About Spicerhaart
Spicerhaart is one of the UK’s most innovative estate agency groups, combining residential sales and lettings with integrated financial services. The organisation leverages award-winning marketing techniques and cutting-edge technology to help sellers achieve the best possible price for their property, while supporting buyers, renters, and landlords. Andrew Chaplin, IT Infrastructure Team Lead, manages a small team responsible for the entire IT estate, including servers, firewalls, endpoint security, and network infrastructure. While the team works hard to maintain security, balancing robust protection with user productivity is an ongoing challenge. Spicerhaart has partnered with CyberLab for many years, using Sophos solutions to protect its data and systems.
The Business Challenge
After implementing a range of Sophos products over time, Spicerhaart had a strong security foundation. However, limited internal resources meant the IT team struggled to manage the growing volume of alerts and respond effectively to potential threats. The challenge was clear: how to maximise the value of existing Sophos investments while ensuring 24/7 protection without overburdening the internal team.
The Solution
Recognising the need for a fully managed service, Spicerhaart opted for Sophos MDR, which delivers 24/7 monitoring, threat hunting, and incident response by a dedicated team of experts. MDR effectively became an extension of Spicerhaart’s IT team, providing:
Continuous protection against advanced threats. Hands-off management, freeing internal resources for strategic projects. Expert threat hunting and remediation, ensuring rapid response to incidents. Comprehensive reporting and health checks for full visibility. Initially concerned about budget, Spicerhaart leveraged CyberLab’s Platinum Partner relationship with Sophos to secure a substantial cost reduction. This made the business case compelling and allowed the solution to be implemented ahead of schedule - providing protection during the busy Christmas and New Year period.
CyberLab first presented Spicerhaart with the option of Sophos EDR, which provides advanced threat detection and response capabilities. However, EDR requires significant internal resource, skill, and time to operate effectively. For Spicerhaart, this would not resolve the underlying challenge of limited capacity.
“Sophos MDR has become a fourth member of the team, someone who can wear that security hat 24/7/365. With MDR in full on ‘hands off mode’ we know we are continuously protected around the clock, and with continued support from CyberLab we are able to ensure our solutions are always fit for purpose.”
– Andrew Chaplin, IT Infrastructure
Spicerhaart
The Outcome
Sophos MDR delivered immediate benefits:
Pre-implementation health check: MDR reviewed Spicerhaart’s entire estate, identified misconfigurations, and provided recommendations before go-live. Proactive threat hunting: Following the SolarWinds attack, MDR conducted a free threat hunt across Spicerhaart’s environment, providing reassurance and demonstrating MDR’s capabilities. Ongoing monitoring and alerts: MDR continues to detect and respond to potential threats in real time, giving the IT team peace of mind and reducing operational burden. Cost efficiency: CyberLab’s vendor relationship ensured a competitive price point, making enterprise-grade security accessible within budget. CyberLab remains a trusted partner, supporting Spicerhaart with ongoing consultancy, optimisation, and cost management.
Conclusion
Spicerhaart’s adoption of Sophos MDR, supported by CyberLab, highlights the value of managed security services for organisations with limited internal resources. By moving from EDR to MDR, Spicerhaart gained 24/7 protection, expert threat response, and operational efficiency - all at a cost that met budget constraints. With CyberLab’s consultative approach and strong vendor partnerships, Spicerhaart can focus on innovation and growth, confident that its security posture is robust and future-ready.
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