IT Unlimited
Fixed monthly fee, no hours counted
Monitoring, backups and security included
No loyalty scheme
Compare proposals
Five questions to ask every supplier
What gets left out of each model
Guide to choosing an MSP in Portugal
Point-by-point comparison
Twelve criteria side by side, from cost to loyalty.
Five questions to ask
To compare written proposals, regardless of the supplier.
Time is not running out
Fixed monthly payment, no commitment and no additional work required.
IT Unlimited vs. retainer agreement, hour bundle and outsourcing technician
IT Unlimited is a fixed monthly fee that includes unlimited support, monitoring (24/7 on Premium 365), backups and security, no overtime, and no commitment — unlike the hourly rate, the time-based fee, or the outsourcing technician, where the provider charges more the more problems there are.
IT Unlimited vs. advance, hourly billing or outsourcing: there are four ways to hire IT support in Portugal, and three of them have a hidden incentive — the more problems there are, the more the provider bills. This page compares the four models without names or third-party prices — just what each one includes, what is left out, and who wins when something goes wrong. We wrote it for anyone requesting proposals and wanting to know what to compare.
The four models, in two lines each
- Time bank. You buy a pack of hours (10, 20, 50) and each intervention is deducted from it. When they run out, you buy another one.
- Fixed-price contract with a cap. Fixed monthly fee covering a set number of hours or visits; anything exceeding this is billed separately. Often excludes travel expenses, servers, or out-of-hours work.
- Outsourcing technician. A person from the supplier spends one or more days a week at the customer's premises. That person's time is paid for, whether they are resolving issues or not.
- IT Unlimited. Fixed monthly value, without a limit on hours, of requests or trips, with monitoring, updates, backup copies and security included. This is the DataRoad model for all customers — without exceptions or separate work.
Point-by-point comparison
| Criterion | Bank of hours | Capped retainer | Outsourcing technician | IT Unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost predictability | ✕It varies depending on the month's problems | ~Fixed up to the limit, variable afterwards | ~On time; extras are extra | ✓Fixed monthly fee, no hours counted |
| Supplier incentive | ✕Bill more hours | ✕Invoice the excess limit | ~Fill the contracted time | ✓Avoid trouble — the incident is at his expense |
| 24×7 monitoring (Premium 365) | ✕No | ✕Rarely | ~Only when the technician is present | ✓Included in all plans |
| Updates and patches | ✕They deduct it from the grant | ✕They deduct it from the limit | ~When there is time | ✓Included, done out of hours |
| Managed backups | ✕Separately contracted | ✕Separately contracted | ~It depends on the technician | ✓Included and tested |
| Managed firewall and antivirus | ✕Aside | ✕Aside | ✕Aside | ✓Included in Premium plans |
| Travel | ✕Invoiced | ~Limited or billed | ~Only on the days contracted | ✓Unlimited on Premium plans |
| Holiday and sick leave cover | –Not applicable | –Not applicable | ✕Remain with no one or with a replacement | ✓Full team, always |
| Infrastructure knowledge | ✕Lost among those who attended | ✕Missing | ✕Concentrated in a single person | ✓Documented and shared by the team |
| Registration and reports | ✕Invoice with hours | ✕Invoice with hours | ✕It depends | ✓Helpdesk portal and monthly report |
| Customer loyalty | ✓None | ✕12 to 36 months | ✕12 months | ✓No loyalty scheme |
| When is it worth it | Very small businesses with few problems | When problems are rare and predictable | When there is constant manual work on site | When the business relies on systems to operate |
✓ included · ~ partial or conditional · ✕ not included or charged separately
The structural problem of the hours
A retained hours package or a capped retainer makes a company pay twice for the same problem: it pays for the technician's time and it pays for the downtime of its employees. Since the supplier profits from intervention rather than prevention, they have no economic incentive to install monitoring, to carry out out-of-hours updates or to replace a hard drive before it fails. It is not bad faith – it is the model. The practical result is a company that only hears from its supplier when something has already stopped working.
The structural problem of the sole technician
The outsourced IT technician solves the presence problem, but creates another: all information about the infrastructure stays in one person's head. When that person goes on holiday, falls ill or changes jobs, the company is left with a replacement who doesn't know where the file server is or why the accounts printer has a static IP address. And during the four days a week when the technician is not there, problems have to wait — or eat into a pool of pre-paid hours.
What IT Unlimited includes and what it doesn't include
Includes, in all plans: unlimited support via ticket, phone and remote access, monitoring (24×7 on Premium 365), management of updates and patches, managed backup copies and testing, monthly report of the park and access to the customer portal. In the plans Premium e Premium 365, it also includes unlimited call-outs, managed firewall and antivirus, complete device management and, for 365, 24/7 coverage every day of the year with a dedicated account manager. The details of each plan are at IT Unlimited.
It does not include, and this is stated from the outset: hardware and licences (quoted separately, or purchased by the client wherever they prefer), infrastructure projects such as cabling, new Wi-Fi or large-scale migrations (quoted separately, with priority given to contract clients) and software development. Nor do we carry out ad-hoc interventions outside of a contract — the model only works because all clients are within it.
How to compare proposals
When you have two or three proposals on the table, ask each supplier these five questions and compare the answers in writing:
- What happens when the hours run out? If the answer is “we bill by the hour”, the monthly value of the proposal is not the real value.
- Who looks at the alerts at 3 in the morning? If there is no monitoring, no one.
- When was the last time you carried out a backup restoration test for a client? If the answer is vague, the copies are not tested.
- How many people know about our infrastructure? If it's one, the company depends on it.
- What is the minimum contract period and what happens if we want to cancel? A supplier who is confident in their service doesn't need to tie you in with a contract.
If you want to go further, we have a guide on how to choose an MSP in Portugal and it's a page about external IT department, for companies deciding between hiring internally and outsourcing.
What customers do after trying the model
The best indicator of a hiring model is what happens when the contract ends. A Velv by OnRising it started with an IT Unlimited contract for 90 workstations and expanded it to around 200, with firewall, wireless network, servers and connectivity included. A Uriach renewed the contract in Portugal. A Klass Wagen it rolled out the same model to four offices in the country. None of these clients are tied into a contract — they stay because the model costs them less than the alternative, including the downtime they no longer experience.
What is put in writing in the proposal
Whichever supplier you choose, insist that these five points are in the contract and not in a conversation:
- The exact scopewhat equipment, what users, what facilities are covered, and what is excluded.
- The SLAresponse and resolution time by priority, and what happens when they are not met.
- What is included in the monthly fee and what is billed separately — travel, overtime, out-of-hours, projects.
- Loyalty and exit conditions, including the delivery of the documentation and infrastructure credentials.
- The periodic reportwhat is reported, how often and to whom.
At DataRoad, the five points are on the pages of each plan — Essential, Premium e Premium 365 — and are repeated in the proposal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Doesn't Unlimited IT end up costing more than a retainer of hours?
In a company with few problems and few employees, you can leave. That’s why we don’t accept very small companies or one-time jobs — the model is for those who depend on the systems to work. In these companies, when you add up the cost of hours, travel, backup copies aside, and downtime, the fixed value usually comes in below.
“Does ”unlimited" have small print?
It has clear limits, and they are written above: it does not include hardware, licences, infrastructure projects or development. Within support — requests, tickets, calls, remote access and, in Premium plans, call-outs — there is no counting.
Can we change our plan?
Yes, up or down. There is no lock-in period or joining fee on any plan; complex infrastructures (hospitality, healthcare, multiple sites) come with a tailored proposal.
We already have an in-house technician. Does that make sense?
It does, and it's quite common: the in-house technician handles day-to-day operations and user relations, while DataRoad takes care of monitoring, backups, security, servers, and cover when they are away. Have a look at the page about external IT department.
And what if we just want a project, without a contract?
We don't. Infrastructure projects — networks, Wi-Fi, cabling, migrations — are done for clients under contract or as a first step towards one. It's not a matter of principle, it's what allows us to maintain the non-hourly model.
How is the transition from another supplier to DataRoad carried out?
It starts with an infrastructure assessment and the gathering of documentation and credentials from the current supplier. We install the monitoring and backups in parallel, before the old contract ends, so that there is not a single day without coverage. The client's team receives access to the portal and the first report at the end of the first month.
Can users open tickets directly?
Yes. Any employee can raise requests via email, phone or the portal, without going through an internal manager and with no limit on requests. The company manager can view all tickets and their status in the customer portal.
DataRoad Unlimited IT is the way DataRoad provides all its IT services for businesses, For 11 years, to 232 customers.
Where we operate
Nationwide, with face-to-face intervention primarily in the Greater Lisbon area. We have our own pages for Lisbon, Cascais, Oeiras, Sintra, Leiria, Coimbra e Porto. See all areas of expertise.
Contact us
If you have a proposal from another provider and want a second reading, or simply want to know how much IT Unlimited would cost for your number of seats, the first conversation is free of charge. Call +351 211 459 950 (weekdays, 09:30–13:00 and 14:00–18:30) or write to sales@dataroad.pt.
See also: Changing IT company without downtime
Practical guides on the DataRoad blog: Why don't we provide occasional assistance? · In-house technician or advancement: the account for 30 positions · Internal, external or hybrid IT department
Some of the companies that entrust their infrastructure to DataRoad, sectors where downtime costs far more than IT support
DataRoad projects and success stories
DataRoad blog articles and news
- IT Assistance and Ongoing IT Support Services – IT Unlimited Contract – Univete SA
- Boost Portugal: IT Unlimited support and monitoring
- PTR Pharma Consulting: IT Unlimited, website and email managed
- Century21 Oeiras: IT support from IT Unlimited
- Harlan & Poston Group: IT Unlimited in Portugal and the UK
- Uriach: monthly IT Unlimited support and systems management
Proven excellence in numbersThe confidence of those who cannot stopResults that guarantee your peace of mindThe strength of a leading IT partner
Updated values in 2026. Availability and response times depend on the plan and the contracted SLA; 24/7 monitoring is exclusive to IT Unlimited Premium 365.