Cybersecurity has a clutter problem. Many organizations run several security tools that don’t talk to each other, then drown in alerts nobody has time to read. IT’Simple, a startup based in Braga, wants to untangle that. It builds its own technology and offers services in cybersecurity, risk management, compliance and training, with one aim: make security simpler and give organizations more control over their own systems and data. At the center of its approach is technological sovereignty.
Two platforms, one idea: detect, act, show
Co-founder Nuno Ferreira has spent over 20 years in IT, in Portugal and abroad, across infrastructure, operations, systems administration and information security. He is now studying for an MSc in Cybersecurity with Artificial Intelligence in the UK. His view is that security isn’t a pile of separate tools but part of strategy, risk management and daily operations.
The company is developing two platforms:
- ARX brings together what is usually sprea across EDR, NDR and SIEM tools: monitoring, detection, investigation, vulnerability management and automated response in one view. It links events, vulnerabilities and assets, so a team sees not only that a weakness exists but how it could lead to critical systems.
- VERA focuses on continuous, verifiable compliance. It was built around Portuguese law, including the NIS2 transposition and the national cybersecurity framework, and helps teams structure requirements, assign responsibility, track controls and organize evidence.
Together they cut manual work. What ARX finds and does can feed VERA’s evidence directly, or in Ferreira’s words, detect, act and prove.
What sovereignty means in practice
For IT’Simple, it isn’t only about where data sits. Both platforms are designed to run inside the client’s own environment, AI components included. No external AI services, no handing data to third parties. That suits organizations with sensitive information or strict regulatory duties. Ferreira defines sovereignty as the ability to understand, control and decide about the technology you depend on.
Small team, real pilots
IT’Simple has four people and is backed by Cloudfence, which works in Portugal, Brazil and Latin America. The platforms are still evolving. An ARX deployment is in its final stages at an Irish company, and pilots of both are running. Work now centers on technical improvements, validating security mechanisms and adapting to different business and regulatory settings.
Being small keeps the team agile and close to customers, Ferreira says, while stressing that technology alone doesn’t deliver security. Processes, resources and fit with business goals matter as much. He is confident Portugal has the talent to build competitive cybersecurity technology, and he expects AI to play a growing part in detection and response. If you follow digital companies at this stage, this is a name worth noting, and startup events are where such teams often first show their work.
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