There are three common ways to host Odoo. A vendor-run online service is the simplest. Your own server gives the most control and the most work. Managed hosting sits between them: someone else runs the server, but your Odoo stays separate and can carry custom work. The right choice depends on how much customisation you need, where your data must live and who in your team can look after servers.
The three options
- Online service from the vendor. You log in and use it. There is little to maintain. The trade-off is less freedom: custom work is limited and the data lives where the vendor puts it.
- On-premise or your own cloud account. You or your team run the server. You choose the location and the rules. You also own patching, backups, monitoring and recovery.
- Managed hosting. A hosting team provisions, patches and watches the server for you, usually on a separate Odoo just for your business. It suits businesses with custom features or location needs but no wish to run servers.
How to choose
| If you… | Lean towards |
|---|---|
| Use standard apps and want the least effort | Online service |
| Need custom features or special add-ons | Managed or your own server |
| Must keep data inside your own account or premises | Your own server or cloud account |
| Have no one to patch and watch servers | Managed |
| Have a capable technical team | Any, including your own server |
Backups: the question that matters most
Almost every hosting choice looks fine until something fails. Ask:
- How often are backups taken, for both the database and the files?
- Where are they stored, and are they kept away from the live server?
- Has a restore ever been tested, or is it only assumed to work?
- How long would a full restore take, and who does it?
- How far back can you go if a mistake is found late?
A backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a backup.
Security questions to ask any host
- Is each business kept on its own database and resources, or shared?
- Who can log in to the server, and how are those logins protected?
- Is the database open to the whole internet, or only to approved connections?
- Are updates applied on a schedule, and are they tried on a practice copy first?
- Who is told if something looks wrong in the night?
- What is done after every upgrade to re-check access?
You do not need to understand every term. You need an answer that is clear and consistent. Vague replies are a warning.
Do not forget these
- Where the data sits. Some businesses must keep data in a certain region. Ask your accountant or adviser if rules apply to you, and tell the host.
- Exit. Can you take your database and files if you leave? In what form?
- Upgrades. Who tests your custom work when a new Odoo version arrives?
- Responsibility. Write down who does what, so nobody assumes.
Where Teapot Techies fits
Our hosting and security service covers all three patterns in the table above except the vendor’s own online service. We can manage it for you, run it inside your own cloud account, or set up a documented installation on your server and hand it over. Each client gets a separate Odoo, a practice copy for changes, and backups we rehearse restoring. If you already host elsewhere, we can review the setup. See how we work for how we handle support.