Odoo is launching Odoo 8 – software for business use that’s moved beyond ERPs. A few months after its rebranding from OpenERP to Odoo, the company has now released as open source new applications that extend well beyond the traditional realm of ERPs. As such, it has now surpassed traditional ERP vendors to compete in a unique category, covering all business application needs for companies.
Ten years ago, while at university, Fabien Pinckaers had a dream about disrupting the ERP market, dominated for decades by the likes of SAP. He wanted to make business software more affordable and easy to use. That’s when Odoo was born.
However, Fabien knew he wasn’t going to be able to realise his goal on his own. Could David really beat Goliath? Using the open source model to draw on the talent of over 1,500 developers, the ERP went through a series of versions – each one getting better and better over time.
It took 10 years to build a complete suite of apps, starting with traditional ERP functions like accounting, warehousing, CRM and the likes, and build a network of more than 500 partners globally that help thousands of companies and 2 million users to benefit from Odoo.
Now one of the last piece is in place, with the launch of key modules that extend into digital marketing.
Fabien says, “Millions of small businesses worldwide can’t afford an integrated application to run and grow their company as they can’t afford licenses from traditional players. We’re happy to disrupt that market and offer a superior solution for them that extends beyond ERPs. Companies not only need an ERP but a complete solution that help them to take advantage of the digital opportunity. We believe we have reached a turning point, not only for Odoo, but for the open source community, which has proven it can not only equal traditional software vendors but surpass them.”
The latest version of Odoo includes:
- A CMS for companies, to build a own professional, mobile-friendly website using unique inline editing and building blocks – no technical knowledge required.
- A quote builder to rapidly make, send and get approval on quotations featuring templates and electronic signatures.
- An ecommerce platform – including taking online payments and increasing your sales with the app’s built-in cross-selling & upselling features
- A revamped Business Intelligence, which provides a 360° view on any business data in the system, with the ability to get both the big pictures and details in a few clicks
- A complete suite of Marketing Apps that help you stay connected with customers/leads such as Live Chat, Survey, Events and Email Marketing!
All these new apps are tightly integrated with each other – which means that contact forms go into your CRM, job openings are posted online and applications flow into HR systems.From attracting visitors and leads down to accounting, business managers do not have to worry about integrating various systems and compatibility issues.
Odoo goes beyond ERP into Digital Marketing