Odoo 2020: Vision & Strategy - SISalpbrochures.sisalp.fr/Odoo_strategy_17_dec_2014_proposal.pdf ·...

STRICTLYCONFIDENTIALTOBESHAREDONLYWITHPERMISSIONOFODOOS.A.REPRESENTATIVES.

Odoo 2020: Vision & Strategy DRAFTDOCUMENTV0.5

PreambleCurrentsituationChannels,Product/Marketfit

Clearingtheboundariesbetweendirect/indirectClearboundariesRedefiningOdoosasserviceoffer

Indirect:AClearValuePropositionwithOdooEnterpriseOdooEnterprise:fromservicestofeaturesKeepingtheopensourcewayofworkingPricingofOdooEnterprise

PricingofOdooEnterpriseAvaluevsvolumeoffer

ScalingtheAppMarketplaceModulesImpactOfAllowingTheCommunityToSellModulesTheOdooSAMarketPlaceStrategy

OdooPartnershipsEvolutionoftheSaaSSummaryofactionsImplementationFAQ

Whatsthebestlicensetofitthemodel?Whatwouldbetheimpactforcommunitymodules?Isthisaneasychange?Willpeoplebeallowedtodownloadanopensourcemodulewithoutcontributing?Willtheappstorekillcollaboration?

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Preamble Overthelast10years,thesmallTinyERPhasgrownintoasolidOdoo ,deliveringagreat1

suiteofbusinessappsto50,000companiesworldwideandaglobalnetworkof630partners.Thecompanyisnowthemostdownloadedsuiteofbusinessapplicationsworldwidewith~2.650deploymentsperday.Inourquesttofindtheperfectopensourcebusinessmodel,weconductedadeepanalysisofthecurrentsituationandthepartnernetwork.Followingaseriesofbrainstormingsessionswithkeycustomersandpartners,wehaveidentifiedkeyimprovementstoallowOdootobecomemainstreamin2020.Asareminder,Odooisbuiltofthefollowingfundamentalpillars:

opensourcewebelieveinopensource,opensourcewillruletheworld.Morespecifically,thewayweseeopensourceisfreeasinfreedomofspeech,notasinfreebeerasustainablesystemrequiresfundingandhastobeopen/collaborative.

clarityofroles(community,partners,vendor,customers)allplayersarekeyandcontributetotheecosystem.Wetargetanoptimumforthewholeecosystem,thatmaynotbenotanoptimumforeveryactorindividually.

revenuesharingwebelieveinamodelinwhichtheaveragevaluedistributionisfairacrossallroles(85%partnersforonetoonecustomerservices/15%publisherforR&D/marketingandone2onemaintenanceservices).

2differentmarkets:thesmallSMEsmarket,lookingforanoutoftheboxsolution,andthelarger,mediumsizemarket,insearchofimplementationserviceandsupporttomakeasystemandprocessesmeettheirbusinessneeds.Thesearetwodifferentmarketsrequiringtwodifferentapproaches.BeingabletoaddressbothwillgiveaseriouscompetitiveadvantageinthefutureeaseofuserequiredbySMEsandadvancedfeaturesrequiredbybiggercompanies.

Asustainableecosystemshouldsatisfyallactorsofthesystem,i.e:

Customersgetalotofvaluethroughgreatproductsandservices Partners:getpaidfromtheirservices Publisher(Odoosa):getpaidforitsproduct,marketingandmaintenaceservice Community:getthefreedomtouseanddevelop

Theobjectiveistobuildalowfrictionmodelinwhicheverypartfillsaspecificrole,andinwhichafairshareofvalueiscapturedbasedonthevaluecreatedbyeachactor.

1Terminologynote:wellrefertoOdooasthesoftwareandproject,Odoosa(SocitAnonyme)asthecompanydrivingOdoo,andthecommunityortheecosystemallparticipantsthatdeliverOdooproductsorservices,orbenefitfromthem.

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Current situation ThefollowingslidesillustratetheprogressoftheproductandKPI,andthecontinuousgrowthmetbytheproduct.

Insummary,theadoptionoftheproductisconstantlyincreasing,andeachnewversionisbringinganenhancedrateofgrowth.Today,wecanstatethatOdooisnowtheleadingopensourcebusinessapplicationsuiteworldwideandthemostinstalledworldwide(opensourceandproprietarymixed)

Odoo 2020

Channels, Product/Market fit Twodifferentmarketssegmentslookforbusinessapplications:

1. Smallcompanieslookingforanoutoftheboxproduct,withno/littleservice(TrelloorSagesmarket)

2. Mediumtobigcompanieslookingforasolutioncustomizedtotheirneeds,wheretheserviceisthemostimportantpartoftheproject.(Ms.Dynamicsmarket)

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Mostsoftwarevendorsfocusononeofthesetwomarkets,butnotonboth(withafewexceptionslikeSalesforceandNetsuite).Overtime,theneedsofthosetwosegmentswillconvergeduetotwotrends(occurringovera10yearshorizon):

TheconsumerizationofIT,inwhichbusinessendusersevenatlargecorporationslookforeasytodeploy,easytousesolutions,creatingashiftforserviceproviders,fromtechnicalservicesintobusinessprocessreengineering,training/coaching,configurationservices

ThesophisticationofSMEs,lookingtolearnandapplybusinessapproachespreviouslyonlyavailabletolargercompanies(eprocurement,advancedsupplychain,realtimeanalytics,...)

ThestrengthofOdooistohave(andcontinuetobuild)aproductthatfitsbothsegments.Yet,thedeliveryoftheOdoovaluepropositionwillremaindifferent.Thefirstmarket(smallcompaniesthatneedalowcostproductoutofthebox)isamarketofvolumesthatrequireshugeinvestmentinmarketing,salesandareadytouseproduct.Weplantoaddressthismarketindirect.(weareopenforpartnerstoaddressthismarkettoo,butwethinktheyarenotinagoodpositiontobecompetitiveonthissegment)Thesecondmarket(medium/biggercompaniesthatarelookingforacustomsolution)isaservicemarket.Withproprietarysolutions,75%ofthevaluedeliveredtothesecustomersisserviceandonly25%comefromthelicense.(withproprietarysoftware)Forthisreason,weplantoaddressthismarketwithpartnerstodeliverthelocalservice.

Clearing the boundaries between direct / indirect TheobjectiveoftheSaaSandOdooDirectistotargetthefirstsegment.Ouropinionisthatthismarketistoocostlytoservethroughanindirectmodel,given(a)itsasdifficulttosellcomparedto2.,and(b)thetypicalbudgetisinferiortoEUR5k,leadingtoalowprofitabilitypercustomerintheshortterm(butgoodinthecustomerlifetime).However,Odoosaisbestplacedtotacklethismarketgiven(a)itsstrongbrandreputation,leadingtosolidflowofinboundleads(b)afactoryapproachtoonboardinginordertominimizethecosttoservegiventhebudget(c)themaintenanceofaSaaSsolution,whichisaperfectfitforthismarket.However,wenoticedthatinmultiplecasesourIndirectandDirectchannelshavebeencompetingwitheachotherforasingleprospect.Usuallyduetothefactthattheprospecttookmultiplecontactsseparatelyorotherreasons.Thereisaclearneedtodefineclearboundariesandrulesforchannelownership.

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Duetothis,wesometimesfaceaprisonerdilemmawithpartners.Asituationinwhichmultipleparties(theprisoners)donotshareinformationbecausetheycant(akaforprisoners)ortheyareafraidtodoso,resultinginasuboptimalsituationfortheecosystem(ieprisonersgetahighindividualjailtermwhileiftheyhadtalked/cooperatedtheywouldhaveamuchlowerterm).Concretely,(some)Partnersareafraidthat:

Odoosabypassthem(Direct) OEcostsreducetheirchancesofwinningdeals

Odoosaisafraidthat:

PartnersdonotdefendOdooEnterpriseeffectivelyindealsAssuch,prospectsthatwouldbebetterservedbypartnersandforwhichpartnerswouldbebetterpositionedtowinthedealsaresometimessolelyaddressedbytheOdooDirectteam,andsomepartnersdonotinvolveenoughOdooearlyoninthedeal,resultinginsimilarsituations.Net,whatshouldbedoneisawinwinsituationofcombiningtheservice,localstrengthsofourpartnerswiththefunctional/technicalexpertiseoftheOdoosa,versushavingaloselosesituationinwhichdealsarelostorthesales/serviceissuboptimal.Itisimportanttonotethatthissituationstemsnotonlyfromchannelboundariesconflicts,butdifficultiesonthevaluepropositionand(hence)priceoftheOEcontract.Tosolvethisissue,weproposetwoactions:

1. Definingclearboundariesbetweenbothmarket2. RedefiningtheserviceofferofOdoosatonotconflictwithservicesofpartnersforthe

indirectchannel

Clear boundaries

Deploymentmode:OdooSAwillonlytargetindirectSaaScustomers,andnottargetindirectthosewillingtogoonpremise.Everyonpremiseprojectwillbeforthechannelofpartners.(fornowon,wehadafewonpremiseprojectsindirectbutwearereadytostopthem)

Leadqualification:asimplecriteriawillbeappliedtodefineifaleadshouldbeaddressedindirectorindirect.(asolutionwillbevotedamongststrategicpartners)Thiscouldbe:

Size:e.g,20users

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Firstcontact(didhecontactedapartner/accountmanageroradirectsalesperson)

Technicalconstraint:wewanttolimitcustomdevelopmentsontheSaaSplatform(e.g.additionalmodule).Companieslookingforimportantcustomdevelopment,willbedirectedtoourPartnernetwork(atleastbefore2016.Asexplainedafter,weexpecttheSaaSplatformtoevolvesothatpartnerscanrelyonittooffertheirservicesbysupportingtheircustomdevelopmentsontheSaaStoo)

Forjointdeals,Odoowillsolelyfocusonservicesdescribedbelowtonotconflictwithpartnersservices.

Evenwiththesechanges,wemayfacesituationswherethedirectsales(SaaS)andtheindirectsales(serviceoffersofpartners)maycompeteonthesameprospects.But,atleast,therulearetransparentforeveryone.Forpartners,theworldwideswitchtoSaaSoroutoftheboxsolutionsisreal.IfitsnotOdooSaaS,anothercompetitorwillcompetewithoutoftheboxproductsvsimplementationservices.Forthisreason,wethinkitsimportantforpartnerstofocusonprospectswheretheyhavearealvalue(e.g.projectsabove20k,requiringcustomdevelopmentofprojectmanagementforthechange).Asweareopen,wedonotplantoenforceourpartnerstonotselltosmallercompanies.ButwewilltrainthemandcommunicateonthefutureofOdoo.Yet,weshouldinstallagentlemanagreementbetweenourpartnersandus.IfdealsarepursuedbybothOdoosaandapartner,bothcompaniesshouldcontacteachothertodefinetheapproachthatwouldbestmeettheclientneedsandwhowouldtakewhichroletowinthedeal.

Redefining Odoo sas service offer Asexplainedlaterinthisdocument,OdoosaplantoimprovethevaluepropositionofOdooEnterprisetorefocusonsellingfeaturesinsteadofservices(bugfixesandupgrades)Inaddition,Odoosawillstopsellingimplementationservicestocustomersandrefocusitsserviceofferamongstafew,verywellpackaged,services.Odoosaplanstorefocusitsserviceofferonservicestopartnersorservicestocustomerswherethevendorhasareal/uniquevalueadded.ThelistofpackagedservicethatarestrategictoOdooSAwillbe:

SupportServices:24/24,7/7,livechat Trainings:ofnewpartnersandcustomers EDIdevelopmentsontheSaaS(webserviceslinkstoexternalsoftware)

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GAPanalysis:presalesservicesallowingthecustomertoevaluatetheproductandprepareadequateRFP,inordertonegotiateefficientlywithpartners.

Expertiseservicesondemandfrompartners(afewdaysofanexpert)neededtoimprovecompetenciesofthepartnernetwork,includingperformanceanalysis:helpingpartners/customersonperformanceissuesonhugedatabases

TheDRAFT/possiblelistofservicesweplantophaseoutprogressivelyoverthenext18months:(


Inaddition,whenOdoosasellsservices,wemayhaveaconflictofinterestwithpartnerswhoseroleistosellservices.Mostpartnersdobugfixesorupgradesfortheircustommodules.Thismaycreateamisalignmentwithpartnerinsomeprojects:ifOdoosasellsupgrades,itsgoalistolimitspecificdevelopmentsonacustomerprojecttoeasetheupgradeprocessandlowerthecustomerentrycosts.But,inadditiontovalidreasonsforcustomization(meetuniquerequirementsorworkaroundsomelimitations),sometimespartnerspushescustomdevelopmentsmorethannecessary.Toaddressthesescalabilityissuesinthefuture,Odoosaplantopivotfromsellingservicestosellingfeatures.Thiswillallowtobothaligninterestsofpartners/OdoosaandhugelyincreasethecustomervalueofOdooEnterprise.WeplantodothiswhilemaintainingtheopensourcenatureofOdoo.

Odoo Enterprise: from services to features TheopensourcenatureofOdooisveryimportant.IthasbeenahugepartofthesuccessofOdoointermsofproductqualityandmarketadoption.Freeasinfreespeechbutnotfreeasinfreebeer.Toallowsellingfeaturesinsteadofservices,wewillreleasenewversionsofOdootopartnersandOdooEnterprisecustomers(onaverage)18monthsbeforebeingavailableoutsidethepartnernetwork.ThiscreatesahugedifferentiationforcustomersthatpurchaseOdooEnterprise(orpartnersthatresellit).SellingOdooEnterprisewillbelikesellingfeatures(thefeaturesofthenewestversions:accounting,MRP,).

OdooCommunity(v8) OdooEnterprise(v9)

Free NotFree

Features: LightAccounting

Features: GreatAccounting .

Nopublisherservices/warranty

BugfixesUpgradesPrivateUse

WeplantocontinuedeliveringbugfixesandupgradeservicesaspartofOdooEnterprise,butthekeysellingpointswillbecomethefeaturesofthenewversions,aswellasthe

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reassurancetobenefitfromupgrades.OdooEnterprisewillbearecurringcontractastheclientwillchoosetoupgradetothelatestversionwithinthe1824monthsofitsrelease,orkeeptheOdooEnterpriseforitstraditionalvalue.

Keeping the open source way of working Ourpropositionistoreinforcethemonetizationofnewversionsthroughapremiumof18monthsfornewcustomers.ButwewanttokeepthecollaborativenatureofOdoo:accesstogithub,collaborationondevelopments,etc.Toallowthismove,wewillhavetochangethelicenseofOdoo(currentlyAGPL)toannoncopyleftopensourcelicenselikeMITofApacheorLGPL,oraduallicenseforthe18monthsperiod.TheideaistogiveanaccesstoGithubtopartnersandOdooEnterprisecustomers,butforbidthemtoredistributebeforethe18monthsperiod(aNDA?).Anondistributeagreementwillbeintroducedinthepartnershipcontracts.Aspartoftheirpartnershipcontract,officialOdoopartnerswillreceiveaccesstotheprivateGithubrepositoriesofnewversionsallowingthemtoworkinthesamewaytheyworktodayonOdoo:

downloadlatestpatches reviewworkinprogress contribute,reportbugs,etc.

TodistributeOdooEnterprisetocustomers,partnerswillrequireanOdooEnterprisecontractforthecustomerallowingthemtoreceivelatestversion~18monthsbeforefullreleasetothepublic.Thiswillbefurtherexploredanddocumentedbyrelevantexperts.Asasummary:

Partnersgetaccesstoeverything(github,sources,)offutureversionsanddevelopmentbranches

Community(withoutOdooEnterprise)getaccesstothegithuboftheoldversions(thatarestillmaintainedbythepublisher)

Inordertousethelatestversion(18months),partnershavetosellOdooEnterprise IftheydontwanttosellOdooEnterprise,theycanusetheprecedingversion

Sidenote:

ThislicensingmodelisusedbyAndroidalbeitfordifferentpurposes:payingpartnerslikeSamsunggetanaccesstodevelopmentversionsofAndroidseveralmonthsbeforeanewandroidversionisreleased.ForOdoothelatestversionsavailablewouldbeboththedevelopmentandthelateststablerelease.

TheexactoppositemodelisusedbyRedhat:thedevelopmentversionispubliclyaccessible(=Fedora)butstableversionsareonlyforafee(=Redhat).Redhatisstill

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opensourcebut,whenyoubuyredhat,youcannotredistributethebinariesthatarenotpublic.

Partnersfullysubscribetoamutuallybeneficialbusinessmodel:OEforalltheirclients

onthelatestrelease,atafairprice. Partnersarefreetoprovidethefullopensourceversion,inordertoremain

competitivewithnonpartners,butareencouragedtoimplementthelatestrelease.

OnlypartnersgetaccesstothesourcecodeofthelatestreleaseonGithub,enablingtheircontributions&useofcodesource.(agoodvalueinthepartnershipcontract)

PartnersusingthelatestversionontheirclientprojectwillhavetoselltheOEcontracts.

Theybenefitfromtrainingswithinthepartnershipagreement(tbc).

Changing the license ChangingthelicenseofOdooisacomplexchangepeopleareafraidofsuchachange.(theusualfearofleavingtheopensourcepart).Basicallyweneedthefullcopyright(ortheagreementofeveryonethathasthecopyright)todosuchachange.Wewillproceedthefollowingway:

OdooSAhascurrently98%(aquickestimation)ofthecopyrightoffullcodeofOdoo. ContributorsthatcontributedcodetoOdoowithoutacopyrightnorlicensenotice(for

instanceputtingtheirnameinthecopyrightnoticeintheheaderoftheircontributedfile),wewillassumethattheyputtheircodeinthepublicdomain.(andthus,wecanchangethelicenseofit)

Wewillmakeanannouncetothecommunity.Ifsomecontributorsdisagreeandclaimthattheircodeisnotinthepublicdomain,wewillrespecttheirrightandofferthem2options:

Theysendusawrittenagreement(ContributorLicenseAgreementsimilartotheOCAone)thatwillallowustorelicensetheircodeinOdoofromAGPLtoMIT(orApacheorLGPL)

Iftheydontagree,wewillrespecttheirrightandwewillnotreusetheircodeinversion9.WewillremovetheircontributionfromtheOdoocodebeforewereleaseversion9tonotinfringetheirIP.(Asweneedtoport100%oftheofficialmodulestothenewAPI,nearly100%oftheOdoocodewillhavetoberewrittenforversion9.IfsomeonerefusesaCLA,wewillensurethathiscontributionisremovedandwewillredevelopanewfeaturethatmeettherequirementsfromscratchonthenewAPIWewanttocleanandreviewallmodulesinthisnewAPIredevelopmentprocess.Thus,weestimatetheoverheadofsuchanactiontobeverylimited.)

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Changingalicensehasalwaysbeenaflamewarinmostopensourceproject.Wewilldiscussthisprocesswiththecommunitytofindthebestcompromisebeforemovingforward.

Pricing of Odoo Enterprise Thecurrentpricingwasadaptedtotackleallmarketsegments:

SaaS/OnPremise Small/Big Fewapps/FullERP/ERP+Front

Itisbasedontwodrivers(usersandappbundles),withaEUR12/USD15peruser/appbundleandmonthasbase(alsocalledStandardaccess).Onthisabusinesspackcanbeadded(forDirectcustomers)offeringcoaching,configurationandcustomer,forafixedfeeperapp.TheOdooEnterpriseisbasedonthestandardpricing,withvolumerebatesavailableforlargeappscoverageandusers.Thefeedbackfromourteam,customersandpartnersisthatthepricingisvalidfortheSaaSbutnotforthepartners(largerimplementations).Indeed,thedoubledriversquicklycreatedahighbudgetaspartnerstypicallyimplementmultipleappbundles(anERP)formanyusers(largercompanies).Inaddition,thosecompanies,ledbymoresophisticatedbuyers,comparetheincrementalvalueprovidedbyOdooEnterpriseincomparisonwiththeirbestalternative,whichistypicallytouseOdoowithoutOEandrelyonothermeansforbugfixesorupgrades(thepartner,themselves,oranother3rdparty).Thisresultsinamarketforlemonssituation,inwhichtheasymmetryofinformationleadsthebuyertotakealowercostoption,resultinginanegativepressureonpriceandabadserviceforthecustomer.Last,somepartnersmaybereluctanttoincludeanOEintheiroffer,astheimpactonthebudgetcouldleadtolosingthedeal,oraffectingtheamountofworktheydeemnecessarytooffertoimplementthesolution.

A value vs volume offer Therearetwomainoptions

becheapandattractthemass beexpensiveandgetgoodmargins

However,lowpricedoesnotnecessarilyattractsthemasses,butitdoeshelptoconvert.Atsomepoints,loweringthepriceastypicallylittleimpactonuserrecruitment,unlesstheproductisviralandrecruitmentofnewusersismostlydonebycurrentusers.Inthiscontext,

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theobjectiveistoavoidanybarriertoviralitysuchaspricing.InB2B,weseethishappeningforproductivitysoftware(likeEvernote,GoogleDocs,...),enterprisesocialnetworks(likeYammer),butislessthecaseforothersoftwaresuchasCRM,ERPs,...Conversely,highpricesormarketpricescomparedtoexistingplayers,withstrongerbrands(SAP,Salesforce,..)isperceivedasabarriertobreakthroughthemarketOdooremainsachallengeranditspriceneedstoreflectthat(thedayITmanagerssayNobodygetsfiredforchoosingOdooisnotthereyet).ThevaluepropositionofOdooremains,formany,anaffordablealternativetolargersoftware,eventhoughinsomeareasthesoftwareismuchmorepervasiveandpowerful.Asthebrand,qualityandscopeofthesoftwarereachesnewheights,thiscouldchangeovertime.Assuch,wedliketomovetoafairpricingpolicyforOE:thepricingshouldnotbeanobstacle,butatthesametimeweandourkeypartnersareconvincedthatonaverage,10to15%ofaOdooimplementationrevenuesshouldgotothepublisherinordertofundtheR&Dandmarketing.WebelievethatgoingtoolowwillnotmakeOdoogainsignificantextravolume,butwillenableendcustomerswhocanaffordtopaytohaveafreebeeronOdoosa.AsweplantoreachalowpublicpricetobringamaximumofusersonOdooEnterprise,weplantochangethecommissionofthepartnersfrom(50%60%)to(10%20%)10%forreadypartners,15%forsilver,20%forgoldpartners.Tolimitthecompetitioneffectbetweenpartnersandimprovethetransparencyforcustomers,thepublicpricewillbefixedbyOdooandnotanymoredecidedbyeverypartnerthatchosehowmuchmarginstheywantedtoaddtotheprice.Net,thisresultsinaninitialpricepointbetweenEUR18andEUR21peruserforallapps,fortheendclient.Wethinkitsaverycompetitiveprice(threetimeslowerthanthecompetition)butwewillgrowvolumeofOdooEnterprisebyincreasingitsvalue.

Scaling the App Marketplace Modules Today,amobilephonewithoutastrongappstoreisworthless(themainreasonwhyWindowsphonedontwork).Tomorrow,anERPwithoutastrongappsstorewillbeworthlesstoo.Weneedtobethefirstsoftwaretohavethisstrongappsmarketplace,ratherthanbeingthelatestone.Odoosapridesitselfinhaving4000communitymodulesbuiltovertimebythecommunity.Thisismorethanthe1000availableintheAppExchangeofSalesforce.However,theusageisnotatthelevelitshouldbe,anddespiteafewexceptions,nomoduletodayprovidea

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completeindustrysolution.Nearlynomodulehaveadocumentation,adedicatedwebsite,asolutionthatworkingsoutoftheboxbynonexperts,supportservices,Currentcommunitymodulesarelikesharedcodebutnotlikerealproducts/solutions.Typically,thisisduetohowmodulesareusuallydeveloped:acustomerfinancesaspecialrequirement,whichisbuiltcustomtothisclientsneeds.Somepackagingisdonetomakeusablebyothers,butusuallytheinvestmentingenericityanduserexperienceisminimal.However,wouldthemodulesbeavailableforafee,thingswouldchange:

Partnerswouldgetmorebenefitshenceincentivestodevelopcustommodules,asitwouldprovideextrarevenuestreams

Asnewuserswouldcome,theywillbemorekeentodeliverfeedbackandsuggestionstothepublisherofthemodule,whowouldconstantlyimproveitsmodule.Ifyousellsomething,youbecomeresponsibleofitsquality.

This,pairedwithastateoftheartappstoreenablingratings&reviews,wouldsignificantlyboostthequantityandqualityofthecommunitymodules,tothebenefitsofeveryone.Last,thisdoesnotpreventthecoexistenceoffreelyavailablemodulesthataresupportedbypartnersorassociationsliketheOCA,whocouldcontinuetoofferbenefitstothecommunity.Mediumterm(notbefore2016),wealsoexpectthatthecommunitymodules(orasubset)should/couldbemadeavailableforSaaSclients.ThenextimplicationisthattheOdooEnterprise/CommunityneedstoevolveintoanOpenCoremodeltooinwhichproprietarysoftwarecanbeintegratedwithopensourcesoftware(thenewlicense(MITorLGPL)willallowthis).Sidenote:weabsolutelyneedtomovetoMITorApachefortheCMS/eCommerce.ItsarealblockingpointtohaveaCMSwithanAGPLlicense,itdoesnotmakesense.NootherseriousCMS/eCommerceusetheAGPL.

Impact Of Allowing The Community To Sell Modules Atypicalmarketplacehas:

Asmallminorityofapps(letssay15%)thataregreat,generatingasignificantrevenuefortheirauthors

Abouthalfofappsthatareokandprovideasmallrevenuetotheirauthors Theremainder(letssay35%)arecrappyapps,generatingnearlynorevenues

Thequalityofanappstorerelyonthese15%appsthataregreat(evernote,uber,whatsapp,mindmappro).Evenifitsonly15%oftheapps,theyprovidethemajorityofthevalueforthecustomers.Theother85%appsdoprovideavalueforsomecustomers,buttheyarelessvaluable.Typically,onour4000communitymodules,weshouldhave600thataresogreatthateveryonewouldwanttousethem.Today,wehavealmostnomodulethathassucha

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levelofquality:arealdocumentation,amobileversionoftheapp,aprovideoshowcasingtheproduct,adedicatedwebsite,worksoutoftheboxwithstateoftheartusability,supportservices,ThisisastrongbarriertoexpandtheusageofOdoo.In2016,OdooneedsitsownEvernote/Uber/Whatsappenterpriseapplications.Suchapplicationsneedsmillionsof$ofR&Dinvestmentstoproduce.ThecompaniesthatareabletoproducetheseappswillnotgototheOdooplatformiftheycannotmonetizetheirinvestment.Theywillgotoforce.com(oranotherERPinthefuture?)despiteOdooisprobablythebesttechnicalplatformtodevelopsuchapps.Wethinkthecurrentyoucannotsellmodulesapproachisnotthemostefficientapproachtoproducethese15%ofhighqualityapps.Amarketplacewouldopenanewbusinessmodelforsomepartnerswheretheycanfocusbuildinggreatappsbecausetheycanfinanceit.Andtheycansustainafastcontinuousimprovementoftheirapplicationduetoacontinuousrevenuestream.Ofcourse,theopensourcewayofcollaboratingallowstocreatequalityappstooandweneedtokeepthisgoodspiritintheOdoocommunity.Themostefficientsystemwouldprobablybetohavethe15%astonishingappssoldintheappsstoreandthe85%othersappsreleasedopensourcetoeasecontributionandcollaboration.Unfortunately,somepeoplewillwanttoselltheirlessgoodmodulesinthehopeofgettingrevenueswhereastoday,thesesamecontributorswouldhavereleaseditopensource.Butwethinkthatthebestcontributors(e.g.thetop20OCAcontributors)willcontinuetheiropensourcecollaborationbecausetheycandothedifference,accordingtothemodule,whatdevelopmentmethodisthebest.Wehavetobemoreclearabouttherulesoftheappsstore(commission25%?,refundpolicy?,howtoratepaidappsvsopensourceones?)Butonethingisclear:Today,amobilephonewithoutastrongappstoreisworthless.Tomorrow,anERPwithoutastrongappsstorewillbeworthlesstoo.ThefirstplatformthatsucceedtoattractEnterpriseSoftwarePublisherwillhaveahugecompetitiveadvantage.WeconsiderOdooasamuchbetterplatformthanappexchangetobuildbusinessapps.However,themajorityofthegreatappsaredevelopedonSalesforceappexchangeandwehavenorealsoftwarevendordevelopingmodulesforOdoo.Justcomparecommunitymoduleswiththeseones:https://appexchange.salesforce.com/

The Odoo SA Market Place Strategy

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https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fappexchange.salesforce.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEFKpJxPpLyfMN9fuW0zEEBkSxQ6Q


ThestrategyofOdooSAisnottoinvestintononcoremodulesbutratherimprovingexistingonestoreinforcethevalueoffuturereleases(soldviaOdooEnterprise).Weprefertoavoidextendingthescopeofmodulestomaintain.(weprefertofocusonusabilityratherthanaddingalwaysnewfeatures.)So,wewillprobablynotdevelopmodulesforafee(allourmoduleswillbeopensource)buthavingtheabilitytosellmoduleswillbeakeytriggerforpartnersoreditorstoevolveintobeingapublisheroftheirownsolution.AllowingthecommunitytosellmodulesisnotabusinessmodelforOdooSAbutawaytofinancebetterappsinanearfuture.Wecanhaveafewopportunityexceptionstothisrulelikesellingamodulewehadtodevelopjustforourselvesandthatwethinkshouldnotbeincludedinthecore.(e.g.AdSpike,whichisanupcomingAdwordsoptimizationtool)Buttheseareexceptionsandcertainlynotourbusinessmodelasweprefertoimprovethecoreratherthanaddingextrafeatures.(thus,ourmodelisverydifferentfromMagento,SugarorPrestashop)

Odoo Partnerships WeplantoreviewtoOdoopartnershipcontract:

exclusiveaccesstothelatestversionofOdoofortheirclients(andmasterbranches) encouragepartnerstobecomeexperts:functionalandtechnicaltrainingmaterialsto

upgradetothelatestversioncouldbecomefreeandunlimitedforpartners,ordefactoincludedinthefeetobecomeapartner(everytimeapartnerrecruitanewemployee,heshouldsendhimtoatraining).Thesetrainingsessionswillbeavailableonlateststableonly,notonthecommunityeditions.

beingmorestrictaboutthepartnershipagreement.BeingapartnermeansyouagreeandpushtheOdoobusinessmodelandsellOdooEnterprisetoclients,wheneverpossible.ImplementingtheOdooCommunityversionwillstillbeallowed.

GetprivateaccesstoGithub:thecommunityeditionsgithubwillbepublicbutlatestversionsandtrunkwillbeaccessibletoofficialpartnersonly.

NDAonfutureversionstoforbidredistributingthemwithoutOdooEnterprise(asmentionedbefore,thisrequireschangesoflicencesforexternalmodulesthatwouldbeusedbythepartner).

Evolution of the SaaS TheworldismovingtotheSaaSandthecloudofferisakeypriorityforOdoosa.BeingonthecloudprovidesahugeadvantagesforOdoousers:

support24/24,7/7withinstantfixesontheinstance bugfixesappliedwithinhoursinsteadofweeks

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noperformanceorcrashissues fullmaintenancepackage:backups,realtimemonitoring,scalability configuredoutofthebox:emailgateways,pads continuousupgrades lowcosts,limitedentrybarriers

TheSaaSallowedtheproducttoevolveveryquickly:maturityofthesolution,astableversionisstablesinceday1(asusedintheSaaSbyhundredsofcustomerssincemonths),bugsarefixed,mergedandputinproductionwithinaday(aswehavedirectaccesstocustomersinstancetoreproduce).Fornowon,everydirectcustomersisontheSaaSandeveryindirectcustomerisonpremisewithOdooEnterprise(becausethecurrentsaasplatformhasconstraintslikenocustommodules)Withtheevolutionoftheproducts(version9,version10,)weexpecttogrowtheaveragecustomersizefrom3.5users(in2014)to20users(in2020)ontheSaaSplatformwithanoutoftheboxapproach,forthedirectsalesteam.Butwethinkthat,inthefuture,customerswillrequestthebestofthetwoworlds:

advancedmaintenancefeaturesatlowcostsoftheSaaSand theflexibilityofonpremiseimplementations.

Toreachthisservicelevel,wewillhavetounlinkthesaleschannel(direct/indirect)andthedeploymentmode(SaaS/onpremise).WiththematurityoftheSaaSplatform(evolvingtoanherokulikeforERPs,orforce.com)andthequalityofcommunitymodules(assustainedbytheopencoremodel),startingin2016,partnersmaystartrelyingontheSaaSplatformfortheirimplementationservices.Thus,SaaS/OnPremisewillbecomeadeploymentoptionandisnotrelatedanymoretothedirect/indirectchannel.Thiswillallowtobetteraligndirect/indirectsalesandpushthelimitoftheaveragecustomersizeontheSaaS.IfwecanofferimplementationservicestocustomersontheSaaSthroughthepartnernetwork,wecanexpectgrowingwayabovethe20averageusersontheSaaSin2020.MovingpartnerstotheSaaSisimportantforusbutthedecisiontomovefromonpremisetoSaaSwillbetheoneofthepartnerandtheendclients.Itsourroletocreateaplatformthatcreatesenoughvaluesothatpartnerswillwanttorelyonitfortheircustomers.Wethinkthisisalongtermproject(2016).

Conclusion

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Thisdocumentisstillindraftandneedtobedeeplydiscussedwithpartnersandthecommunitybeforemovingforward.ButwethinkthesedecisionscanhelpOdoomoveforwardfasterandboostourcompetitivenesswithinthenext5years.SuchpillarswillhelpOdootobecomemainstreamandwillservetheinterestsofeveryactorofthesystem:

customers:willbenefitfromaproductthatevolvesmuchfaster(R&DboostedbymoreOdooEnterprisefinancingnewfeatures),improvedqualitythirdpartymodules(withopencore)andindustryspecificsolution(feasibleduetothecommitmentofpartnersandeasedbytheappstoremodel)

partnerswillbenefitfrom:animprovedvalueofbeingapartner(accesstogithubforfutureandlatestversions),competitiveadvantagevsnonpartners(exclusivityonlatestversions),availabilityoftrainingmaterial/sessionsforeveryemployee,awaytofinanciallysustaintheircontributions(opencore)andamorealignedrelationshipwiththepublisher(partnersellservices,publishersellfeatures).

publisher:abettervaluepropositioninlinewithourcoreinvestmentarea(R&Dandmarketing).

community:willcontinuetobenefitfromanopensourceversion(18monthslaterbutcompensatedbythefactthattheproductwillevolvemorequickly)andagreatappstoretobuyqualitymodulesfrompartners.

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Summary of actions 2014:

finalizationofdocumentandcommunicationstopartners Rolloutofappmarketplace

2015:

Globalcommunications(Q1) Rolloutofnewpartnershipcontractandupdatedgithubaccessrights(Q1) PhaseoutoflegacyservicespreviouslyprovidedbyOdoosa(Q1toQ4) Implementationofnewservicestopartners(Q1) ReleaseofOdoo9whichisthenewOdooEnterprise(Q3)

2016:

AppstoreforSaaS,partnersstartingtorelyonSaaSfortheirservices(TBC)

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Implementation FAQ

Whats the best license to fit the model? Alotoflicenseswouldfitourproposedbusinessmodel,fromveryopenonesliketheMITtomoreconstrainingonesliketheLGPL.Forsure,wecannotusetheAGPLorGPLastheyforbidtouseproprietarymodulesandapplyaNDA.(forthe18monthssystem).So,thechoiceofthelicensewillbedoneaccordingtootherscommunitymembersneedliketheOCA.Wewillchoosethelicensewhichisabestcompromisebetweeneveryonesexpectation.IfwefindanopensourcelicensethatfitsourneedsandandtheonesoftheOCA,itsprobablyok.

What would be the impact for community modules? Forthesystemtobeefficient,everyoneshouldusethesamelicense:Odooofficialdistribution,communitymodules,OCAmodules,Otherwisewemayhaveincompatibilitiesbetweenmodulespreventingouruserstousetwomodulestogether.Changingthelicenseisveryeasyifyouownthefullcopyrightofthemodule.Ifthemodulehasbeendevelopedbyseveralpersons,thisismorecomplex.Inthiscase:

1. ifeverycontributorsagreetochange,wejustchangethelicensefile2. ifsomeonedoesnotagree,wecannotchangethelicenseunlessweremoveand

reimplementitscontributions.Thatwhatwewilldoforversion9asweneedtorewriteallmodulesforthenewAPI.

Forcommunitymodules,thesecondoptionismorecomplexascommunitymembersmaynothavethetimetoportallmodulestothenewAPI.Inthiscase,Ithinkweshouldplanthechangeoverthetimeofseveralmonths.SuchmodulesmaystayAGPLand,whenimplementedinversion9,wecheckifwecanmovethemtothenewlicense.Thetransitioncanbedoneinafewmonths/versionsifneededtomakethingseasyforcommunitymembers.

Is this an easy change? Everychangeiscomplex.Themostannoyingpartinthispropositionisthechangeandthecostoftimeandmoneyforeveryone.Inthepast,suchchangeshavebeenasourceofconflictinthecommunity:

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WhenwemovedfromGPLtoAGPLafewyearsago,mostofthecommunitymemberscomplainedaboutit.Todayeveryoneishappywithit.(andprobablyifweproposetochangebacktoGPL,peoplemaynotagree)

WhenwedecidedtodroptheGTKclient,thewholecommunitywasagainstit. WhenwemovedfromLaunchpadtoGithub,itcostalotoftime(andmoney)to

communitymemberstoorganizethetransition.Today,ourlifeismuchbetteronGithubthanweusedtohaveonLaunchpad.

Forsure,achangeisacostoftimeforeveryoneandasourceoffrustration.However,wethinkthatmovingforwardisworththeinvestment.

Will people be allowed to download an open source module without contributing? Yes,astheycantoday.Oneofthesideeffectsofanopensourceandnoncopyleftlicenceisthatwewillacceptthatusers/developershavenonopensourcelicensestoselltheirownmodules.ThismeanspeoplewillbeabletodownloadOdoo(orcommunitymodules)andmodifythemwithoutbeingforcedtoredistributetotheirusers.Evenifthissoundsunfair,itscurrentlyhowitworksintherealworld.Manypartnersandnonpartnersalreadyhaveprivatebranchesfortheircustomersthattheydonotdistribute.

Will the app store kill collaboration? Wethinksomemoduleswillcontinuewiththecurrentcommunitydevelopmentprocess(ortheoneoftheOCAforOCAmodules)andotherswillbesold.Everyonewillbeabletoselectthebestworkingmethodfortheirownmodules.Asanexample,weexpectOCAmodulestocontinuebeingdevelopedinopensourceandpeoplewillcollaborateonthem.ItsthesameforOdooSAsmodulesthatwillbeopensourceandnotsoldthroughtheappstore.Thisdevelopmentprocessisgreatfor:accountinglocalizations,improvementofexistingmodules(stock,MRP,)Formodulesthataresold,weforeseethatwhenpeoplebuythemodulethroughtheappsstore,theygetaccessontherightgithubbranchallowingtocollaboratewiththeauthors:getbugfixes,proposepullrequests.So,sellingmodulesisnotagainstcollaboration,itjustlimitsthecollaborationtobuyers.Thisdevelopmentprocessisbetterfor:themes(doneby

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designers),outoftheboxindustrysolutions(adspike),moduleslinkedtoproprietaryservices(deliveryoperator,)

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