterprise upgrade service covers standard apps and Studio customizations but not
should check, from reports and mail templates to purchasing, invoicing and integrations.
Someone has to own that checklist every time a version changes. Industry guides place the
end of an implementation project at the handover from hypercare to regular support
[3]
, and
this is the work that handover leaves behind.
2. A small team cannot cover every edition
Someone has to own that checklist every time a version changes. Industry guides place the
Community on your own servers calls for system administration as well as functional skill.
Enterprise or Odoo.sh trades some of that load for license and platform cost but still needs
people who can configure, extend and test. A 2021 Gartner survey found 64 percent of
information technology executives naming talent shortage as the most significant barrier to
adopting emerging technologies
[4]
, which is the market any permanent hiring plan competes
in.
Figure 2.
Left: Gartner
[4]
, SHRM
[6]
and Deloitte
[5]
, each measuring a different group. Right: median ERP project
timeline and cost
[7]
and median time to fill a position
[6]
. Panorama surveyed 131 organizations.
3. Skills on demand rather than on payroll
Enterprise or Odoo.sh trades some of that load for license and platform cost but still needs
people who can configure, extend and test. A 2021 Gartner survey found 64 percent of
information technology executives naming talent shortage as the most significant barrier to
Deloitte’s 2024 Global Outsourcing Survey, covering more than 500 executives, found skilled
talent and agility now sitting beside cost reduction as reasons to outsource, with 80 percent
planning to maintain or increase their investment in third-party services
[5]
. For Odoo, that
suggests keeping ownership of requirements and data in house while renting the specialist
capacity that upgrades and custom modules demand.
Orpington Technologies’ ERP staff
augmentation
offers that, with certified consultants joining the client’s team for as long as the
work needs them.
Table 1. Odoo hosting and upgrade terms at a glance
Item
What the vendor states
Source
Odoo Online
Run by Odoo and available only with Enterprise.
[1]
Odoo.sh
Cloud-hosted databases with room for custom development; the
production upgrade runs when a commit is pushed.
[1]
[2]
On-premise
Open to Community and Enterprise; the customer carries
talent and agility now sitting beside cost reduction as reasons to outsource, with 80 percent
infrastructure, security, backups and updates, and runs the
upgrade command itself.
[1]
[2]
Major version support
Three years of support, then two more years to finish the
upgrade; minor versions roughly every two months.
[2]
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upgrade command itself.
Orpington Technologies | ERP Staff Augmentation Insights
Table 2. Four questions for any Odoo support partner
Question to ask
Why it matters
Who employs and vets the consultant?
Keeps payroll and compliance off your books and puts
credential checks in expert hands.
Is the consultant strong in the edition
and hosting model you run?
and hosting model you run?
Community on-premise, Enterprise and Odoo.sh make
different demands on a consultant.
different demands on a consultant.
Who will keep custom modules
compatible with each version?
compatible with each version?
Odoo places that duty on the maintainer of the module; agree
the answer up front.
What happens if the fit is wrong?
A replacement commitment turns a hiring mistake into a
scheduling problem.
4. Where Orpington Technologies fits
the answer up front.
Odoo is among the platforms Orpington Technologies covers, with functional consultants,
technical developers including Python, and program roles such as data migration, testing and
change management. The consultants are credentialed by certified ERP practitioners, the same
reviewers who audit implementations, and they stay on Orpington’s payroll while working
remotely under the client’s direction.
technical developers including Python, and program roles such as data migration, testing and
change management. The consultants are credentialed by certified ERP practitioners, the same
reviewers who audit implementations, and they stay on Orpington’s payroll while working
remotely under the client’s direction.
Three matched candidates arrive roughly four weeks after the engagement fee is confirmed,
the monthly invoice is all-inclusive, and a 90-day replacement guarantee covers the fit risk.
Orpington’s own estimate puts the loaded cost of a direct hire at 1.25 to 1.4 times base salary
once employer tax, benefits and compliance are counted. For an Odoo team that needs steady
support, that is a strong choice, and the details are at
https://www.orpingtontech.com/erp-
staff-augmentation/
.
Sources & Further Reading
[1] Odoo – “Hosting types”
[2] Odoo Documentation – “Upgrade”
[3] ERP Research – “What Is Hypercare?”
[4] Gartner – “Gartner Survey Reveals Talent Shortages as Biggest Barrier to Emerging Technologies Adoption,”
September 2021
[5] Deloitte – “Global Outsourcing Survey 2024”
[6] SHRM – “2025 Recruiting Benchmarking”
[7] Panorama Consulting Group – “The 2024 ERP Report”
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the monthly invoice is all-inclusive, and a 90-day replacement guarantee covers the fit risk.
Orpington’s own estimate puts the loaded cost of a direct hire at 1.25 to 1.4 times base salary
once employer tax, benefits and compliance are counted. For an Odoo team that needs steady