Frequently Asked Questions

EdgePortal is a white-label software that colocation and edge data center operators provide to their end customers as a self-service portal. Through the platform, customers register visits, check in on-site via QR code, announce shipments, open tickets, and accept compliance documents. All of this happens within the operator's brand and language environment.

EdgePortal does not replace a DCIM or a ticketing system. It sits in front:

• A DCIM manages racks, power circuits, cabling, and capacity, i.e. what the operator knows about their infrastructure. EdgePortal manages what the end customer is allowed to do with that infrastructure.
• A ticketing system (e.g., Zammad, OTRS, Jira Service Management) processes operational workflows in the background. EdgePortal provides customers with a structured frontend including templates, status tracking, and approval flows. Tickets are created in the existing system, not in parallel.

Compared to generic visitor management tools (Envoy, Proxyclick): EdgePortal is built for data center operations, not office reception desks.

In short: EdgePortal is not just a form, it is an end-to-end workflow.

• Ticketing systems (Jira Service Management, ServiceNow) are built for generic IT and service workflows, not for data center operations. End customers get a single form with no process logic, no room-/rack-level selection, no versioned compliance documents, and no multi-tenant white-label portal. Generic ITSM platforms are also demanding to introduce and operate, and rarely economical for mid-sized operators.
• Visitor management tools (friendlyway, Envoy, Proxyclick) cover reception, badges, and kiosks well, but they are lobby tools: no self-service portal for customers and subcontractors, no colocation rack structure, no ticketing, no bookable add-on services, and only limited branding.

EdgePortal instead covers the entire visit process: notification → approval → check-in via QR code/wallet pass/kiosk → versioned compliance signing → check-out with a complete audit log. The portal appears entirely in your brand, is API-first (available to end customers too), integrates your existing ticketing system instead of replacing it, and can run on-premise with full data sovereignty.

Designed for:

• Colocation operators with multiple end customers looking to professionalize their customer service.
• Edge and regional DC operators.
• Carriers and network operators with meet-me-room or cross-connect access.
• Multi-site operators needing a unified customer experience across locations.
• Enterprise data centers aligning their operations with industry standards.
• Operators preparing ISO 27001, NIS2, or industry certifications requiring auditable access logs.

Not designed for:

• Pure cloud or managed hosting providers without physical customer access.
• Operators looking for a DCIM or ticketing system. EdgePortal does not solve that.

The portal appears to end customers entirely as the operator's own product. EdgeOps handles full operations in the background and continuously develops the platform.

EdgePortal delivers the organizational and technical evidence that auditors typically require, in machine-readable form.

EdgePortal is not an ISMS tool; it delivers the operational data that an ISMS or auditor needs. Certification itself (ISO 27001, EN 50600, BSI C5) is achieved by the operator, not the tool.

Three deployment models are available:

• On-premise appliance: dedicated hardware in your own data center, with the data located exclusively on your premises.
• Single-Tenant Managed: dedicated instance on infrastructure operated by EdgeOps, optionally in the customer's chosen data center.
• Managed hosting in Germany: dedicated instance; updates, backups, and monitoring by EdgeOps. Fastest path to go-live.

All models use the same code and feature set. Switching between models later is possible. Data location: no transfer outside the EU in standard operation.

Data captured per visitor:

• Name, company, role
• Contact details (email; phone optional)
• Visit period and visited area
• Confirmation of accepted compliance documents with version number and timestamp
• Check-in/out timestamps
• Optional: identity verification data (configurable)

Not captured:

• Biometric data
• Movement profiles within the data center
• Data on persons who have not requested a visit

Retention: Configurable per tenant (default: 24 months audit logs, 90 days inactive requests). Automatic deletion/pseudonymization after expiry.

Legal bases: Typical legal bases of the operator as controller: Art. 6(1)(b), (c), or (f) GDPR, depending on the visit context. EdgeOps acts as a processor; DPA per Art. 28 GDPR provided by default.

EdgePortal follows a defense-in-depth approach across hardware, operating system, platform, and application. The key measures:

• Infrastructure: a dedicated instance per customer with no shared infrastructure; on-premise appliances with full-disk encryption (TPM 2.0), measured boot, and RAID 1.
• Connections: TLS 1.2/1.3 with HSTS and forward secrecy; the HTTPS configuration earns an A+ rating from SSL Labs.
• Access: passwords stored exclusively as Argon2 hashes, optional TOTP two-factor authentication enforceable tenant-wide, dedicated API keys per tenant.
• Operations: encrypted automated backups, monitoring with central logging and SIEM analysis operated by EdgeOps, all systems managed as infrastructure as code with versioned and logged changes.

We accommodate customer audit requests whenever they are feasible, and we accept vulnerability reports via our PGP-signed security.txt per RFC 9116. Full details on the Security page.

EdgePortal is API-first and integrates existing ticketing systems bidirectionally. Tickets are created in the target system, status changes synchronize in both directions.

Supported integration patterns:

• REST API with OAuth2 or API token
• Webhooks for status events (created, commented, closed, escalated)
• Mapping of EdgePortal templates to custom fields in the target system

Native connectors: Zammad, Vision HelpDesk, ServiceNow, Jira Service Management. Custom integrations via REST API (approx. 5 person-days).

EdgePortal does not maintain a parallel ticket database. The existing ticketing system remains the source of truth.

EdgePortal is built for brownfield deployment and connects to whatever your data center already relies on:

• DCIM: The data center inventory (sites, rooms, racks) can be pulled directly from your DCIM and kept in sync. Customers select from the real inventory with every visit request.
• Access control: Webhooks trigger events on approval and check-in that configure locking systems, provision access permissions, or release turnstiles.
• Badge printing: Check-in can trigger badge printing directly.
• Everything else: All core functions emit webhooks (visit request created, visit approved, check-in, ticket escalated, shipment received) – connectable to Slack, monitoring, billing, or any other system.

The full REST API is also available to your customers. EdgeOps builds custom integrations on request. Learn more on the Integration & AI page.

Yes. EdgePortal is built API-first:

• 100% API coverage: Everything a human can do in the portal, an AI agent can do via the REST API – register visits, check status, open tickets, announce shipments.
• Events instead of polling: Webhooks notify agents about every event in real time – no parsing email inboxes, no polling portals.
• Machine-readable processes: Visit requests, permissions, and compliance documents are structured data with a clear schema – no PDFs, Excel lists, or paper forms.
• For your customers too: Since the API is available to end customers, their AI agents can automate their own colocation processes.

This makes your customers' operational processes AI-ready – a real competitive advantage over legacy data centers where visits still run on email and paper. Learn more on the Integration & AI page.

Standard onboarding takes 2–4 weeks:

• Week 1: Setup & Branding: Instance, DNS, white-label customization, tenant structure.
• Week 2: Content & Compliance: House rules, security policies, question sets, site/rack structure.
• Week 3: Integration. Ticketing system connection, end-to-end testing.
• Week 4: Training & Go-Live: Admin training, pilot rollout, full rollout.

What the customer provides:

• Logo (SVG preferred)
• Color codes or brand guidelines
• Custom domain with DNS access
• Finalized compliance documents
• API credentials for the ticketing system
• List of tenants and sites

More complex setups take 6–10 weeks. Specific estimate after a 30-minute discovery call.

Monthly or annual billing. Main cost drivers: active tenants and selected modules.

• Starter (1 site, up to 20 end customers): from EUR 750 / month
• Standard (multiple sites, up to 50 end customers): from EUR 1,250 / month
• Enterprise (50+ end customers, individual SLAs): from EUR 2,000 / month

• One-time setup approx. EUR 3,000
• Third-party integrations billed by effort
• On-premise hardware under EUR 10,000
• No hidden costs for API calls, webhooks, or security features

Request a specific quote via the contact page. Typical response time: 1 business day.