Working From Home in the UK: The Tech You Actually Need

Working from home does not require a long shopping list of technology. What matters is whether employees can reach the systems they need, use equipment that is suitable for a full working day and connect without opening unnecessary routes into your business.

If you run a smaller business, what actually deserves budget and what can you leave out? A second screen may matter more than a new laptop for one employee, while another may need secure access to a Windows application held on an office server. Start with the work people need to do, then build the setup around it.

Work out how employees need to reach business systems

Remote access is the broad term for reaching files, applications or systems from outside the workplace. Remote desktop is one form of remote access that lets a user view and control a desktop running on another computer or server.

Some remote desktop connections use RDP, or Remote Desktop Protocol, which carries keyboard, mouse and screen information between the local device and the remote computer. A session is the individual connection created for a user while they are logged in.

You do not always need to give employees an entire desktop. If someone only needs an accounts package, stock system or another Windows application, publishing that application can keep access focused on what the role requires.

If your business needs employees to reach Windows applications or desktops held on office servers, TSplus offers remote access software for publishing those applications and desktops to remote users. The service also supports browser access using an HTML5 client, which lets the user connect from a web browser without installing a separate desktop client.

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, works differently from remote desktop software. It creates an encrypted connection between a remote device and a network. That can suit employees who need wider network access, but first decide whether they need the network itself or only a desktop or application.

Give home workers equipment they can use all day

A laptop may be enough for occasional work away from the office. It can become uncomfortable when somebody spends most of the week working from the same small screen and keyboard.

The Health and Safety Executive says the Display Screen Equipment rules apply to home workers who use DSE daily for continuous periods of an hour or more. Where the rules apply, employers must assess the workstation and reduce any risks they identify.

You do not need to recreate an office in every home. Check what each employee already has and where the working day becomes uncomfortable. A laptop riser with a separate keyboard and mouse may be enough in one case, while detailed screen work may justify a separate monitor.

Also think about calls. A headset can make frequent meetings easier to manage, while a suitable webcam matters more for roles that involve regular conversations with clients or colleagues.

Secure the connection as well as the device

Remote working puts business systems within reach from outside the office, so access controls matter as much as the laptop itself.

A brute-force attack is an automated attempt to guess login details by trying many combinations. Multi-factor authentication, or MFA, adds another verification step after the password. A stolen password on its own is then less likely to give somebody access.

The NCSC recommends enabling MFA for remote connections, using a suitable VPN where needed and patching known vulnerabilities in internet-facing systems promptly. It also recommends reviewing account permissions and removing access that is no longer required.

Do not stop at login controls. Decide who installs updates on company laptops, how quickly remote access software is patched and what happens when somebody leaves the business. If employees use personal devices, decide what company information they may store locally and how that information will be removed when access is no longer needed.

Make home working manageable when something breaks

An employee who cannot open a business application from home may lose hours before anybody knows there is a problem. Give people a clear route for reporting access problems, lost devices and signs of a cyber incident.

It also helps to know what your IT team can check remotely. Check whether your tools record connection attempts, failed logins and device update status, so your IT team can investigate access problems without relying only on what the employee reports.

If you run a small company, you do not need the same IT operation as a business with hundreds of remote employees. You do need to decide who handles access problems, security updates and account changes when they happen.

Keep UK home-working rules in the setup

Working from home does not change your responsibilities around personal data. Employees may be viewing customer records, downloading documents or discussing confidential information in rooms shared with other people.

The ICO advises home workers to use approved technology, prevent work information from being seen or overheard by other people and take care with personal devices and printed documents. Its guidance on working from home securely also covers screens, conversations and storing work equipment safely.

Turn that into a short set of rules employees can follow. Decide which devices they may use, what they can store on them, how they connect to company systems and what they should do with printed material. Make those rules easy to find rather than expecting people to remember instructions given months earlier.

Build the setup around the work people actually do

A good home-working setup does not need every tool available. Start with the applications and files employees need to reach, then check the device, authentication, workstation and IT help around that access.

Review the setup when roles change or when employees start using different systems from home. If your business is paying for access nobody uses, employees are working on unsuitable equipment or remote connections have not been reviewed for years, those are better places to spend time and budget than adding more technology for its own sake.