4 Different Ways of Working Remotely

Remote working has transformed from an emergency measure into a permanent feature of modern business. Whether you're a small London-based firm or a growing SME, understanding the different methods of remote working — and which one suits your business — is essential for productivity, security, and cost control.

At Cloudswitched, we've helped hundreds of businesses transition to remote and hybrid working models. Below, we break down the four most effective methods of facilitating remote work, complete with cost comparisons, security ratings, and practical guidance to help you choose the right approach.

The 4 Remote Working Methods at a Glance

Before we dive into detail, here is a quick comparison of all four methods. Each has different strengths depending on your business size, budget, and security requirements.

Method	Best For	Setup Time	Monthly Cost	Security Level
VPN	Businesses with on-premise servers	1–3 days	£5–15/user	High
Remote Desktop	Staff who need their office PC	1–2 days	£10–30/user	Medium–High
Cloud Files (Office 365)	Document-heavy businesses	3–7 days	£8–18/user	High
Cloud Server (Azure)	Full infrastructure migration	2–6 weeks	£30–80/user	Very High

1. VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A VPN creates a secure, encrypted tunnel between your employee's device and your office network. It allows remote workers to access internal resources — shared drives, printers, intranet applications — as if they were sitting at their office desk.

How It Works

VPN software is installed on the employee's laptop or PC. When activated, all internet traffic is routed through your office network's firewall, giving the user access to on-premise resources while keeping data encrypted in transit.

VPN Security Rating

2. Remote Desktop Tools

Remote desktop services allow your employees to connect to and control their office workstation from any location. The employee sees their office desktop screen on their home computer and can interact with it in real time — running applications, accessing files, and using peripherals as normal.

Popular Remote Desktop Solutions

Tool	Price (per user/month)	Key Features	Best For
LogMeIn	£25–35	File transfer, remote printing, multi-monitor	Enterprise teams
TeamViewer	£15–25	Cross-platform, easy setup, chat	SMEs & quick setup
Solarwinds Take Control	£18–28	Bulk management, diagnostics, scripting	IT managed services
Microsoft RDP	Included with Windows Pro	Native Windows integration	Windows-only offices

3. Migration of Files & Folders to the Cloud

Moving your business documents to Microsoft 365 (OneDrive & SharePoint) means your team can access, edit, and collaborate on files from anywhere — without needing to connect to an office network at all.

What You Get with Microsoft 365 Business

Migrating your files to the cloud means employees can work on the same documents simultaneously, with automatic version history and real-time co-authoring. At Cloudswitched, we provide an all-in-one Office 365 migration service that takes care of planning, data transfer, and user training from start to finish.

Cloud Files vs Local Files

4. Migration of Servers to the Cloud (Microsoft Azure)

For businesses that rely on custom applications, databases, or complex server infrastructure, migrating your entire server environment to Microsoft Azure is the most comprehensive solution. Azure replaces your on-premise servers with cloud-based virtual machines managed by Microsoft's global data centre network.

This isn't just about remote working — it's about building a resilient, scalable, and secure IT infrastructure that supports your business no matter what happens. No more worrying about hardware failures, physical security, or costly server room cooling.

Setup Cost Comparison

While Azure migration has a higher upfront cost, the long-term savings are significant. You eliminate hardware replacement cycles (typically every 3–5 years), reduce electricity costs, and gain enterprise-grade security and disaster recovery that would cost tens of thousands to replicate on-premise.

Overall Security Comparison

Security is a top concern for any business enabling remote work. Here's how each method compares across key security dimensions:

Compliance and Data Protection for UK Remote Workers

Any UK business enabling remote work must consider its obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. These regulations do not disappear when employees leave the office — in many respects, remote working makes compliance more complex and more critical.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has made clear that organisations remain fully responsible for protecting personal data regardless of where their staff are working. A data breach caused by an unsecured home Wi-Fi connection or a lost personal laptop carries the same regulatory consequences as one originating from your office network. Fines for serious breaches can reach up to £17.5 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher.

Key Compliance Considerations

Device management is the first area to address. Decide whether employees will use company-issued devices or their own personal equipment. Company-issued devices give you far greater control over security settings, encryption, and software updates. If you permit personal devices (a Bring Your Own Device or BYOD policy), you need a clear policy that specifies minimum security requirements, mandates full-disk encryption, and gives you the right to remotely wipe company data if a device is lost or the employee leaves the business.

Data encryption must be enforced at every stage. This means encrypting data in transit (which VPNs and cloud services handle automatically) and data at rest (ensuring that laptops, external drives, and local file copies are encrypted using tools such as BitLocker for Windows or FileVault for macOS). The ICO specifically recommends encryption as a baseline technical measure for any organisation processing personal data.

Access controls should follow the principle of least privilege. Each employee should have access only to the data and systems they need for their role — no more. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be mandatory for all remote access methods. According to Microsoft's 2025 Digital Defence Report, MFA prevents over 99.2% of account compromise attacks, making it the single most effective security measure you can implement for remote workers.

Practical GDPR Checklist for Remote Working

• Conduct a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for your remote working arrangements
• Update your data processing records to reflect remote working practices
• Ensure all remote access connections are encrypted (VPN, HTTPS, TLS 1.3)
• Mandate multi-factor authentication for all cloud services and remote access
• Establish a clear procedure for reporting data breaches that occur outside the office
• Provide annual data protection training for all remote workers
• Review and update your BYOD policy at least annually

Building a Remote Working Policy That Works

Technology alone does not make remote working successful. The most reliable IT setup in the world will underperform if your team lacks clear guidance on how to work effectively and securely from home. A well-crafted remote working policy bridges the gap between technology provision and day-to-day practice.

What Your Policy Should Cover

Eligibility and expectations. Define which roles are eligible for remote working, whether arrangements are full-time remote, hybrid, or ad hoc, and what core hours (if any) apply. The CIPD's 2025 UK Working Lives Survey found that hybrid arrangements (typically three days in the office and two at home) remain the most popular model among UK employers, offering a balance between collaboration and flexibility.

Equipment and workspace. Specify what equipment the company will provide (laptop, monitor, keyboard, headset) and any home workspace requirements. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992, employers have a duty of care to ensure that home workstations are safe and ergonomically appropriate. This typically means providing a DSE self-assessment checklist and offering to supply equipment such as an adjustable chair or monitor riser if needed.

Communication protocols. Establish norms around which tools to use for different types of communication — for example, Microsoft Teams for quick questions and video calls, email for formal client correspondence, and a shared project management tool for task tracking. Clarity here reduces the friction and miscommunication that often plague distributed teams. Specify expected response times during core hours and clarify out-of-hours expectations.

Security responsibilities. Your policy should clearly state each employee's personal responsibility for security, including locking their device when stepping away, not using public Wi-Fi without a VPN, keeping software updated, and reporting any suspected security incidents immediately. Make consequences for policy violations clear but proportionate.

Supporting Employee Wellbeing

The mental health implications of remote working deserve specific attention in your policy. A 2025 study by Mind, the UK mental health charity, found that while 62% of UK remote workers reported improved work-life balance, 38% reported increased feelings of isolation, and 27% reported difficulty disconnecting from work at the end of the day. Your policy should address these risks explicitly — for instance, by encouraging regular breaks, protecting the right to disconnect outside working hours, and ensuring that line managers schedule regular one-to-one check-ins with remote team members.

The Hidden Costs of Poor Remote Working Infrastructure

Businesses that cut corners on remote working technology often discover that the apparent savings are dwarfed by hidden costs that accumulate over months and years.

Productivity losses are the most significant but least visible cost. A 2025 survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) found that UK employees using inadequate remote working tools lose an average of 45 minutes per day to technology-related frustrations — slow connections, dropped video calls, inaccessible files, and software compatibility issues. Across a team of 20 employees, that amounts to 15 hours of lost productivity every single day, or approximately £78,000 per year in wasted salary costs alone.

Security incidents carry both direct and indirect costs. The average cost of a data breach for a UK SME reached £3,740 in 2025 according to the UK Government's Cyber Security Breaches Survey, but this figure excludes the harder-to-quantify costs of reputational damage, lost client trust, and management time spent on incident response. For businesses in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, or legal services, the costs can be substantially higher due to regulatory penalties and mandatory reporting obligations.

Staff turnover is another hidden expense. The CIPD estimates that the average cost of replacing an employee in the UK is between £6,000 and £15,000 when recruitment, training, and lost productivity during the transition are factored in. Remote working satisfaction is now a significant factor in employee retention — a 2025 survey by Hays Recruitment found that 41% of UK professionals would consider leaving their current role if remote or hybrid working options were withdrawn. Investing in reliable, user-friendly remote working tools is therefore also an investment in staff retention.

Opportunity costs are perhaps the most consequential of all. Businesses with robust remote working infrastructure can recruit from a wider talent pool (not limited to commuting distance from the office), respond more flexibly to disruptions (whether a transport strike, severe weather, or another public health event), and scale their workforce up or down without the constraints of physical office capacity. Businesses without this infrastructure face all of these limitations — and their competitors who have invested wisely do not.

Which Method Should You Choose?

The right approach depends on your business needs. Many companies use a combination of methods — for example, Office 365 for file sharing alongside a VPN for accessing legacy applications.

"The best remote working setup isn't always the most expensive one. It's the one that matches your team's actual workflow and security requirements."

Quick Decision Guide

• You need quick, low-cost access to office resources — Start with a VPN. It's the fastest to deploy and works well for teams under 20 people.
• Your team relies on specialist desktop software — Use Remote Desktop tools. Staff can access their exact office setup from home.
• You're a document-heavy business (legal, finance, creative) — Migrate to Office 365. Real-time collaboration and cloud storage will transform your workflow.
• You want to future-proof your entire IT — Migrate to Azure. It's the most comprehensive solution with the best long-term ROI.

Getting Started

Enabling remote work doesn't have to be complicated. At Cloudswitched, we've supported businesses across London and the UK in making the transition smoothly — whether that's a simple VPN setup or a full Azure cloud migration.

Our team will assess your current setup, recommend the best approach for your business, and handle the implementation from start to finish. We offer ongoing support to ensure everything runs smoothly once your team is up and running remotely.

To find out which remote working solution is right for your business, get in touch with our team today for a free, no-obligation consultation.