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One of the leading ERP systems in the marketplace is also one you may have never heard of. I'm going to provide an independent review of that software here today. My name is Eric Kimberling. I'm the CEO of Third Stage Consulting. We're an independent consulting firm that helps clients through their digital transformation journeys. And when we're evaluating potential ERP systems for clients, especially in the small and mid-market, Odoo ERP is one of the most popular and one of the most effective ERP systems for companies in that space. However, a lot of organizations haven't heard of the product. It used to be called Open ERP, which is an open-source ERP system. So it's one of the few open-source ERP systems that are viable and scalable for high-growth companies. And today, I want to provide an objective view of the pros and cons of that software.
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One of the biggest advantages of Odoo is its flexibility. It's built to be very modular and flexible. You can implement parts of the solution, you can implement the entire solution, and it gives organizations a good way to grow into the ERP system. So they don't necessarily need to bite off the entire system. And unlike its bigger ERP system counterparts, it is something that can be implemented piecemeal, and it allows you to grow into the ERP system. And not only does that modularity provide maximum flexibility, but so does the fact that it's open ERP, which means you can access the source code. You can change the software more easily than you can some of the other ERP systems in the marketplace. And it also allows for easier integration with some of the other systems out there. So if you need any third-party systems to bolt onto your core ERP system, it makes it a bit easier to do that. So if flexibility is something that you value as an organization, then Odoo ERP can be a great option.
One other thing that my team and I really like about Odoo is its ease of use. It's something that's not too hard to figure out. It's not rocket science. It doesn't require a huge amount of training to get used to. It's pretty simple. It's got a clean, slick GUI or user interface. So in terms of adoption and changing your organization and changing your technology, it can be a bit easier for organizations to learn and a bit more intuitive. In addition, it allows for non-technical types to support and maintain the system longer term. So if you need to integrate with other systems or if you need to change the general workflows of the general fields of the system, it allows non-technical types to be able to do that. So ease of use is something that's also a value to Odoo ERP.
In terms of cost and total cost of ownership, in particular, Odoo leads the pack in terms of its total cost of ownership. And part of that is because the software itself is priced generally lower than a lot of systems out there. It's not free. It's not completely open source in that regard, but it is something that typically is priced a bit lower than other systems out there. It's also one of the only ERP systems, if not the only ERP system I know of, where you can actually try it for free. You can try a limited version of the software for free just to get a handle for the look and feel, which is a pretty nice way to test it out and see if it might fit your capabilities or just to get a general feel for the product. And then when we look at the total cost of ownership, including the cost to implement the product, that cost can tend to be lower than other ERP systems as well, because of its ease of use and its ease of implementation. So all those things considered are something that give Odoo a leg up against much of its competition as it relates to total cost of ownership.
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Now, we've talked about a few positive things and strengths of Odoo, but one of the downsides or potential downsides of the product is scalability. So if you're an organization that's in high growth mode, or you're a larger organization, or you're a complex organization, you have a very high-level volume of transactions across the organization, it can be a bit limited. So some of the more complex, bigger organizations find that they've outgrown the system or the system just can't scale to meet their needs. Having said that, we see a lot of organizations in the small and mid-market that are high growth, that can reach millions, if not tens of millions of dollars in revenue, and still be able to leverage the capabilities and use the software to get maximum value out of it. So if your goal is to scale as an organization, you're extremely high growth, or you're a larger organization, you may find some of the functionality and the general scalability to be somewhat limited.
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Now, another consideration when you're evaluating any sort of ERP system is what kind of ecosystem is supporting that product. And Odoo is a relatively new company. It's not a brand new company, but it's not as established as some of the larger ERP vendors. And so, as such, they don't have quite as robust of a partner network, network of implementers, and people supporting the product, and third parties supporting the product. So that can be a consideration as well, is that you still need outside help. Even though it is easy to use, you'll still likely need some sort of outside consulting and help to implement the product. So making sure you identify potential partners and you're comfortable with potential partners in your part of the world is something you'll really want to dig into if you're considering Odoo. And this comment really varies by geography. We found that certain parts of the world have more robust partners and consultants and third parties in general that will support the product, whereas in some parts of the world, United States or North America, where I'm based, for example, you don't find quite as much support yet for the product. But having said all that, it's something you want to consider as part of your evaluation.
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So despite the fact that there aren't a lot of third-party consultants and resellers and implementers that support the product, there are a lot of organizations out there using Odoo. There's a fairly large install base, which is a good indicator of the overall vendor viability as an organization, or Odoo as an organization, as well as the R&D dollars that they're spending on the product. You always want to look at how many companies out there are using the product. You don't want to invest in a software where there's not a lot of companies using it, because that means less R&D and less advancements and innovation in the future. With Odoo, they do have a fairly large install base, which gives them R&D dollars and it gives buyers comfort that there's going to be innovation in the future. And one other side note is that of all the ERP systems out there, I would say that Odoo probably has the most cult-like following of any ERP system out there. A lot of people are adamant about the strengths of Odoo. I get messages all the time about people wanting me to do reviews of Odoo like this one, people commenting how great Odoo is. So I think there's a lot of companies out there, a lot of consultants and individuals out there that feel very strongly about the value of Odoo.
Now, one other thing to consider, one caveat, if you're looking at Odoo, is to think about, do we have the internal resources to support an open-source system, a system that we may need to maintain and support more than some other types of ERP systems out there? So while on one hand, it's an easy product to use, there's a nice user interface that's easy to figure out, it allows even non-technical types of people to maintain the system and support the system, it does make it a little bit more challenging if you're a smaller, high-growth organization to ensure you have the right level of capabilities to be able to support the product, because there's likely going to be more pressure on your internal IT resources and even some non-IT resources to be able to support the product in your organization longer term.
So if you're a smaller mid-size organization, Odoo ERP is one that I typically would recommend for a shortlist if you're looking for some of the strengths that I mentioned here today, such as flexibility and you're looking for ease of use and that sort of thing. Odoo can be a great option. But regardless of which direction you go, it's always good to get an independent view and a comparison of Odoo against other ERP systems out there. So I encourage you to check out some of the resources we've included below. I've included a link to Odoo comparisons to other products, some videos that we've created that compare Odoo to other products in the marketplace. You may find that helpful. And I've also included a link to our 2020 ERP report, which includes a ranking of the top ERP systems in the marketplace, as well as some of the best practices you should be thinking about as you embark on your ERP implementation. So I hope you found this information useful, and I hope you have a great day.