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Frequently Asked Questions about IT Services
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Here we have gathered the questions that managers of companies, hotels, clinics and organisations most frequently ask us before starting a partnership with DataRoad.
If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, we are available to chat.
DataRoad is a Portuguese company that IT Managed Services (MSP), based in Alfragide, Lisbon. We specialise in the complete management of the technological infrastructure of companies and organisations that need reliable, secure and well-managed technology — without having to build an internal IT team.
Our service model is based on three pillars:
proactive monitoring (we detect and resolve issues before they affect your operation), agile technical support (helpdesk and on-site intervention with guaranteed response times) and strategic management (technology consulting, infrastructure planning and vendor management).
We are certified partners of Microsoft, Cisco, Fortinet, Sophos, VMware, Dell and Ubiquiti – which guarantees us privileged access to vendor technical support, preferential commercial terms and continuous training on the platforms we manage.
1 – What is DataRoad and what we do
DataRoad is a Portuguese company that IT Managed Services (MSP), based in Alfragide, Lisbon. We specialise in the complete management of the technological infrastructure of companies and organisations that need reliable, secure and well-managed technology — without having to build an internal IT team.
Our service model is based on three pillars: proactive monitoring (we detect and resolve issues before they affect your operation), agile technical support (helpdesk and on-site intervention with guaranteed response times) and strategic management (technology consulting, infrastructure planning and vendor management).
We are certified partners of Microsoft, Cisco, Fortinet, Sophos, VMware, Dell and Ubiquiti – which guarantees us privileged access to vendor technical support, preferential commercial terms and continuous training on the platforms we manage.
MSP It stands for Managed Service Provider — that is, a provider that proactively manages your company's technology infrastructure under a service contract with a defined SLA.
Unlike the traditional reactive support model (calling when something fails and paying by the hour), an MSP continuously monitors, maintains and optimises your infrastructure. The result is less downtime, greater security and predictable costs.
Compared with in-house IT, DataRoad offers:
- Access to a multidisciplinary team (networks, security, cloud, servers) for the cost of one or two internal technicians
- 24/7 coverage with no shifts, holidays or sick leave
- Up-to-date knowledge and continually renewed certifications
- Enterprise-grade management and monitoring tools that an SME could hardly justify purchasing on their own
- Immediate scalability — our capacity grows with your business
Our customers are mostly organisations with above-average availability and security requirements — companies where technology is critical for daily operations and where an IT failure has immediate consequences for the business or its reputation.
We regularly serve:
- Hospitality — boutique hotels, hotel groups and luxury tourism properties
- Health — clinics, surgeries and diagnostic centres
- Education — universities, international schools and training centres
- Diplomacy — embassies, consulates and international organisations
- Corporate - offices of multinational companies and Portuguese business groups
The common denominator is the requirement: our clients do not accept technology that fails, slow responses or cobbled-together solutions.
DataRoad holds partner certifications with the following market-leading manufacturers:
- Microsoft — cloud, Microsoft 365, Azure and enterprise licensing
- Cisco — enterprise networks, switching and collaboration
- Fortinet - cybersecurity, firewalls and secure networks
- Sophos — endpoint protection and managed security
- VMware - server and infrastructure virtualisation
- Dell Technologies — servers, storage and enterprise hardware
- Ubiquiti — wireless and LAN networks for high density
These certifications translate into privileged access to level 2 and 3 technical support from the manufacturers, which directly benefits our clients in critical incident situations.
2 – Services and Geographical Coverage
DataRoad's service portfolio covers all the critical IT areas of a modern organisation:
- Helpdesk and user support - by phone, email, remote access and on-site presence
- 24/7 infrastructure monitoring and management — servers, network, security and devices
- Network management and maintenance — LAN, Wi-Fi, VLAN, switching and routing
- Managed cybersecurity — firewall, endpoint, email, MFA and user training
- Cloud and Microsoft 365 management — licensing, configuration, migration and support
- Server management and virtualisation — installation, maintenance and optimisation
- Backup and disaster recovery — solution, monitoring and periodic testing
- Supplier and telecommunications management — liaison with ISPs and other providers
- IT projects — infrastructure renewal, migrations, new installations
Yes, DataRoad has a physical presence and local teams in Lisbon (head office), Porto, Faro, Funchal and Évora, covering mainland Portugal and Madeira. The hybrid support model — remote for the vast majority of situations, on-site for interventions that warrant it — allows us to provide an effective response to clients anywhere in the country.
For multinational organisations with operations in Portugal, we provide local IT support integrated with the group's policies and systems, acting as the “IT Portugal” for these companies. We have already coordinated IT projects with teams in several European and American countries.
Regarding face-to-face intervention outside the national territory, we assess on a case-by-case basis — particularly for clients with facilities in the Portuguese-speaking or European space.
DataRoad focuses exclusively on the segment business and institutional. We do not provide support to private individuals. Our service model is designed for organisations — featuring a helpdesk, SLAs, reporting, asset management and liaising with IT managers or management.
The minimum client size we usually work with is 5 to 10 users, although we can evaluate specific situations. There is no maximum limit — we serve everything from small hotel units to corporate groups with hundreds of users distributed across multiple locations.
Who has already asked these questions — and chosen DataRoad
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DataRoad support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year — including weekends, bank holidays and the Christmas period. This availability is not marketing: it is a real necessity for the sectors we serve.
A hotel doesn't close at 18:00. A clinic cannot wait until Monday for its booking systems to come back online. An embassy has no tolerance for network downtime during official events. That is why our monitoring and responsiveness are truly continuous.
24/7 support includes critical incident response, active monitoring of the entire managed infrastructure, and automated alerts with escalation to on-call technicians outside of business hours.
Our contracts define clear SLAs by incident severity level:
- Critic (service completely inoperable) — initial response within 1 hour, immediate escalation
- High priority (significant impact on operation) — response within 4 hours
- Normal priority (limited impact, workaround available) — response within 1 business day
- Low priority (optimization questions, requests for information) — reply within 2 working days
These times refer to initial response — the moment a technician takes ownership of the incident and begins diagnostics. Resolution time varies depending on technical complexity, but we keep the client informed of progress at all times.
The proactive monitoring we carry out allows us, in many cases, detect and resolve issues before the customer even notices them — which in practice means that many potentially critical incidents never end up affecting the operation.
DataRoad clients have access to multiple contact channels with our support team:
- Helpdesk portal — logging and tracking of online tickets, complete with incident history
- Dedicated telephone line — for urgent situations and critical incidents, with human customer service
- Email - for non-urgent requests, with automatic ticket creation and receipt confirmation
- WhatsApp – with ticket incident response
- Immediate remote access — with user authorisation, our technicians can access the device for diagnosis and resolution
Each customer has a dedicated account manager who knows the infrastructure, the team and the specific needs of the organisation.
Don't start every call from scratch explaining the context.
DataRoad uses tools from RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) of enterprise grade that install a lightweight agent on managed devices — servers, workstations, switches, firewalls and other network equipment.
This agent continuously gathers performance and health metrics: CPU utilisation, memory, storage, temperature, service status, security logs, backup status and much more. When a value falls outside normal parameters, an alert is automatically generated, which is triaged and handled by our team — even at 3 a.m.
Practical examples of what we proactively detect:
- Server disk reaching a capacity of 90% — we took action before the failure occurred
- Silent backup failure — we identified and fixed it before data recovery was necessary
- Suspicious network access attempts – blocked before a potential security breach
- Critical security update pending — we apply it in a controlled and documented manner
4 – Corporate Cybersecurity
Cyber security is one of DataRoad's core areas. Our portfolio includes:
- Managed firewall (Fortinet FortiGate) — perimeter protection, access rules, VPN and traffic inspection
- Endpoint protection (Sophos Intercept X) — behavioural detection, anti-ransomware and incident response
- DNS and web filtering - blocking of malicious domains and inappropriate content categories
- Email protection — anti-phishing, anti-spam and sandboxing of suspicious attachments
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) - implementation and management of MFA across all critical services
- Patch and vulnerability management — controlled update of operating systems and applications
- User training — phishing awareness, social engineering and good security practices
- Monthly safety reports — visibility into detected threats, incidents and overall security posture state
This is one of the questions we hear most often — and the answer is always the same: yes, and probably more than you think.
Cyberattacks do not discriminate by company size. In fact, SMEs are increasingly frequent targets precisely because attackers know they have fewer resources dedicated to security. A ransomware attack can cost a small business between €20,000 and €500,000 in lost data, downtime, recovery and reputational damage — figures that frequently threaten the very continuity of the business.
What has changed in recent years is that effective cybersecurity is no longer exclusive to large businesses. The solutions implemented by DataRoad are affordable, managed externally by us (with no complexity for the client) and scaled to the size of your organisation. The cost of protection is a fraction of the cost of an incident.
Yes, the technical component of compliance with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) it is an area that we address directly in our service contracts.
From an IT perspective, this includes:
- Data encryption at rest and in transit
- Access control and principle of least privilege
- Audit records and data access logs
- Data retention and secure data disposal policies
- Security incident notification and response procedures
- Technology vendor (sub-processor) risk assessment
Important: DataRoad does not provide legal advice on the GDPR. For legal and documentation matters, we recommend working with a DPO or a specialist lawyer. Our responsibility is to ensure that the technological infrastructure technically supports the data protection requirements.
5 – Networks & IT Infrastructure
Yes — this is one of our areas of greatest expertise. DataRoad designs and implements wireless network infrastructures for high-density environments such as hotels, event spaces, university facilities and multi-storey office buildings.
We mainly use the ecosystem Ubiquiti UniFi, supplemented by Cisco solutions where the project warrants it. Our process includes:
- RF survey of the space to ensure optimal coverage and performance
- Network diagram showing VLAN segmentation (guests, staff, management, IoT)
- Configuring seamless roaming between access points without session interruption
- Captive portal for guests with customised branding
- Centralised monitoring of all access points
- Continuous management and periodic performance optimisation
A well-implemented Wi-Fi network is one that guests don't remember — because it simply works, every time, in every part of the space.
One firewall It is the device (hardware or software) that controls network traffic between the internet and your company’s internal infrastructure — deciding what is allowed through, what is blocked and what needs to be examined more closely.
The modern firewalls that DataRoad implements (Fortinet FortiGate) go far beyond the basic concept: they include deep packet inspection (DPI), content filtering, intrusion prevention (IPS), network antivirus, application control and VPN management for secure remote access.
Any company with an internet connection and sensitive data needs a well-configured firewall. A home router — which many SMEs still use — does not provide adequate protection for a business environment. DataRoad continuously configures, manages and monitors its clients’ firewalls, including security signature updates and regular reviews of access rules.
Yes. DataRoad manages server infrastructure using a range of models:
- Physical servers — installation, configuration, maintenance and monitoring of Dell and other brands of servers
- Virtualised environments — VMware vSphere infrastructure management, including creation, migration and optimisation of virtual machines
- Cloud servers — VM management on Azure, AWS or other cloud providers
- Hybrid environments — where part of the infrastructure is on-premises and part is in the cloud, with integration between the two environments
Our VMware certification ensures that virtualised environments are implemented in accordance with best practices for redundancy, performance and recovery. Where physical hardware is concerned, our partnership with Dell enables us to recommend and procure equipment suited to each workload, with guaranteed support.
6 – Cloud, Microsoft 365 and G Suite
Yes — Microsoft 365 is one of the platforms we manage most for our clients. Our service in this area includes three phases:
- Licensing — assessment of actual needs and recommendation of the correct plan (Business Basic, Standard, Premium or Enterprise), avoiding over-licensing or under-licensing
- Migration - transfer of email, calendars, contacts and files (from on-premise Exchange servers, Google Workspace or other platforms) with zero or minimal downtime
- Continuous management — user and group management, security policies, MFA, SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive; end-user support and training in the tools
As Microsoft partners, we benefit from direct technical support for complex situations and access to training and certification resources that keep us up to date with the constant developments of the platform.
This is a legitimate and frequent concern, especially in sectors such as healthcare, diplomacy and finance. The short answer is: it depends on how it is managed.
Platforms such as Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 offer levels of physical and logical security that the vast majority of companies could never replicate internally — geographical redundancy, security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2, etc.), end-to-end encryption and dedicated security teams.
The real risk in the cloud is not in the platform itself, but in inadequate configurationoverly open permissions, absence of MFA, poorly defined sharing policies, or lack of access monitoring. This is precisely where DataRoad adds value — ensuring that our clients' cloud implementation follows security best practices and is continuously monitored.
7 – Backup & Business Continuity
Yes — and backup monitoring is, for us, just as important as the implementation itself.
A backup that is not checked regularly is merely an illusion of security.
Our backup service includes:
- Design of the backup strategy appropriate to data criticality (3-2-1 policy or variants)
- Implementation of an on-premises, cloud-based or hybrid backup solution
- Daily monitoring of the status of all backup tasks
- Immediate alerts in the event of failure — we don't discover the problem when we need to recover data
- Periodic restore tests to ensure data is actually recoverable
- Monthly report showing the status and history of backups
The question we always ask new clients is: “When was the last time you tested restoring a backup?” The answer is almost always revealing.
Ransomware is today one of the most serious threats to businesses of any size. A successful attack can encrypt all of an organisation's data and systems, rendering them inaccessible until a ransom is paid — with no guarantee of recovery after payment.
DataRoad's approach is multi-layered prevention — firewall with traffic inspection, endpoint protection with anti-ransomware behavioural detection, email filtering, and user training. This approach drastically reduces the likelihood of a successful attack.
But if, despite everything, an attack does occur, our incident response protocol is triggered immediately: isolating the affected systems to contain the spread, carrying out a forensic analysis to determine the point of entry, cleaning up the compromised systems, and restoring data from a clean, verified backup. A solid backup strategy is the ultimate safety net against ransomware — and that is why continuous backup monitoring is non-negotiable in our contracts.
8 – Specific Sectors
The hotel sector is one of our key areas of focus, with a number of hotels and accommodation establishments in our client portfolio. The experience we have built up enables us to understand the specific IT requirements of this sector:
- Integration with hotel management systems (PMS) such as Opera, Protel or similar
- High-density guest Wi-Fi networks with captive portal and traffic separation
- Absolutely critical availability — a network failure at 2 a.m. in an operating hotel is a major incident
- Network segmentation between management systems, guest network and access control systems
- Support for TV systems, IP telephony and other integrated systems
- Compliance with guest data protection requirements (GDPR)
Our experience in a hotel context means we do not need to learn our client's business — we arrive with knowledge of the sector and its technical specifics.
Yes. The healthcare sector is one of the most demanding in terms of IT — and one of those that most requires a partner with real experience in this context. DataRoad serves clinics and medical centres, with full awareness of the particularities that this environment imposes:
- Rigorous health data protection (GDPR applied to the clinical context)
- Integration with clinical management systems and electronic health records
- High availability of scheduling, billing and clinical records systems
- Enhanced security for the protection of sensitive patient data
- Management of medical equipment with IT components (imaging, etc.)
- Compliance with sector-specific legal requirements in healthcare
Yes. Diplomatic missions are a sector that we are proud to serve, precisely because of the demand and sensitivity they require. An embassy's IT needs differ from those of a commercial enterprise in several relevant aspects:
- Above-average physical and logical security requirements
- Integration with head office IT systems and policies (often outside of Portugal)
- Secure VPN management for communication with the capital and other missions
- Need for discretion and confidentiality in all interactions
- Compliance with specific requirements of the represented country
- Availability and rapid response regardless of diplomatic schedules or events
Our team is used to working in this context with the professionalism and confidentiality it demands.
9 – Contracts, Pricing & Service Model
DataRoad contracts are based on a model of fixed monthly fee per user or per device, with a clearly defined set of services — no surprises at the end of the month. This model allows companies to plan their IT budget with complete predictability.
The standard contract IT Unlimited includes unlimited technical support for calls or remote interventions, 24/7 monitoring, preventive maintenance, and the agreed baseline services. Longer onsite interventions, infrastructure projects and hardware procurement are handled separately with prior budgeting.
The contract is documented with:
- Detailed scope of included and excluded services
- SLA table with response times by severity
- Inventory of managed devices and systems
- Escalation conditions and incident communication
- GDPR and confidentiality clauses
The cost of our services is calculated based on several factors: number of users and devices, infrastructure complexity, required SLA level and specific services included. Therefore, we do not publish fixed price lists — each proposal is tailored following an assessment of the client's actual needs.
What we can say with confidence is that the managed service model is, for the vast majority of organisations, significantly more economical than the alternatives:
- Compared to equivalent internal IT: the cost of a senior IT technician in Portugal (salary, overhead, training, tools) often exceeds the cost of a full DataRoad contract offering a multidisciplinary team
- Compared to reactive pay-per-hour support, the proactivity of the managed model reduces the number and severity of incidents, resulting in a lower total cost and less impact on the business
We offer a free diagnosis of the current infrastructure, after which we present a detailed and transparent proposal. No obligation, no small print.
DataRoad contracts are typically established for 12-month periods, renewing automatically, which allows for the planning and implementation of solutions with an appropriate time horizon — providing stability for both our clients and our team.
Contrary to what it might seem, we prefer a long-term relationship based on results and satisfaction rather than on forced retention through penalising exit clauses. Our goal is to be the IT partner that our clients choose to renew with — not the one they are forced to keep.
The specific entry, exit and renewal conditions are discussed transparently during the contract negotiation phase.
9 – How to Start Working with DataRoad
The onboarding process for a new DataRoad client is structured and frictionless:
- 1. Initial contact — by phone, email or via the website form. We reply on the same day.
- 2. Requirements gathering meeting — a meeting (in person or via video call) to understand your current infrastructure, needs and expectations
- 3. Diagnosis — technical audit of the existing infrastructure to identify the current state, risks and opportunities for improvement
- 4. Tailored proposal — submission of a detailed proposal setting out the scope, SLA and fixed monthly price
- 5. Signature and onboarding — contract formalisation and start of the technical onboarding process (installation of monitoring agents, infrastructure documentation, creation of access credentials)
- 6. Normal operation — following the completion of the onboarding, your infrastructure is being monitored and supported by DataRoad
The complete process, from initial contact to the start of operation, typically takes 1 to 3 weeks depending on the complexity of the infrastructure.
The diagnosis is a technical audit of your organisation's IT infrastructure, carried out by our team at no cost or obligation. The goal is to give you an honest and objective view of the current state of your technology — identifying vulnerabilities, risks, inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement.
The diagnosis typically covers:
- Network status and configuration (switches, access points, firewall)
- Basic security assessment (service exposure, password policies, MFA)
- Status of backup systems and recovery capability
- Analysis of software licensing (Microsoft 365 and others)
- Hardware inventory and end-of-life equipment identification
- Operating system and application updates status
At the end, you receive a report with the main conclusions and recommendations — It is a service of real value.
The transition of an IT supplier is a legitimate concern, but in practice it is much less disruptive than most clients fear.
DataRoad has an onboarding process structured specifically to minimise the operational impact of the change.
Our process includes a complete audit of the existing infrastructure (with or without the cooperation of the previous supplier), documentation of all systems, credentials and configurations, and a parallel transition phase where both entities coexist temporarily if necessary.
From the users' perspective, the transition is typically imperceptible — the next day, they contact a different number and the support experience improves. The background work of inventory, documentation and migration is carried out by our team in an organised manner and without pressure on the end users.
Our suggestion is always to start with the diagnosis — which gives us the knowledge of the infrastructure necessary to plan a risk-free transition.
Some of the companies that trust us with their IT to operate securely, with high performance and business continuity
Those who demand reliability, choose DataRoad. References that speak for us
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Find out moreNetworks and Structured Cabling
Design, installation and certification of cabling, Layer 3 switching and PoE power supply.
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A study of coverage, installation and centralised cloud-based management, with networks segregated by profile.
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Enterprise firewall, traffic segmentation, managed antivirus and secure remote access.
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Servers, NAS, Microsoft 365 and backups with restoration tested on a regular basis.
Find out moreIP Communications and CCTV
IP telephone systems and video surveillance with continuous recording and GDPR compliance.
Find out moreDo you have any questions that these answers do not clear up?We explain in non-technical language what makes sense for your company — and what doesn't, even if that means selling less.Ask us your question
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All Answers Regarding Our Services Clarify your questions regarding support, contracts and IT solutions from DataRoad.
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IT Unlimited: unlimited IT support for businesses
Unlimited, proactive IT support for businesses that can’t afford to stop. Find out more about DataRoad’s IT Unlimited and request a quote.
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A complete network comprising 192 access points, Wi-Fi 7, a firewall and IT Unlimited at the new Clínica Mulher in Sete Rios. View the project.
IT Unlimited IT support for businesses
Comprehensive maintenance, certified support and round-the-clock assistance for your company’s IT infrastructure. Find out what’s included in IT Unlimited.
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