Date Posted:
2 July 2026
Share This:
Portable Space
Based in Stowmarket, Portable Space is a key part of the regional business base that Freeport East is working to support. Its experience shows how targeted expert input can help growing companies turn cyber risk into practical actions and greater confidence with customers and suppliers.
Keeping up with the pace of growth
Rapid growth is what every business hopes for but when one company feared its IT systems weren’t keeping pace with the change, a Cyber Innovate to Elevate partnership with the University of Essex and Freeport East helped ensure they built resilience for the future.
Beyond a technical issue
Portable Space is a Suffolk-based SME supplying and customising portable buildings, modular units, and containers, with clients in construction, agriculture, education and defence.
Like all businesses in the 21st century, the company relies heavily on embedded digital systems, making cybersecurity a business resilience, trust and continuity issue as well as a technical one. After an exciting period of growth brought new colleagues, more systems and bigger projects, Sales Consultant Ryan Taber knew they needed more than just IT compliance. They needed to be sure the workforce expansion wasn’t outpacing cybersecurity governance.
Ryan Taber, Sales Consultant, Portable Space says: “Our biggest concern going into the project was that you can’t know what you don’t know. Working with an independent party like the University of Essex is a great way to assess where a business stands in terms of security. The process was incredibly straightforward and rewarding.”
Rising stakes for Portable Space
Early warning signs involving compromised accounts and attempted payment fraud highlighted the need not only to protect the business, but also its customers and suppliers. Despite constantly aiming to be as secure as possible, Ryan and his team were “wary that gaps could appear through complacency.”
As well as a technical review, the Portable Space cyber audit aimed to explore governance, access control, behaviour and cultural practices; identify risks; design training opportunities; build confidence; and develop practical policies the company could act on.
Mapping a positive culture
The audit took three months and was led by Dr Marta Fernandez De Arroyabe Arranz, Deputy Director of the Institute for Analytics and Data Science. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, the researchers mapped out the business’ position, identifying opportunities for improvement, behavioural risks and governance gaps.
Reassuringly, they found there was a positive internal culture and level of trust, that baseline technical safeguards were already in place and Portable Space colleagues were motivated to contribute to the business’ success thanks to a company-wide focus on efficiency, delivery and problem-solving.
Dr Marta Fernandez De Arroyabe Arranz, Deputy Director of the Institute for Analytics and Data Science says: “During the assessment, it was clear that employees communicate openly, collaborate closely, and generally feel comfortable raising operational issues. From a cybersecurity perspective, this type of culture can be very beneficial because it supports awareness, transparency, and willingness to report potential incidents or mistakes early.”
Formalising practices for success
The research team delivered a roadmap for improvement which is helping Portable Space move from reactive, informal security practices to clearly defined and consistently applied controls, responsibilities and processes.
New training programmes help colleagues understand why company leaders are making changes and Portable Space has earned a Cyber Essentials Plus certificate.
Strengthening cybersecurity isn’t just helping Portable Space protect itself, it’s giving the business the confidence to participate more fully in supply chains, to pursue new contracts, and grow sustainably in an increasingly digital economy.
For Freeport East, the project is a practical example of regional collaboration between business and academic expertise. It shows how local support can help SMEs move from awareness to action and build a more resilient business foundation across the East of England.
