IT for embassies and international organisations

An embassy is not a company with a flag at the door. It is a state representation on foreign soil, with its own rules of confidentiality, communication channels with the capital, schedules dictated by another time zone and high-level visits that cannot be postponed because the network went down. DataRoad has been providing IT services to embassies, consulates, diplomatic missions and international organisations in Lisbon since its first years of activity, with a simple rule: work done by our team, without subcontracting, with the scope and individuals identified in writing before entering the building.

What is different in a diplomatic representation

Confidentiality as a baseline requirement

Anyone entering an embassy's communications room must be known, identified and the same on every visit. We do not sub-contract and we do not rotate technicians at random: the team assigned to each diplomatic mission is fixed, named in the proposal and only replaced with prior notice. Infrastructure documentation remains with the mission, not with us, and remote accesses are logged and revokable at any time.

Two infrastructures in the same building

Most missions have a local administrative network — secretariat, consulate, events, visitor Wi-Fi — and a communications network with the capital, managed by the State itself, which the local provider does not touch. Our job is the former, and our network design ensures that the two never mix: physical and logical segmentation, separate racks when required, and no dependence on the local network for reserved channels.

Historic buildings, modern demands

Many embassies in Lisbon occupy townhouses and mansions in Avenidas Novas, Restelo, Belém or Lapa. Thick walls, ornamented ceilings, annexes separate from the main building and no planned trunking. External cabling between buildings, routes that respect the architecture and Wi-Fi that passes through stone are problems we frequently solve.

Schedules and deadlines that are non-negotiable

A national reception, a ministerial visit or the opening of a consular period set dates that cannot be moved. When necessary, work is carried out out of hours, at the weekend and with a reinforced team, so that the building is operational the following morning.

What we provide to embassies and international organisations

• Structured cabling and infrastructure renovation — removal of old cabling, CAT6/CAT6A and fibre, new trunking and sockets, organised rack and certification of all points. See the page at wiring and networks.
• Segmented Wi-Fi networks — separate internal network, visitor network and event network, with guaranteed coverage throughout the building and annexes. See wireless networks for business.
• Firewall, perimeter security and VPN - access control, filtering, secure remote access for mobile staff. See managed firewalls e cyber security for business.
• Servers, workstations and Microsoft 365 — installation, migration and management of the secretariat and consulate desktop environment, on Windows and macOS. See Microsoft 365 for business.
• IP video surveillance integrated into the network, with retention and access defined by the mission. See CCTV for businesses.
• Backups and business continuity — managed and tested backups, and a recovery plan for local systems. See managed backups e disaster recovery.
• 24×7 monitoring and permanent support - through the contract IT Unlimited, with proactive monitoring, suporte remoto e presencial e atendimento em português e inglês.

Real cases in Lisbon

A DataRoad instalou e renovou infraestruturas de rede em várias representações diplomáticas em Lisboa, todas documentadas no site:

• Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, no Restelo — instalação e expansão de rede estruturada CAT6A 10 Gb com cerca de 4.000 metros de cablagem e fibra ótica, incluindo cablagem exterior entre edifícios. Para cumprir o prazo fixado pela missão, o projeto foi concluído em três dias, com dez técnicos em horário pós-laboral.
• Embaixada da República da Coreia — nova cablagem de rede informática, firewall e segurança, com suporte IT Unlimited.
• Consulate-General of Brazil in Lisbon — instalação da nova rede informática, cablagem, firewall, servidores e suporte IT Unlimited.
• Embassy of Cyprus — renovação integral da cablagem, com remoção da infraestrutura antiga, CAT6 novo em todas as salas, bastidor e tomadas novas.

Como trabalhamos com uma missão diplomática

What is put in writing

• A equipa nominal afeta à missão e a regra de substituição com aviso prévio.
• O âmbito exato: que redes, equipamentos e espaços são da responsabilidade da DataRoad e quais ficam fora, incluindo os canais reservados do Estado.
• The as-built documentation: planta de rede, esquema de bastidor, certificação de cada ponto, inventário de equipamentos — entregue à missão e atualizada a cada alteração.
• Os acessos remotos: quem tem, para que sistemas, com registo de utilização e revogação imediata a pedido.
• A cláusula de confidencialidade e, quando a missão o exige, o acordo de não divulgação específico. A referência ao cliente no nosso site só acontece com o seu conhecimento.

Frequently Asked Questions

As embaixadas e organismos internacionais são um dos sectors in which DataRoad has specialised, next to hospitality, clinics, offices and multinationals, public sector e escolas e universidades.

Where we operate

A quase totalidade das representações diplomáticas em Portugal está em Lisbon — Restelo, Belém, Lapa, Avenidas Novas — e nos concelhos vizinhos de Cascais e Oeiras. A sede da DataRoad, em Alfragide, fica a menos de 20 minutos de qualquer uma delas. Consulados noutras cidades são atendidos a partir das nossas areas of expertise.

Contact us

Se a sua missão precisa de renovar a infraestrutura de rede, reforçar a segurança ou ter suporte permanente com uma equipa identificada, a primeira reunião não tem custo nem compromisso. Ligue 211 459 950 (weekdays, 09:30–13:00 and 14:00–18:30) or write to [email protected].