Assuming you have chosen an automation platform for your company, with functionality that you are completely satisfied with, all the applications and features you need are available, but there is an important question whose answer could become a barrier to using this platform: Is the platform a cloud service, or can it operate on the company's own server?
Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, and the option desired by the company is unique to each business; it depends on the specifics of the company's way of working. Whether the company has qualified personnel to manage its own server. How many applications need to be used and how many active users are there? How much do you need to customise off-the-shelf applications to meet your own needs? How much time and other resources is the company willing to invest in the development of the platform? How quickly does the platform need to be deployed? The answers to all these questions are individual, so it is important that the technological capabilities of the platform do not restrict the needs of the company.
Odoo combines both, so your possibilities in this regard are limitless.
Odoo Server Configurations
Regarding the server structure, Odoo offers you 4 options:
1) Cloud platform. This is an ready-to-use solution. Minimal costs and time for implementation. With this option, you already receive the studio tool in the package, which offers the most extensive possibilities for creating your own applications, forms, and reports.
2) Cloud-Server odoo.sh. This is an option where you do not have to worry about server installation and maintenance while also gaining unlimited opportunities to develop your own application variants - with full access to the application's source code.
3) Own server on which the Enterprise version of Odoo is installed. This version is intended for the most advanced and demanding users who want full control over their automation platform.
4) Community version of Odoo on your own server. This is the free version of the Odoo platform. The free version has its advantages and disadvantages; there are applications where it is particularly justified, and perhaps the biggest advantage of this option is that there is a large number of developers working on this version, which ensures rapid development of the entire Odoo platform.
Examples
Let’s assume you are a small business just starting out, and you need to quickly automate key functions that are common to almost all businesses - accounting, customer contacts, invoicing and invoice dispatch, marketing campaigns. In this case, you opt for a ready-made cloud solution - and your business is automated in the basic functions within a few weeks.
Assuming your company has sensitive data that access must be strictly limited to. Then you are best served with an in-house server, where all data is under your complete control.
Assuming you do not want the platform's restrictions to limit your ability to automate your processes in any way, and at the same time you want all the latest developments of the automation platform to be available to you as quickly as possible. Then you should choose a cloud server on which you can create your software branch that is synchronised with the main branch of the platform developer.
You may only need a small number of applications, but an unlimited number of users. In this case, you can use the Community version of Odoo, where the number of users is not limited in any way.
Or you want to ensure that your system responds immediately regardless of the number of simultaneous accesses, and you want to be able to maintain unrestricted system performance when the load increases. The best solution is then to use a cluster of owned or rented servers.
Conclusion
As we can see, Odoo offers various options for server architecture. Of course, it can be difficult to assess all the possibilities and limitations of the individual solutions, so it is best to seek advice from experts.