---
title: "Servers and Virtualisation for Business | DataRoad IT"
description: "Windows Server 2016 loses support in January 2027 and VMware is now per core: managed servers and virtualisation, five-year cost. No-commitment proposal."
language: en
url: https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-servers-virtualisation-portugal/
source: https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-servers-virtualisation-portugal/
publisher: DataRoad IT (DataRoad - IT Services and Consulting), Portugal
---

> Windows Server 2016 loses support in January 2027 and VMware is now per core: managed servers and virtualisation, five-year cost. No-commitment proposal.

# Servers and Virtualisation for Business: Decide Now

At a glance For decision-makers short on time.

- 01 Windows Server 2016 receives no more patches from 12 January 2027.
- 02 VMware by subscription only, per core, with a minimum of 16 cores per processor.
- 03 Assessment in one week: three routes and the five-year cost of each.
- 04 Ongoing management under an IT Unlimited contract; 24/7 monitoring only on Premium 365.

**A server without security patches is a door left open for good, and a VMware licence that multiplies in price is budget taken from somewhere else. DataRoad - IT Services and Consulting, one of Portugal's reference providers of servers, virtualisation and managed IT, measures what you have, compares three routes on five-year total cost and tells you which one we would take, even when the answer is to stay as you are.** In 2027 this choice stops being optional. Headquartered in Alfragide, with support across Portugal. [Request an assessment](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/contact-dataroad-managed-it-proposal/?assunto=Servidores).

## What does postponing this decision cost?

It costs security and money, on a fixed date.

- **VMware, since December 2023** Broadcom stopped selling perpetual licences. You now pay a per-core subscription, with a minimum of 16 per processor, even on an eight-core CPU.
- **Windows Server 2016, 12 January 2027** End of security patches. Extended Security Updates via Azure Arc exist, but they are paid and time-limited: they buy months, they do not solve it.
- **vSphere 8, 11 October 2027** General support ends. Renewing on subscription or migrating must be decided during 2027, ideally well ahead of the deadline.
- **Windows Server 2019, January 2029** A server lasts five to seven years. Installing 2019 today is buying two years of support.

Gartner figures cited by the trade press point to licences three to four times more expensive after the move to subscription. On an infrastructure of two or three hosts, that changes the calculation completely.

*Dates are published by Microsoft and Broadcom and may change. Always check the official lifecycle before investing.*

## Which route suits your business?

There are three honest answers. The wrong one is paid for over five years. We always show the hidden cost of each.

| Route | Wins when | Paid for with |
| --- | --- | --- |
| New hardware in the office | Applications need low latency or large files on the LAN; stable load; server at end of life | Upfront investment, space, power, another replacement in five years, day-to-day management |
| Consolidate and switch hypervisor | The VMware bill no longer matches your size; common workloads (files, database, ERP) | Migration project, downtime windows, drivers and backups to redo |
| Cloud | Dispersed team, irregular growth, a wish never to buy hardware again | A permanent monthly fee; legacy ERP, hardware-bound licences and terabytes of projects drive costs up |

Hyper-V already comes with Windows Server. Proxmox carries no licence cost, but needs people who know it well. Without that expertise, the saving becomes a risk.

In most cases the final design is hybrid: email and documents in the cloud, ERP and large data in-house. It is almost always the lowest cost. Detailed analysis in [replace, virtualise or move to the cloud](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/on-premises-cloud-hybrid-server-5-year-cost/).

## What do you receive in one week?

We come on site. We count servers, measure loads and peaks, list licences and check the age of every disk. Without that picture, any quote is a guess, ours included.

You receive a document with the three routes, the five-year cost of each and our recommendation. It is yours, whether you go ahead with us or another partner.

Chosen by respected and international companies

★★★★★ 5,0 · 52 Google reviews

★★★★★ 5,0 · 52 Google reviews

## How do we manage your servers afterwards?

- **Virtualisation** Hyper-V, VMware or Proxmox, chosen to fit your company. Several physical servers become VMs on a host sized with headroom.
- **Migration** Moving off Windows Server 2016 and 2012 R2 with a scheduled window, a rollback plan ready and every application tested before the old machine is switched off.
- **Backups** The 3-2-1 rule, an immutable off-site copy and real restores, with date and result recorded. Without a restore, a backup is only hope. See [backups with tested recovery](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-backup-services-portugal/).
- **Monitoring** Disks, RAID, temperature, space, patches and certificates tracked so the alert arrives before the first complaint. 24/7 only on Premium 365, through our [NOC and monitoring](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/noc-it-monitoring-portugal/).
- **Cloud** Azure and [Microsoft 365](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/microsoft-365-management/) where the numbers work. And we tell you when they do not.
- **Continuity** [disaster recovery plans](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/disaster-recovery-services-portugal/) and, as a last resort, [data recovery](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/business-data-recovery-servers-raid-nas/).

## Why hand your servers to DataRoad?

- **11 years** Of managed infrastructure and **232 clients**.
- **Top 5% PME** In Portugal, according to scoring.pt.
- **5.0 across 52 reviews** On Google.
- **Zero security incidents** At DataRoad in 11 years.

See server and network projects we keep in production in the [DataRoad news](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/lisbon-msp-managed-networks-it/).

## FAQ: servers, licences and cloud

### With only one server, is virtualisation worth it?

Yes, in most cases, because virtualisation shortens recovery. A VM restarts on other hardware in hours; a bare-metal installation can take days and depends on finding an identical part. If two days of downtime are unacceptable for the company, virtualisation pays for itself at the first serious failure.

### What happens to Windows Server 2016 after 12 January 2027?

It keeps working, but stops receiving security patches. Every vulnerability discovered from then on stays exploitable indefinitely, raising the risk for the whole network. Extended Security Updates via Azure Arc are paid and time-limited: they help you plan the exit calmly, not avoid it.

### Should we swap VMware for Hyper-V or Proxmox?

It depends on scale and on who runs the platform. Up to two or three hosts with common workloads, Hyper-V does the job and is already paid for in the Windows Server licence. Proxmox is stable, but only pays off with people who know how to run it. In larger environments or with specific dependencies, keeping VMware remains a valid option.

### Cloud or on-premises server: which is cheaper?

For most companies, the cheapest answer is a mix of both, decided workload by workload. Email and office documents win in the cloud. An ERP with a hardware-bound licence or tens of terabytes of project files wins on premises, on cost and on speed. The assessment compares the options over five years before any decision.

### How long does it take to migrate a server?

As a rule, one week of assessment, two to four of preparation and testing and one weekend for cut-over. Migration runs in a scheduled window with a rollback plan ready, and every application is tested before the old machine is switched off. Delays come from old applications with no installer, licence or support, not from the technology.

### What if the server fails at three in the morning?

There is almost always a warning: disks and RAID controllers alert days in advance, and monitoring picks it up. If it fails without warning, the backup takes over: with VMs and tested copies, the server comes back on other hardware the same day. 24/7 monitoring and night, weekend and public holiday intervention exist only in the Premium 365 plan.

## Next step: request an assessment of your servers

We measure, compare and recommend, in writing. Ongoing management is provided only under an IT Unlimited contract: we do not sell standalone equipment or carry out one-off jobs. Request a no-commitment proposal. [Book an assessment](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/contact-dataroad-managed-it-proposal/?assunto=Servidores).

**More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and phone support.** +351 211 459 950 * · sales@dataroad.pt

**Call to a Portuguese landline.*

One Step Ahead of IT.

News

## Projects delivered and news from DataRoad.

[See all news →](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/news/)

[NewsFrance Affiches: three sites, no single point of failureA French group founded in 1984 hands a Portuguese MSP the infrastructure of Antony, Wissous and Vialonga: high-availability firewalls, fibre…25 October 2026 · 4 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/france-affiches-it-three-sites-paris-lisbon/)[NewsSSAP: a managed business wireless network with 14 access pointsA sixth project for the same public body since 2019: when a tender goes to the same company again, it is the previous network doing the talk…12 October 2026 · 6 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/ssap-managed-wireless-network-14-access-points/)[NewsManaged cybersecurity: one architecture, no incidents in 11 yearsThe same security architecture for every client, operated rather than merely installed. In 11 years, DataRoad has never suffered a security …12 October 2026 · 8 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-cybersecurity-single-architecture/)[NewsManaged Ubiquiti UniFi: more than 138 sites and 1321 devicesA network made of different brands and installers fails at the joins. DataRoad has managed more than 138 Ubiquiti UniFi sites on the same te…10 October 2026 · 3 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-ubiquiti-unifi-networks/)[NewsFrance Affiches: an on-site IT audit in ParisA premium Portuguese MSP at a French group's headquarters: the audit of France Affiches' network and systems was done on site in Paris and d…10 October 2026 · 4 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/france-affiches-it-audit-paris/)[NewsManaged remote support for companies without a fixed officePaying for a provider's offices speeds nothing up. Immediate remote support, an in-house datacentre and on-site work only when the network c…8 October 2026 · 5 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-remote-companies-europe-usa/)[News24 public IT contracts: the standard of RTP, Técnico and SSAPA public tender gives no second chances. Since 2017, eight public bodies, from RTP to SSAP, have awarded DataRoad 24 IT contracts, all verif…3 October 2026 · 5 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/public-contracts-it-partner-rtp-tecnico-ssap/)[NewsEmbassies and international groups: why they choose DataRoadEmbassy of Korea, Consulate of Brazil, DCIAP, Reltio by SAP, beQom, Mitrelli Group: organisations that demand written guarantees chose DataR…12 September 2026 · 4 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/embassies-international-groups-msp-portugal/)[NewsDataRoad in five languages: managed IT for overseas head officesWhoever chooses the IT partner for a subsidiary in Portugal is often in Geneva or New York. DataRoad's website now speaks the language of th…12 September 2026 · 4 min read](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-services-five-languages/)

Numbers you can verify

**11** years in business

**232** clients

**< 10 min** average response time

**15+** IT vendor certifications

**10+** Countries with clients supported

**5.0 ★** 52 Google reviews

Transparency

## What many providers hide, we publish.

[See plans and prices →](https://www.dataroad-it.com/it-unlimited/)

- **Prices upfront** Essential from €395/month + VAT, Premium from €750 and Premium 365 from €1,200.
- **No lock-in** Annual contract, no lock-in and no joining fees.
- **Everything in writing** What is included, the scope and the price, before you sign.
- **Support without counted hours** Remote and phone in every plan; on-site support from Premium.

Partners and certifications

DataRoad · Servers and continuity

## One StepAhead of IT.

Redundant internet, failover and power autonomy: continuity designed before the failure, not after.

- **Failover** redundant internet and power autonomy
- **232** clients under management
- **0** DataRoad security incidents in 11 years

We do **IT** right.

Contact

## Does your IT depend on a single person?

Documentation, inventory and one contact who answers for everything.

Phone +351 211 459 950 * *Call to a Portuguese landline

Sales email sales@dataroad.pt

Headquarters Avenida dos Moinhos 12 B, 2610-119 Alfragide, Portugal

More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and phone support

DataRoad works only for companies under an IT Unlimited contract. We do not take subcontracted work or one-off call-outs.

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