How Maddalena Modernized Secure Remote Access While Cutting Costs by 70%
Transforming Remote Access at One of Europe’s Leading Industrial Manufacturers
Maddalena SpA, a century-old European leader in smart metering solutions for water and thermal energy, sets out to modernize and secure its remote access infrastructure as part of a broader digital transformation strategy.
With critical operations reliant on third-party vendors and remote users, the company faced growing challenges around credentials management, access visibility, and operational inefficiencies. High costs and the limitations of their prior privileged access management (PAM) system hindered flexibility and productivity.
To address these issues, Maddalena partnered with cybersecurity innovator Cyolo and implementation partner Factor-y to deploy a modern secure access solution designed to meet current operational needs while supporting future growth.
The Challenge: Fragmented Access, Rising Costs, Limited Visibility
Maddalena’s previous access infrastructure relied heavily on manual processes and outdated tooling. The traditional PAM solution in use was rigid, difficult to manage, and ultimately underutilized by internal teams.
Key concerns included:
Excessive time required to configure and manage temporary access
No centralized visibility into access sessions
High operational risk from unmanaged credentials
Poor vendor user experience
Disproportionate costs relative to usage
The company had previously deployed another solution that failed to meet expectations. The platform lacked the flexibility required for day-to-day operations and provided minimal support. According to Antonio Taverna, IT Specialist at Maddalena, “Had we been forced to accept the initial cost of a standard enterprise solution, we wouldn’t have even started the project.”
Goal: Enable Flexible, Secure Access for a Growing Ecosystem of Users
Maddalena’s IT team defined three key outcomes:
Centralize and automate remote access and vendor onboarding
Improve visibility and control over third-party connections
Reduce operational risk, improve user experience, and cut costs
In addition, the solution had to support seamless scalability as the company modernized its infrastructure and operations and also to ensure continued compliance with ISO 27001 and the NIS2 Directive.
The Cyolo Solution: Secured Identity-Based Access with Full Visibility and Control
Cyolo partnered with Factor-y to implement secure remote access rooted in an identity-based architecture.
Key Components of the Deployment Included:
Identity-based access control tied to Microsoft Entra ID
Fine-grained policy enforcement by role, time, location, and system
Real-time session visibility and audit trails
Single sign-on and (SSO) multi-factor authentication (MFA) for both internal and external users
Secure, self-service workflows for temporary vendor access
The Cyolo PRO (Privileged Remote Operations) solution gave Maddalena the ability to provision and revoke access in minutes, without compromising on security or requiring complex manual processes.
Results: 70% Cost Savings, 100% Boost in IT Productivity, Instant Vendor Access
The impact of adopting Cyolo PRO was immediate and measurable:
100% increase in IT team productivity through centralized access workflows
80% reduction in time to configure temporary access
70% drop in operational costs for remote access
100% improvement in perceived IT support quality (internal & vendor)
Drastic reduction in onboarding time- from days to minutes
Full control and visibility over all access sessions
“This solution fully met our expectations. We gained security, flexibility, and economic sustainability, all within a single platform.”
Antonio Taverna, IT Specialist at Maddalena
Why Cyolo: Better Security, Enhanced Operational Agility, Improved Productivity
Cyolo PRO’s unique decentralized architecture gave Maddalena a flexible platform with no vendor lock-in, no shared infrastructure risks, and no compromises on speed or user experience. Unlike traditional remote access tools, Cyolo PRO offers a true zero-trust model where no credentials or sessions are stored in the cloud or with the vendor. Factor-y, acting as both consultant and integration partner, helped bridge Maddalena’s business needs with Cyolo’s modern security capabilities. Together, they delivered a new model of access governance that combines:
Flexibility and self-service
Regulatory readiness and full auditability
A scalable framework for future growth
A New Standard for Secure Industrial Access
Maddalena is now positioned for the future, with secure remote access that enables both IT and OT use cases, seamless onboarding of vendors, and full visibility across all access events. With Cyolo, Maddalena has laid the foundation for a more secure and scalable digital future.
