SaaS (Software as a Service) is everywhere – with software publishers adopting it and the media reporting on it. Countless articles and sales pitches tout its benefits. In reality, it is often difficult to know which type of hosting is most suitable. When you’re talking about hosting the latest gimmicky application requested by the marketing team, the implications are less serious and a poor judgement call can be corrected. On the other hand, when it relates to the new Odoo ERP system, it is better to think the decision through carefully because any setback is often complicated to resolve.
In this article, we will look at which hosting option is most suitable for your Odoo ERP.
On-premise Hosting
To begin with, you should know that there are three main types of hosting for Odoo management software: on-premise, publisher cloud, and integrator cloud. Let’s start with on-premise hosting: what are the advantages and disadvantages?
On-premise hosting offers a number of benefits for the IT department. This is a mode of ERP hosting that gives the IT department full control over its IT infrastructure. All updates, additional modules and bespoke developments are therefore managed by the IT department. For example, if you have contractual commitments to your customers that require you to store your data on your own servers, this can be a major advantage.
Nevertheless, this option requires the IT department to take on a substantial workload. Of course, some of these tasks (such as updates) can be delegated to the integrator, but there are still significant resources (in terms of man-hours) that need to be budgeted for. In addition, the integrator will not be able to offer the same guarantees as it would if it managed your hosting from end to end. Moreover, if your business is growing quickly, hosting your ERP solution on your own premises will require you to make regular investments in new servers, and so on. And of course, all that comes at a cost!
The Odoo cloud
The integrator's cloud
To enjoy the benefits of SaaS hosting for Odoo without the disadvantages we’ve already highlighted, you can choose your integrator’s cloud. This is a much more cost-effective solution than on-premise mode because you avoid time-consuming maintenance and the costs of running your own IT infrastructure. Everything is managed by your integrator. It also gives you greater peace of mind when it comes to support. If you encounter a problem with your ERP system, your internal IT team will not be directly involved. Users can contact the support team provided by the integrator.
The same applies to Odoo updates: they will only be carried out with your agreement and with the assurance that custom developments will not be affected, for example by creating test environments first. This gives you greater confidence and lowers your risk. Depending on the contract you sign, your data can be backed up at regular intervals to multiple remote servers, and you can benefit from a guaranteed resolution time of less than 24 hours, for instance.