How to Seamlessly Migrate Odoo from Older to a Newer Version?

The Odoo company regularly releases a new version of the system to offer upgrades and advantages over the old ones. For example, the upgraded Odoo 16 is expected to be released in October 2022.

Yet, migrating to a newer version of Odoo is basically a quite tricky task since the process may involve many unexpected issues on the way. Therefore, it’s quite important to foresee possible difficulties to make the upgrading process as smooth as possible. In the following article, we’ll cover all the challenges you may face while migrating from one Odoo version to another. How does it happen? What should you know about such a transition?

How Does the Migration Process Happen?

When you decide to update your older version of Odoo to a newer one, it is critical to determine the right strategy for the migration by answering the following questions:

• What is the server hosting solution you are using?
• What is the edition of your system? Enterprise or Community?
• What is the original & target version of your system?

Once you answer these questions, you should be ready to make the next steps:

Perform Analysis

Odoo enhances its performance with every edition. New features are coming, and it is essential to understand how these changes can influence the whole system and its functionality. Make sure the whole system is ready to be updated to a new version.

Update the Custom Modules

If you have custom modules in your system, keep in mind that they should be upgraded individually with each new Odoo release. Some modules can work almost out of the box (only slight changes to the manifest file), whilst others might require more complex modifications.

Update the Database

Besides the Odoo module migration, be ready for the Odoo database migration. The data upgrade process can differ depending on the hosting solution you use. Take note that after the Odoo data migration process, developers will be able to re-import or adapt data for the newer Odoo versions. 

The Price of Odoo Migration

Price and migration time depend on the Odoo version your company currently uses, installed modules, and some other factors (server credentials, inline corrections, and the like). To make a transition to a “fresh” Odoo Community edition, you’ll be charged just for the base&custom modules and data migration. The time will depend on the level of customization.

The Migration Process in Details: 

• A company uploads the database.

A developer creates a backup of the database and uploads it. There’s a possibility to anonymize all the data before uploading the database. 

• A company migrates and tests the database.

Once developers receive the database, they run the migration process and test it.

• A company customizes the migration process.

The migration process is mainly automated, yet some manual work may also be required, depending on the data’s sophistication. Because of the complexity of the whole process, the company can face some difficulties mid-way. For example, a developer may need to customize the scripts for the database, which typically lasts from 2 to 4 weeks. After the script adaptation, the company receives an email with a link where they can download a migrated database.

Odoo Enterprise Migration

In general, Odoo provides a genuinely comfortable and user-friendly migration process. Yet, there are several significant differences among its versions. 

Speaking about the Enterprise edition, users need to update their versions with the help of the official Odoo service. You should leave a request at the service desk and confirm their intention to migrate from the older version to the newer one. The Odoo service team will review your request and ask the users to download the backlogs before migration. We would like to highlight that the Odoo service team can help you to upgrade your Odoo Enterprise version only during a limited timeframe after the latest version’s release.

Besides, the Enterprise Odoo users should also keep in mind that a basic set of modules is always automatically updated with the new release. In case your company has exclusive, customized modules or modified  Odoo modules where the logic was changed, you should ask the Odoo support team if they can also update them to the newer versions. If not, you may need to ask developers to make some changes in the modules according to the latest Odoo version. That’s why every company needs to check which modules can migrate and which ones should be repurchased or re-integrated to avoid setbacks. 

Odoo Community Migration

As for the Odoo Community edition, the clients can perform the upgrade process on their own by downloading a migration code for the latest Odoo version. Furthermore, the companies are also free to additionally integrate customized modules to the newest version (yet it could be rather tough to migrate all the data smoothly without a good Odoo developer).

It’s worth noting that the migration process here is almost the same as the Enterprise edition employs (analysis and upgrade of the custom modules) but the database upgrade steps may be different. 

Since Odoo Community users often apply non-original Odoo modules, the way they migrate may differ from each other. Some of them should be downloaded or purchased again. So, it might be essential to find a trustworthy Odoo development team that will solve all the arising issues. 

To Sum Up

As you see, migrating Odoo to the latest version can be rather time-consuming due to a lack of experience with Odoo upgrades. But, luckily, our specialists are always ready to help you – do a bit of research and suggest the most acceptable migration strategy for your very company. So, don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.