Migration without downtime
On-premises Exchange, cPanel or Google Workspace
History copied before cutover
Out-of-hours cutover, effective immediately
Microsoft 365 Security
Multi-factor authentication on every account
Phishing protection
Email and SharePoint backups
Migration without downtime
History is copied before cutover; the switch happens out of hours.
Security switched on
MFA, conditional access and anti-phishing protection, which are switched off by default.
Tenant backups
Email, SharePoint and OneDrive, with retention defined in writing.
How we work
This service is provided exclusively under an IT Unlimited contract.
DataRoad does not provide one-off (one-shot) assistance, nor does it sell equipment on its own. We work under a contract with a fixed monthly fee, taking full responsibility for the client's environment.
Microsoft 365 is easy to buy and hard to manage well. Any company can activate licences with a credit card; few have email protected against phishing, accounts secured with multi-factor authentication, leavers' mailboxes properly closed and SharePoint backups actually working. DataRoad provides Microsoft 365 management for businesses as a Microsoft partner: licensing, migration, security configuration, user support and backups — all within the support contract, with no hourly billing.
What we manage in Microsoft 365
Licensing
Choosing the right plan for each user profile (Business Basic, Standard, Premium, or Enterprise plans when size justifies it), consolidating scattered licences, and a quarterly review to remove licences from inactive accounts. We frequently find companies that have been paying for former employees' licences for over a year.
Email and Exchange Online
Domains, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records so your email doesn't land in your clients' spam folders, shared mailboxes, distribution groups, retention and archiving rules, and proper closure of leavers' mailboxes — with forwarding and history preserved.
Security and identity
Mandatory multi-factor authentication on every account, conditional access policies (blocking sign-ins from countries where the company doesn't operate, requiring known devices), protection against phishing and malicious links, suspicious sign-in alerts and a review of administrator permissions. These settings exist in Microsoft 365 but come switched off: enabling and fine-tuning them is the part of the job that reduces risk the most.
Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive
A structure of teams and sites that reflects how the company is organised rather than each department's improvisation, controlled external sharing permissions, and migration of legacy file servers to SharePoint when it makes sense — and when it doesn't, we tell you why.
Devices
Enrolment of company computers in Intune to enforce policies, deploy applications and remotely wipe a lost laptop. It works on Windows and macOS — relevant for our clients with Apple fleets.
Microsoft 365 backups
Microsoft guarantees the availability of the service, not the recovery of your data: an email deleted 45 days ago, a SharePoint library destroyed by ransomware or an account closed by mistake cannot be recovered with what comes included. That's why our backups also cover Microsoft 365, with retention defined in writing. See our managed backups page.
Migrating to Microsoft 365 without stopping the business
Most of the migrations we carry out come from three sources: end-of-life on-premises Exchange servers, email hosted with the website provider (cPanel, Plesk and similar) and Google Workspace. The process is the same in every case:
- Survey. Existing accounts, shared mailboxes, aliases, sizes, rules and forwarding. This is where you discover the accounts nobody remembered, on which invoices or alarms depend.
- Preparation. Tenant creation, domain verification, licences, and security policies enabled before the first user signs in — not afterwards.
- Pre-synchronisation. Email history, calendars and contacts are copied in the background over several working days, without anyone noticing.
- Cutover. DNS records are switched at the end of the day or at the weekend. The next morning, email is already arriving in Microsoft 365 and the history is there.
- Follow-up. In the first few days there's always a laptop with Outlook asking for a password, a phone still to be set up, a printer that sent scans via the old server. These are resolved by ticket, on the day, and are included.
In a company of 20 to 50 users, the time from survey to cutover is typically two to three weeks. Disruption for users is practically nil.
Buy licences or contract management?
| Situation | Licences only | Microsoft 365 managed by DataRoad |
|---|---|---|
| An employee leaves | The account stays active and keeps being paid for | Account closed on the day, email forwarded, licence reused |
| Phishing attempt | Depends on the user noticing | Filters, safe links and alerts configured; user training |
| Stolen password | Full access to the account | Multi-factor authentication blocks access; suspicious sign-in alert |
| File deleted 2 months ago | Unrecoverable | Restored from backup |
| Outlook stops syncing | Someone searches the internet for a fix | Ticket opened, resolved remotely, at no extra cost |
| New starter | Account created “in a hurry”, with no policies | Created from a template, with licence, groups, MFA and device configured |
What we don't do
We don't build custom applications on the Power Platform, nor do we provide organisational adoption consulting (broad Teams training programmes, change management). If you need that, we'll tell you and help you choose who should do it. Our job is to make sure your company's Microsoft 365 is correctly licensed, secure, backed up and working every day.
Within IT Unlimited
Microsoft 365 management is included in the IT Unlimited Premium and Premium 365 plans. There's no charge per ticket or per hour: creating accounts, setting up phones, fixing sync issues, changing permissions and answering users' questions are all included. Microsoft licences can be billed by us, on a single IT invoice, or remain on your current Microsoft account — both models work.
DataRoad IT Unlimited
Talk to DataRoad. We assess your operation and propose the right plan.
A real case: 50 mailboxes migrated through a public tender
The Union of Parishes of Massamá and Monte Abraão awarded DataRoad, through a public tender, the migration of around 50 mailboxes to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online. The work followed the process described above — survey, tenant preparation, pre-synchronisation of history and out-of-hours cutover — and continued with ongoing user support, which is where a migration either succeeds or unravels. With a different client profile, the Ouro Rossio Hotel has complete Microsoft 365 implementation and management under its IT Unlimited contract, and PTR Pharma Consulting entrusted us with managed email and website, with continuous monitoring.
What we put in writing
In a migration or in day-to-day Microsoft 365 management, the client receives and keeps:
- The account inventory before and after: users, shared mailboxes, aliases, groups and forwarding, with the licence assigned to each.
- The cutover plan, with date, time, DNS records changed and a rollback point in case anything fails.
- The active security policies: multi-factor authentication, conditional access, anti-phishing protection, retention and external sharing — and the rationale for each.
- Tenant backup retention: what is backed up, how often and how far back you can restore.
- The quarterly licence review: inactive accounts found, licences freed up and the resulting savings.
Frequently asked questions
Can we keep our licences and contract management only?
Yes. You simply grant DataRoad delegated administrator access to your tenant. Many clients nevertheless prefer to move licence billing to us so they have a single IT invoice.
How long does an email migration take?
It depends on the volume and the source. In a company with 20 to 50 mailboxes, two to three weeks from survey to cutover, with the history already copied before the switch. The cutover itself happens out of hours and takes minutes from the user's point of view.
Will we lose old emails in the migration?
No. Email, calendar and contact history is migrated in full and verified mailbox by mailbox before cutover. Local Outlook rules and signatures are reconfigured together with the user.
Microsoft 365 already backs up our data. Why do we need more?
What Microsoft provides is time-limited retention (the recycle bin, the archive) and service redundancy. It doesn't protect against older deletions, ransomware that encrypts synchronised SharePoint, or the closure of an account. Microsoft itself recommends, in its terms of service, that customers regularly back up their content.
Will multi-factor authentication get in users' way?
A little, in the first few days. We set up the Microsoft Authenticator app on each phone and define trusted devices so the prompt doesn't appear all the time. It is the single measure that most reduces the risk of unauthorised access to a business email account.
Do you work with Google Workspace?
We migrate from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 and support clients who prefer to stay with Google. Most of the companies we serve — especially those that use Excel seriously or work with public bodies — end up on Microsoft 365.
What happens to email during cutover?
Nothing visible. Before cutover, the history has already been copied; as soon as the DNS records are switched, new messages start arriving in Microsoft 365 immediately. The window is chosen out of hours and, if anything fails, the cutover plan includes a rollback to the previous server.
Do we need to buy new licences for everyone?
Not necessarily. The survey distinguishes who needs desktop Office apps installed, who works only in the browser and who only needs email. Companies often reduce their total cost by replacing identical licences for everyone with a mix suited to each profile.
Managed Microsoft 365 is one of DataRoad's IT services for businesses and works hand in hand with cybersecurity for businesses and managed backups.
Where we operate
Microsoft 365 management is carried out remotely for clients throughout Portugal. When on-site work is needed — setting up devices, training users, decommissioning an old server — the team travels, most often within Greater Lisbon. We have dedicated pages for Lisbon, Cascais, Oeiras, Sintra, Leiria, Coimbra and Porto. See all our service areas.
Talk to us
If you want to know how much you're overpaying for licences, or whether your company's accounts have multi-factor authentication enabled, we'll check for you with no commitment. Call +351 211 459 950* (weekdays, 9:30–13:00 and 14:00–18:30) or write to sales@dataroad.pt. *Call to a Portuguese landline.
See also: NIS2: what changes for businesses in Portugal
Practical guides on the DataRoad blog: Microsoft 365 doesn't keep everything: the missing backup · Microsoft 365 email: what baseline protection misses · AI in the business: the rules before Copilot · Emergency accounts in Microsoft 365 · Cloud security: what Microsoft protects
