About MDL Marinas
MDL Marinas is Europe’s largest marina development and operations company, with nineteen premium locations across the UK and an established presence in Italy, Spain, and France. Renowned for delivering exceptional marina experiences, MDL combines world-class facilities with outstanding customer service for boat owners and marine businesses. A valued CyberLab customer since 2013, MDL has consistently prioritised innovation and security within its IT strategy. Most recently, the organisation embarked on a significant digital transformation programme aimed at modernising and optimising its entire IT estate. This initiative has enabled MDL to streamline operations, enhance collaboration across its international sites, and strengthen cyber security measures to protect critical business and customer data.
The Business Challenge
As part of its digital transformation journey, MDL Marinas had successfully migrated its legacy IT systems to next-generation solutions, laying the foundation for a modern, agile infrastructure. However, the Head of IT recognised that simply implementing new technology was not enough - the organisation needed to ensure these investments were fully optimised and delivering maximum value. To achieve this, MDL sought an impartial review from an external specialist. This independent assessment would provide expert insight into the effectiveness of the implementation, identify any gaps or inefficiencies, and offer practical recommendations for optimisation. By taking this proactive approach, MDL aimed to strengthen its IT environment, enhance performance, and ensure its technology strategy aligned with long-term business objectives.
The Solution
Despite being a large organisation, MDL Marinas operates with a small but highly skilled IT team. By outsourcing selected services to trusted partners, they can focus on strategic projects that drive growth rather than routine maintenance, while maintaining high service standards. After consulting CyberLab, MDL Marinas received tailored guidance on the best approach to address their challenges. With a tight deadline and concerns about potential security gaps following their transformation, CyberLab’s experts recommended a Cloud Security Assessment and Microsoft 365 Security Features Delivery. This staged approach ensures organisations maximise the intelligent, built-in security capabilities of Microsoft 365 - features that are often underutilised. The Security Assessment establishes best practices for securing a Microsoft 365 tenancy, while the Security Features Delivery phase enables the rollout of advanced security measures for enhanced protection.
“All of the people I met were very, very good and were clearly experts in the subject. They gave me the confidence that they would do a thorough job and that the outcome of that would be as good as it could be. Everything that we’ve worked with CyberLab on – I’ve been very satisfied,”
– Keith, Head of IT
MDL Marinas
The Outcome
Working together with CyberLab, MDL Marinas were able to confirm that multifactor authentication was set up across the organisation, and that they were using the correct Microsoft licences at every level of the company. Implementing conditional access which allowed for policy creation based on the company personas and the data they have in Microsoft 365 (who can access what, from where, and on what device). “We are confident that our users cannot be compromised from outside the organisation – that was the biggest concern we had at the beginning of our path. It gives myself, as the Head of IT, and our board the peace of mind that our accounts are secure,” said Keith. As part of the service, we gave MDL Marinas access to a bespoke online learning portal designed to support tenancy administrators and end-users in multifactor authentication adoption. Keith explained, “as a business with diverse users, we had a training element to ensure that our people are aware and educated about what we are doing and why we are doing it.” Through the licence review, MDL Marinas expect significant savings as it helps them to rationalise and segment their licencing strategy. Furthermore, by working with CyberLab and implementing industry best practices, Keith said, “MDL Marinas can use this work as a reputational piece which will assure our customers and our partners that we are a secure, trustworthy business.” MDL Marinas trusted CyberLab as their technology partner to provide regular penetration testing, their SIEM solution and their email security solution.
Conclusion
MDL Marinas’ partnership with CyberLab has delivered measurable improvements in security, compliance, and operational efficiency. By implementing advanced Microsoft 365 security features, conditional access policies, and multifactor authentication, the organisation now operates with confidence that its systems and data are protected. The licence review has unlocked significant cost savings, while the training programme ensures users are informed and engaged. With CyberLab as a trusted technology partner, MDL Marinas is well-positioned to maintain a secure, modern IT environment that supports growth and reinforces its reputation as a reliable, forward-thinking business.
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