The new security equation
Every growing business reaches a point where its IT outpaces its security. New locations open, new users onboard, new applications stack up, and somewhere between productivity and protection, complexity creeps in. The challenge isn’t just securing access anymore; it’s doing so in a way that scales without slowing the business down.
In today’s threat landscape, static security models can’t keep up. The question for IT leaders isn’t “how secure are we?” but “how fast can our security evolve?”
That’s where Secure Productivity comes in — Wanstor’s approach to delivering security that moves with your business, not against it.
The scale problem: identity, access, and control
When organisations grow, identity management becomes the frontline of defence. Gartner reports that by 2025, 70% of breaches will involve identity-based attacks, most targeting weak authentication or over-privileged access.¹
The problem isn’t just bad actors; it’s human sprawl. Staff join, move roles, leave. Contractors get temporary permissions that stay permanent. Cloud apps multiply, each with their own login. Before long, you’re managing hundreds of identities across systems, and the cracks start to show.
That’s why scaling securely begins with centralised identity and access management (IAM). With solutions like Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), IT leaders can automate provisioning, enforce least-privilege policies, and apply conditional access that adapts in real time.
The result: seamless onboarding, secure collaboration, and continuous protection, without endless admin overhead.
Security and productivity: the balance that defines growth
Security has often been treated as a brake on productivity: necessary, but limiting. That thinking no longer holds. The modern approach integrates the two, aligning user experience and control through automation, intelligent policy, and zero-trust architecture.
According to Microsoft’s 2024 Work Trend Index, 85% of UK organisations say security controls now directly influence productivity outcomes.² When security feels invisible — frictionless multi-factor authentication, context-based access, unified policies — people work faster, safer, smarter.
That’s the core of Secure Productivity: enabling users to get more done, from anywhere, without compromising compliance or control.
Scaling in the cloud era
Cloud adoption has redefined scale. A decade ago, growth meant new servers and firewalls. Today, it’s about expanding secure access to SaaS, PaaS, and hybrid workloads, whilst keeping visibility end-to-end.
But scale also magnifies risk. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) found that 47% of mid-sized businesses faced cloud-related security incidents in 2024, many due to misconfigured access or unmonitored sharing.³
Wanstor’s Secure Productivity framework addresses that head-on:
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Unified policy management – consistent identity and access controls across Microsoft 365, Azure, and third-party apps.
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Automated compliance – real-time monitoring aligned with ISO 27001, GDPR, and Cyber Essentials Plus.
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Adaptive protection – security that flexes with workforce changes, seasonal peaks, and hybrid operations.
Scalability shouldn’t introduce new risks — it should strengthen resilience.
Culture, change, and the human factor
Technology scales quickly; people, not always. Even the most advanced security frameworks depend on awareness and adoption. A recent UK Cyber Resilience Report revealed that human error accounts for 82% of breaches.⁴
That’s why scalable security is about culture more than mere configuration. Building digital trust across teams means embedding security into daily habits: secure sign-ins, data handling, reporting suspicious activity. With Microsoft 365’s integrated experience, those habits can be reinforced, not resisted.
Through Wanstor’s Secure Productivity solution, organisations gain both the tools and the mindset to scale securely, from the boardroom to frontline staff.
Scaling securely with Wanstor
When Wanstor designs Secure Productivity for growing organisations, we start with three principles:
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Visibility first – complete understanding of your identity landscape and access policies.
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Automation next – using Microsoft Entra ID, Defender, and Purview to replace manual controls with adaptive, intelligent ones.
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Continuous alignment – security that evolves with business structure, strategy, and regulation.
This approach means your growth doesn’t outpace your protection, and your IT team spends less time firefighting and more time innovating.
The future of scalable security
The future belongs to organisations that can scale securely. With generative AI, hybrid work, and cloud-first collaboration now the norm, security must be continuous, context-aware, and human-centred.
Those who get it right won’t just avoid breaches, they’ll enable agility, protect trust, and create space for innovation. As the UK Cyber Security Council puts it: “Scalable security isn’t an investment in defence. It’s an investment in momentum.”⁵
For Wanstor customers, that’s what Secure Productivity delivers: a unified, scalable, and intelligent foundation that grows with you.
Sources:
¹ Gartner: Identity-First Security Trends 2025
² Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024
³ NCSC: Cloud Security Incidents Report 2024
⁴ UK Cyber Resilience Report 2025
⁵ UK Cyber Security Council: Scaling Secure Growth 2024