Why Enterprise Security Features Are Now Essential for Leisure Operations Software
Introduction
When we launched OpsPal, we focused on solving operational challenges—managing risk assessments, tracking incidents, coordinating tasks across multiple sites. We built a platform that operations teams loved because it made their jobs easier.
But we also learned something important: loving the product isn’t enough if it can’t get past IT procurement.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve had honest conversations with leisure trusts, local authorities, and multi-site operators who wanted OpsPal but couldn’t sign off without enterprise security features—specifically Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
So we listened. And we built them.
What Are SSO and MFA? (And Why Should Leisure Operators Care?)
Let’s start with the basics, because these terms get thrown around in IT conversations without much explanation of what they actually do for your operations.
Single Sign-On (SSO): One Login, Total Control
Single Sign-On lets your team access OpsPal through Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)—the identity system behind Microsoft 365.
What this means in practice:
Instead of creating separate OpsPal usernames and passwords for every staff member, they simply log in using their existing Microsoft 365 credentials. One login for everything.
Why this matters for leisure facilities:
Centralised user management — When someone leaves your organisation, IT removes them from Microsoft 365 and they automatically lose access to OpsPal. No orphaned accounts. No “we forgot to disable their login.”
Reduced password fatigue — Your team already juggles enough passwords. SSO means one less credential to remember, which means fewer password reset requests to IT.
Faster onboarding — New starter joins? They get access to OpsPal the moment they get their Microsoft 365 account. No waiting for separate credentials.
Procurement compliance — Many local authorities and leisure trusts now require SSO integration as standard. Without it, you don’t even make the shortlist.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Extra Protection Where It Counts
For organisations not using SSO, MFA adds a second layer of verification beyond just a password—typically a code sent to your phone or generated by an authentication app.
Why this matters for leisure facilities:
Your operations platform holds sensitive information: incident reports involving staff or customers, risk assessments with detailed facility information, staff training records and personal details, insurance-related documentation.
If someone’s password gets compromised (phishing email, written on a sticky note, reused from another site), MFA stops unauthorised access in its tracks.
The uncomfortable truth:
According to the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024, 43% of data breaches involve insider threats—current or former employees with valid credentials. MFA significantly reduces this risk.
Insurance companies and auditors are increasingly asking: “How do you protect sensitive operational data?” MFA is a clear, demonstrable answer.
Why We Added These Features (The Honest Version)
We didn’t add SSO and MFA because they were next on our development roadmap. We added them because potential customers told us they were deal-breakers.
The Conversations That Changed Our Roadmap
The Local Authority Leisure Trust: “We love OpsPal. The operations team did a trial and said it would save them hours every week. But our IT security policy requires SSO integration with Microsoft 365. Can you support that?”
At the time, we couldn’t. We lost the deal.
The Multi-Site University Sports Facility: “Your platform does everything we need, but our procurement framework has a mandatory requirement for MFA on any system handling staff or student data. It’s non-negotiable.”
We explained our security measures—encryption, UK hosting, access controls—but without MFA, we couldn’t tick their compliance box.
The Regional Leisure Operator: “Honestly, we’d probably choose you over [competitor], but they offer SSO and you don’t. Our IT team won’t approve anything that doesn’t integrate with our existing identity management.”
That one stung. We were the better product, but we couldn’t get over the procurement hurdle.
The Pattern We Couldn’t Ignore
These weren’t isolated requests. They were recurring themes:
- 60% of our 2024 enterprise conversations mentioned SSO
- 40% explicitly stated MFA was a requirement
- 75% of local authority enquiries had IT security checklists that included both
We had two choices: keep losing deals to competitors with enterprise security features, or build what the market was asking for.
We chose to build.
Why Listening to “No” Is More Valuable Than Hearing “Yes”
When someone buys your product, they’re validating what you’ve already built. When someone doesn’t buy your product—and takes the time to explain why—that’s gold.
They were specific: Nobody said “we just don’t like it.” They said “We need SSO integration with Microsoft 365” or “Our IT policy requires MFA.” Specific feedback gives you a specific roadmap.
They represented a pattern: One person saying “I wish you had SSO” is an opinion. Ten people saying it is a market signal. Twenty people saying it is a trend you can’t ignore.
They trusted us enough to be honest: The prospects who said “we love this but can’t buy it without [feature]” were doing us a favour. They gave us actionable intelligence.
They kept the door open: Many of these conversations ended with “if you add SSO, we’d definitely reconsider.” That’s not a rejection—it’s an invitation to come back when you’ve evolved.
The Product Development Philosophy This Creates
Building features based on customer feedback—especially from prospects who didn’t buy—creates a different kind of product roadmap.
You’re not building what you think the market wants. You’re building what you know specific organisations need to make a purchasing decision.
That’s the difference between product development as guesswork and product development as market response.
What This Means for Leisure Operators Considering OpsPal
If you looked at OpsPal in 2024 and thought “this looks great, but we need enterprise security features,” here’s what’s changed:
You Can Now Access OpsPal Through Microsoft 365
SSO integration with Microsoft Entra ID means:
- Your team logs in using their existing Microsoft 365 credentials
- No separate passwords to remember or manage
- Automatic access removal when staff leave your organisation
- Full compatibility with your Microsoft identity management
- Seamless onboarding for new starters
You Can Add MFA for Extra Protection
For organisations not using SSO, Multi-Factor Authentication gives you:
- Second layer of security for sensitive operational data
- Compliance with IT security policies requiring 2FA
- Protection against password compromise
- Demonstrable security measures for insurance and audit requirements
- Granular control—apply MFA to specific roles or all users
Everything Else You Loved Is Still There
We didn’t rebuild OpsPal from scratch—we enhanced it. All the features that made operations teams love the platform are still there: mobile-optimised for on-the-go use, simple intuitive interface designed for end users, comprehensive operations management (risk assessments, tasks, incidents, procedures), UK-hosted with full GDPR compliance, and real-time visibility across multiple sites.
We just made it procurable for organisations with enterprise IT requirements.
For Organisations Who Said “Not Yet”
If you evaluated OpsPal before and SSO or MFA were barriers, we’d welcome the opportunity to reconnect.
What we’d like to do:
Show you what’s changed with a brief walkthrough of the new enterprise security features and how they integrate with Microsoft 365, address your specific requirements by mapping OpsPal’s capabilities to your IT security checklist, provide technical documentation covering SSO implementation and security architecture, and facilitate IT team conversations to answer technical questions.
No pressure. Just a conversation about whether the barriers that existed before have been removed.
Get in touch: https://opspal.co.uk/contact
The Broader Lesson: Customer-Led Development Works
You can have the best features, the slickest interface, and the most competitive pricing—but if you can’t get past procurement, none of that matters.
Listening to why prospects don’t buy is just as important as celebrating when they do. The feedback we received from leisure trusts, local authorities, and multi-site operators didn’t just improve our product—it made it procurable for a whole category of organisations we were previously locked out of.
We’ll keep listening. Whether you’re a current customer, a prospect evaluating options, or someone who looked at OpsPal a year ago and decided it wasn’t quite ready—your feedback shapes what we build next.
SSO and MFA prove we’re willing to build them.
Conclusion
Enterprise security features like SSO and MFA aren’t just technical checkboxes—they’re practical requirements that make digital operations platforms viable for UK leisure facilities with robust IT governance.
We built them because you asked for them. And we’re grateful to everyone who took the time to tell us why OpsPal wasn’t quite ready for their organisation yet.
If that was you—let’s talk again.
Ready to see what’s changed?
About the Author
Craig is Director of OpsExcellence and Owner of OpsPal, a digital operations management platform serving over 50 leisure facilities, universities, and hospitality venues across the UK. With 20+ years in the leisure industry, he’s passionate about building software that operators actually want to use—and listening to why they sometimes don’t.
Sources
UK Government Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, 2024, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2024
