Can Odoo turn breakneck growth into a lasting challenge to SAP and Oracle?

Belgian business-software maker Odoo has grown to an estimated value of €8.6 billion after its revenue increased by roughly one-third to €426.9 million in 2024, VRT NWS reported during King Philippe’s visit to the company on 21 April 2026. The Walloon technology group, registered as Odoo SA under Belgian enterprise number 0477.472.701, now employs about 7,500 people worldwide and is recruiting rapidly as it tries to exceed €1 billion in annual revenue by 2027.

The royal visit placed an unusually bright spotlight on a company built around a decidedly unglamorous product: enterprise resource planning, or ERP, software. Odoo combines accounting, sales, stock management, human resources, e-commerce and other functions in one system. Its principal customers are small and medium-sized businesses, although its software is also used inside larger groups.

Founder and chief executive Fabien Pinckaers argues that Odoo is gaining ground because established products from SAP, Oracle and Microsoft are costly and cumbersome. In remarks reported by De Morgen, he put that argument much more bluntly, saying Odoo was fortunate that the competition was “shit”. The provocation captures the company’s pitch, but it should not be mistaken for an independent assessment of product quality. Large corporate systems are expensive partly because they handle complex international operations, regulation and security requirements that smaller installations may not face.

Odoo’s commercial proposition is nevertheless clear. Customers can begin with a limited set of applications, add functions as their business grows and use a community edition whose source code is publicly accessible. The company earns money from paid enterprise features, hosting and services delivered either directly or through implementation partners. That approach positions Odoo between traditional enterprise suites and the collection of separate cloud subscriptions many smaller businesses accumulate.

The figures show considerable momentum, but also require careful reading. VRT reported 2024 revenue of €426.9 million and net profit of only €314,000. That thin bottom line does not necessarily mean the core operation is weak: Pinckaers says Odoo deliberately reinvests heavily in recruitment and product development. It does mean that the €8.6 billion valuation is primarily a judgement about future growth rather than present earnings. Valuation is not cash in the bank, and Odoo is privately held, so investors and outsiders receive less frequent financial information than they would from a listed rival.

Odoo had previously announced a €500 million secondary share transaction in November 2024 that valued it at €5 billion. The deal, led by Alphabet investment arm CapitalG and Sequoia Capital with investors including BlackRock and Wallonie Entreprendre, largely allowed existing shareholders to sell shares rather than injecting the full amount into the company. Odoo said at the time that it was growing by about 40% annually. The subsequent €8.6 billion estimate therefore represents a substantial increase from that transaction benchmark, although no newly disclosed arm’s-length financing round has established precisely how the latest figure was calculated.

The company’s ambitions have expanded alongside its valuation. Odoo said in September 2025 that it expected €650 million in billings that year, 42% growth in annual recurring revenue and almost 7,000 employees. During the April 2026 royal visit, The Brussels Times reported that the workforce had reached about 7,500 and that management planned thousands of additional hires. Those projections are company targets, not guaranteed outcomes; recruiting, training and retaining enough experienced staff may prove as difficult as winning customers.

For Belgian businesses, the contest is more concrete than a fight between software brands. A small manufacturer, shop or consultancy choosing an ERP system is deciding how invoices, wages, orders and customer records will move through the company for years. A lower licence price can reduce overhead, but migration, staff training, customisation and dependable local support often determine the real bill. Switching systems later can be disruptive, making implementation quality at least as important as the advertised subscription.

Belgium’s electronic-invoicing rules have made that decision more urgent. Since 1 January 2026, VAT-registered businesses have generally had to exchange structured business-to-business invoices rather than relying on emailed PDFs. The European Commission says Belgium uses the Peppol network and the European EN 16931 standard. That obligation creates demand for compatible accounting and management software, benefiting Odoo and competing Belgian providers, while imposing an immediate compliance task on tradespeople and SMEs. For a household, the effect is indirect but real: software, accountant and migration costs can ultimately feed into the prices charged by local businesses.

Odoo’s rise also matters to Belgium’s economic structure. The headquarters in Ramillies and operations around Louvain-la-Neuve anchor a rare globally scaling software group in Walloon Brabant. The Royal Palace said King Philippe’s two-day mission brought together 40 Flemish and Walloon executives to encourage innovation, training and cross-regional cooperation. Odoo can contribute high-skilled employment and demand for implementation partners across the country, though the company’s global headcount should not be confused with jobs located in Belgium.

The broader contest remains international. SAP, Oracle and Microsoft possess deep relationships with large companies, extensive partner networks and substantial cloud and artificial-intelligence budgets. Odoo does not need to displace them everywhere to succeed; the fragmented SME market is large enough for a cheaper integrated suite to grow quickly. Yet rapid expansion introduces its own risks: inconsistent implementations, pressure on customer support, technical debt from custom modules and the challenge of serving different tax and labour systems.

What happens next will be measured less by royal visits or combative quotations than by execution. The key tests are whether Odoo can keep annual recurring revenue growing, improve profitability while hiring, and maintain reliable service as installations become larger and more complex. Its €1 billion goal remains within management’s stated horizon for 2027, but audited 2025 group accounts and a transparent explanation of the €8.6 billion valuation will be needed to judge how far the Belgian challenger has truly travelled.