IT Requirements for Moving to a Flexible Workspace

Moving to a flexible workspace — whether that means a serviced office, coworking hub, or managed suite — is one of the most significant operational decisions a UK business can make. The commercial property market has shifted dramatically since 2020, with flexible workspace operators like WeWork, Regus, and hundreds of independent providers now accounting for more than 15% of all UK office take-up. For growing businesses, the appeal is obvious: no long leases, shared amenities, and the ability to scale up or down as demand changes.

But here’s what catches most businesses off guard: the IT requirements for flexible workspaces are fundamentally different from those of a traditional leased office. In a conventional setup, you control the network, the server room, the phone system, and every cable in the building. In a flexible workspace, you’re sharing infrastructure with dozens — sometimes hundreds — of other tenants. Your data travels over networks you don’t own. Your team might be hot-desking one day and working from home the next. The security perimeter you once took for granted has effectively dissolved.

This guide covers every IT consideration for UK businesses moving to flexible workspaces in 2026. From internet connectivity and VPN configuration to BYOD policies, cloud migration, printing, VoIP telephony, meeting room technology, and hybrid working infrastructure — we’ll walk through the technical requirements, realistic costs, and practical solutions that keep your business productive, secure, and compliant.

Internet Connectivity: Shared vs Dedicated

The single most important IT decision when moving to a flexible workspace is how your business connects to the internet. Unlike a traditional office where you contract directly with an ISP and own the entire connection, flexible workspaces typically provide internet as part of the package. The question is whether that shared connection meets your needs — or whether you need something dedicated.

Shared Internet: What You Get

Most flexible workspace operators provide a shared broadband or leased line connection as standard. This is included in your desk or office fee and typically offers speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps, shared across all tenants on the floor or building. For basic tasks — email, web browsing, cloud document editing — shared internet works perfectly well. Reputable operators invest in enterprise-grade hardware, redundant connections, and Quality of Service (QoS) settings that ensure reasonable performance for all users.

However, shared internet comes with inherent limitations. During peak hours, bandwidth contention can slow your connection noticeably. You have no control over QoS priorities, firewall rules, or network segmentation. If another tenant saturates the connection with large file transfers or video streaming, your VoIP calls may suffer. And critically, your traffic shares network hardware with businesses you know nothing about — a security concern for any organisation handling sensitive data.

Dedicated Internet: When You Need It

A dedicated internet connection — typically a leased line or dedicated fibre circuit — gives your business its own private link to the internet, completely separate from the shared building network. This guarantees consistent bandwidth, symmetrical upload and download speeds, and the ability to configure your own firewall, QoS, and network policies. For businesses running VoIP, video conferencing, cloud-based applications, or handling sensitive data, a dedicated connection is often essential.

Many flexible workspace operators can accommodate dedicated lines, though it may require a longer commitment (typically 12–36 months) and additional monthly costs of £200–£800 depending on bandwidth and location. Some operators offer a middle ground: a dedicated VLAN on their shared infrastructure, providing logical separation without the cost of a physical dedicated line.

VPN and Remote Access

In a traditional office, your internal network is a relatively controlled environment. Devices connect to your switches, traffic stays behind your firewall, and access to sensitive systems is managed through your own infrastructure. In a flexible workspace, that model breaks down entirely. Your devices are connecting to a network shared with other businesses, and your staff may be splitting their time between the workspace, home, and client sites.

Why VPN Is Non-Negotiable

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates an encrypted tunnel between your devices and your corporate resources — whether those resources live in a data centre, a cloud platform, or your company’s headquarters. In a flexible workspace environment, a VPN ensures that even though your data travels over shared infrastructure, it remains encrypted and inaccessible to anyone else on the network.

There are two primary VPN approaches for flexible workspace users:

• Site-to-site VPN — connects your entire flexible workspace office to your main network via an encrypted tunnel between routers. This is ideal if you have a dedicated office within the flexible workspace and a headquarters or data centre to connect to. All traffic from your office is automatically encrypted without individual device configuration.
• Client VPN (per-device) — each employee installs VPN software on their laptop or mobile device and connects individually. This is better suited to hot-desking environments where staff move between desks, locations, and home working. Modern solutions like WireGuard, Cloudflare WARP for Teams, and Tailscale make client VPN nearly invisible to the end user.

Zero Trust as an Alternative

An increasing number of UK businesses are moving beyond traditional VPN entirely, adopting a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) model. Rather than trusting anyone inside the VPN tunnel, Zero Trust verifies every user, device, and request individually. Services like Cloudflare Access, Zscaler Private Access, and Microsoft Entra Private Access authenticate users at the application level — meaning your staff can securely access internal tools from any network without a traditional VPN connection.

For businesses in flexible workspaces, Zero Trust is particularly attractive because it eliminates the need for on-site VPN hardware, works seamlessly across hot-desking and hybrid scenarios, and provides granular access controls that traditional VPNs cannot match.

BYOD Policies and Device Management

Flexible workspaces attract a particular type of business — one that values agility, minimal overhead, and modern working practices. It’s no surprise, then, that Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies are far more common among flexible workspace tenants than in traditional offices. Staff may use personal laptops, tablets, and smartphones for work, connecting to the shared workspace network alongside company-owned devices.

The BYOD Security Challenge

BYOD introduces significant security risks that are amplified in a flexible workspace environment. Personal devices may lack up-to-date antivirus software, may have weak or no disk encryption, and may be used by family members or for personal activities that introduce malware. When these devices connect to a shared network alongside dozens of other businesses, the attack surface expands dramatically.

A robust BYOD policy for flexible workspace users should include:

• Mobile Device Management (MDM) — solutions like Microsoft Intune, Jamf, or Kandji allow you to enforce security policies on personal devices without taking full control. You can require disk encryption, enforce screen lock policies, remotely wipe corporate data if a device is lost, and ensure OS updates are applied promptly.
• Application containerisation — separate corporate data and apps from personal content on the same device. Microsoft Intune App Protection Policies, for example, can prevent company data from being copied to personal apps.
• Network Access Control (NAC) — only allow devices that meet your security baseline to connect to corporate resources. Devices without current antivirus, encryption, or OS patches are quarantined until compliant.
• Acceptable use agreements — clear documentation that employees sign, acknowledging the security requirements and their responsibilities when using personal devices for work.

Company-Owned vs BYOD: Cost Comparison

While BYOD without management appears cheapest on paper, the average cost of a data breach for a UK SME is £8,460 according to the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025. A single incident can wipe out years of BYOD savings. The sweet spot for most flexible workspace businesses is BYOD with MDM — giving employees device freedom while maintaining corporate security standards.

Cloud-First Strategy

If your business still relies on on-premise servers, file shares, or locally installed applications, moving to a flexible workspace will force a reckoning. Flexible workspaces do not offer server rooms, dedicated comms cabinets, or the power and cooling infrastructure that on-premise hardware demands. The move to flexible workspace is, in practice, a move to cloud.

Essential Cloud Services for Flexible Workspace Businesses

A cloud-first IT strategy means every critical business system is accessible from any device, on any network, with nothing more than a browser and an internet connection. Here are the core categories:

Category	On-Premise (Traditional)	Cloud Equivalent	Typical Monthly Cost
Email & calendar	Exchange Server	Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace	£5–£20 per user
File storage	Windows File Server / NAS	SharePoint / Google Drive / Dropbox Business	£8–£15 per user
Line-of-business apps	Locally installed software	SaaS equivalents (Xero, HubSpot, etc.)	Varies by application
Phone system	On-premise PBX	Cloud VoIP (hosted PBX)	£8–£25 per user
Backup	Tape / local NAS backup	Cloud backup (Veeam, Datto, Acronis)	£3–£10 per user
Security	On-premise firewall / AV server	Cloud security (CrowdStrike, Defender for Business)	£5–£15 per user

The total cost of a cloud-first stack for a flexible workspace business typically ranges from £30 to £85 per user per month — which, while not insignificant, eliminates the capital expenditure of servers, the salary cost of on-premise IT management, and the risk of hardware failure taking your entire operation offline.

Printing in a Flexible Workspace

Printing might seem like a minor concern compared to network security or cloud migration, but it consistently ranks among the top IT frustrations for flexible workspace users. The shared printing model in most coworking spaces is fundamentally different from what businesses are used to — and it introduces both practical and security challenges.

How Flexible Workspace Printing Typically Works

Most operators provide shared multifunction printers (MFPs) in communal areas, accessible to all tenants. You send a print job from your device, walk to the printer, and collect your output. Some spaces use a pay-per-page model (£0.05–£0.15 per page for mono, £0.20–£0.50 for colour), while others include a monthly print allowance in the desk fee.

The problems arise quickly. Sensitive documents sit in output trays where anyone can see them. Print queues are shared, creating potential for documents to be collected by the wrong person. Driver compatibility issues are common when connecting personal devices to shared printers. And for businesses that print regularly — legal firms, accountancy practices, recruitment agencies — pay-per-page costs can add up fast.

Solutions for Business Printing Needs

• Secure print release — some operators offer badge-based or PIN-based print release, where documents only print when you physically authenticate at the device. Always ask if this is available.
• Cloud print services — solutions like Microsoft Universal Print or PaperCut Cloud allow you to manage printing centrally, route jobs to specific printers, enforce colour/duplex policies, and track usage across your team — regardless of which flexible workspace location they’re in.
• Dedicated printer — if your team prints heavily, consider placing a small MFP in your private office. Many operators allow this, though you may need to manage your own supplies and maintenance. A good quality business inkjet or laser MFP costs £200–£600 and provides complete control over output security.
• Go paperless — the most effective printing strategy in a flexible workspace is to eliminate printing wherever possible. Digital signatures (DocuSign, Adobe Sign), PDF annotation tools, and cloud-based document management systems reduce paper dependency significantly.

VoIP and Business Telephony

Your phone system is one of the most network-sensitive applications you run. Voice calls require consistent, low-latency connectivity with minimal jitter and packet loss. In a flexible workspace, where you may be sharing bandwidth with hundreds of other users, getting telephony right requires careful planning.

The Challenge of VoIP in Shared Spaces

VoIP calls are highly susceptible to network quality issues. Each concurrent call requires approximately 80–100 Kbps of bandwidth with latency below 150ms and jitter below 30ms. On a shared flexible workspace network during peak hours, these thresholds can easily be breached — resulting in choppy audio, dropped calls, and frustrated customers.

Additionally, most flexible workspace operators do not provide QoS prioritisation for individual tenants’ VoIP traffic. Your voice packets compete equally with every other tenant’s web traffic, file downloads, and video streams. For a business that handles more than a handful of calls per day, this is simply not acceptable.

VoIP Solutions for Flexible Workspaces

• Cloud VoIP with mobile fallback — modern cloud PBX systems like those provided by Cloudswitched can automatically detect poor network conditions and seamlessly route calls to the mobile network instead. Your staff keep the same business number, and the caller never notices the switch.
• Dedicated VLAN for voice — if your operator supports it, request a dedicated VLAN with QoS prioritisation for your VoIP traffic. This provides a logical separation from other tenants’ data traffic.
• 4G/5G backup — some VoIP handsets and softphones support cellular data as a fallback connection. If the workspace Wi-Fi degrades, calls automatically route over your mobile data connection.
• Softphones over VPN — running your VoIP softphone over a VPN tunnel ensures your voice traffic is encrypted and, depending on the VPN configuration, may receive priority routing to your cloud PBX provider.

Security in a Shared Environment

Security is the area where flexible workspaces diverge most dramatically from traditional offices. In a conventional lease, you control physical access to your floor, your network, and your equipment. In a flexible workspace, you share reception areas, corridors, kitchen spaces, and sometimes even open-plan desking areas with businesses and individuals you have no relationship with — and no visibility into their security practices.

Physical Security Considerations

• Private office locks — if you have a dedicated office, ensure it has a secure lock (ideally electronic with audit trail) and that only your team members have access. Change codes when staff leave.
• Screen privacy filters — in open-plan or hot-desking areas, privacy filters on laptop screens prevent visual eavesdropping on sensitive information.
• Device security cables — Kensington locks or similar cables for laptops left at desks overnight. While not foolproof, they deter opportunistic theft.
• Clean desk policy — enforce a policy where all sensitive documents, notebooks, and removable media are locked away when staff leave their desk. This is especially important in hot-desking environments where desks are shared with strangers.

Network Security Layers

Beyond VPN and Zero Trust (covered earlier), businesses in flexible workspaces should implement multiple layers of network security:

Security Layer	Purpose	Recommended Solutions	Monthly Cost per User
DNS filtering	Block malicious domains before connection	Cloudflare Gateway, Cisco Umbrella	£2–£5
Endpoint protection	Detect and block malware on devices	CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Business	£5–£12
Email security	Filter phishing, spam, and malicious attachments	Mimecast, Proofpoint, Microsoft Defender for Office 365	£3–£8
Multi-factor authentication	Prevent unauthorised account access	Microsoft Authenticator, Duo, YubiKey	£0–£5
Data Loss Prevention	Prevent sensitive data leaving the organisation	Microsoft Purview, Symantec DLP	£5–£15

Compliance and Data Protection

If your business handles personal data (and virtually every business does under UK GDPR), moving to a flexible workspace introduces new data processing considerations. You need to ensure that your workspace operator’s data processing practices — CCTV, access logs, guest Wi-Fi data collection — are compatible with your own privacy obligations. Request a copy of the operator’s data processing agreement and review it with your data protection officer or legal adviser before signing.

For businesses in regulated sectors — financial services (FCA), healthcare (CQC), or legal (SRA) — additional considerations apply. Your regulator may have specific requirements about data storage locations, network security standards, and physical access controls that a flexible workspace must satisfy. Document your compliance assessment thoroughly.

Meeting Room Technology

Meeting rooms in flexible workspaces range from basic four-person huddle spaces to fully equipped boardrooms with video conferencing, wireless presentation, and room booking systems. The technology available — and its reliability — can make or break your client meetings and internal collaboration.

What to Expect from Workspace Meeting Rooms

Most modern flexible workspaces provide meeting rooms with at least a large display or projector, HDMI connectivity, and speakerphone capability. Higher-end spaces offer integrated video conferencing systems (typically Zoom Rooms, Microsoft Teams Rooms, or Cisco Webex), wireless screen sharing (via AirPlay, Miracast, or dedicated devices like Barco ClickShare), and smart room booking panels outside each door.

Bringing Your Own Meeting Tech

Even in well-equipped spaces, relying entirely on the operator’s technology is risky. Here is a practical meeting tech kit that every flexible workspace team should have:

• USB-C hub with HDMI output — ensures you can connect to any display regardless of the room’s cable setup (£25–£60)
• Portable speakerphone — a Jabra Speak or Poly Sync provides far better audio than laptop speakers for hybrid meetings (£80–£250)
• Webcam — a dedicated USB webcam like the Logitech Brio offers better quality and positioning than built-in laptop cameras (£60–£180)
• Wireless presentation dongle — a Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter or EZCast lets you present without fumbling with cables (£30–£80)

Hot-Desking IT Requirements

Hot-desking — where employees do not have assigned desks and instead use any available workspace — is a defining feature of many flexible workspace arrangements. It maximises space utilisation and supports the fluid working patterns that flexible workspaces are designed for. But it creates specific IT challenges that businesses must address.

Device Configuration for Hot-Desking

When staff do not have a fixed desk, every IT resource must be portable and self-contained. This means:

• Laptops, not desktops — every hot-desking employee needs a laptop as their primary device. Ensure laptops have sufficient battery life (minimum 8 hours) for days when power outlets are scarce.
• Cloud-based profiles — user settings, bookmarks, application configurations, and files should sync via cloud services (OneDrive, Google Drive) so the experience is consistent regardless of which desk or location they use.
• Universal docking — if the workspace provides monitors at desks, carry a USB-C docking station that supports the displays, peripherals, and power delivery your team needs. Standardise on a single dock model across your organisation.
• Wireless peripherals — Bluetooth headsets, mice, and keyboards that pair quickly with laptops. Avoid peripherals that require USB dongles, which are easily lost in a hot-desking environment.

Hot-Desking Booking and Availability

Larger flexible workspaces use desk booking systems — apps like Robin, Envoy, or the operator’s own platform — to manage hot-desk availability. Integrating these with your own calendar system (Outlook, Google Calendar) ensures your team can see desk availability alongside their meeting schedule. Some advanced setups use occupancy sensors and digital signage to show real-time desk availability on each floor.

Hybrid Working Infrastructure

The flexible workspace is rarely the whole story. Most businesses using flexible workspace also have staff working from home, from client sites, or from other locations. The IT infrastructure must support this hybrid reality seamlessly — an employee’s experience should be identical whether they’re at the workspace, at home, or on the move.

The Hybrid IT Stack

A hybrid-ready IT stack for flexible workspace businesses has several key components:

• Identity and access management — Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) or Google Workspace identity provides single sign-on (SSO) across all applications. Staff log in once and access everything, regardless of location.
• Cloud-based collaboration — Microsoft Teams or Google Meet for video calls and instant messaging, with SharePoint/Google Drive for real-time document collaboration. These tools work identically from any location.
• VoIP with multi-device support — a cloud phone system that rings simultaneously on desk phone, laptop softphone, and mobile app. Your business number follows you everywhere.
• Remote monitoring and management (RMM) — tools like NinjaOne, Datto RMM, or ConnectWise Automate allow your IT team (or managed IT provider) to monitor, patch, and troubleshoot devices remotely, regardless of where the device is located.
• Cloud backup — ensure all devices — including home workers’ laptops — are backed up to the cloud automatically. A stolen or broken laptop should mean nothing more than a brief disruption while a replacement is configured.

Hybrid Working Costs: Flexible Workspace vs Traditional Office

These figures include hardware amortisation, software licensing, connectivity, security, support, and backup. The flexible workspace model sits in a cost-effective middle ground — providing the professional environment and collaboration opportunities of an office while leveraging cloud infrastructure to reduce IT overhead compared to a fully managed traditional office.

IT Support and Managed Services

One of the most overlooked aspects of moving to a flexible workspace is who provides IT support. In a traditional office, you might have an in-house IT team or a managed service provider (MSP) who can walk the floor, plug in cables, and troubleshoot issues on-site. In a flexible workspace, physical on-site support becomes more complex — your MSP may need to coordinate with the workspace operator for access to comms rooms, network hardware, and building infrastructure.

Choosing the Right IT Support Model

Support Model	Best For	Typical Monthly Cost	Flexible Workspace Suitability
In-house IT team	50+ employees, complex needs	£3,500–£6,000+ (salary)	Moderate — limited physical access
Managed IT provider (MSP)	5–200 employees	£30–£80 per user/month	High — remote-first approach
Break-fix support	1–10 employees, low complexity	Pay per incident (£75–£150/hr)	Low — reactive, no monitoring
Workspace operator IT	Basic connectivity issues only	Included in desk fee	Limited — not your IT team

For most flexible workspace businesses, a managed IT provider with remote-first capabilities is the optimal choice. They can monitor your devices, manage security, handle helpdesk requests, and resolve most issues remotely — without needing physical access to the building. When on-site support is needed, a good MSP will coordinate with your workspace operator to ensure access and minimise disruption.

Planning Your IT Move: A Step-by-Step Checklist

Moving to a flexible workspace without a structured IT plan is a recipe for day-one chaos. Here is a practical timeline to ensure everything is in place before your team arrives.

12 Weeks Before Move

• Audit your current IT infrastructure — hardware, software licences, network configuration, phone system, printers, servers
• Assess the flexible workspace’s IT provision — internet speeds, network segmentation, printing facilities, meeting room tech
• Decide between shared and dedicated internet connectivity
• Begin cloud migration planning for any on-premise systems
• Select VPN or Zero Trust solution and begin rollout to existing devices

8 Weeks Before Move

• Order any new hardware — laptops, docking stations, headsets, webcams
• Migrate email and files to cloud platforms (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace)
• Configure and test VoIP system with mobile fallback
• Implement MDM on all devices (company-owned and BYOD)
• Set up cloud backup for all devices

4 Weeks Before Move

• Run VoIP readiness test at the workspace during peak hours
• Test VPN/ZTNA connectivity from the workspace
• Configure printing solutions — cloud print or dedicated MFP
• Train staff on new tools, security policies, and hot-desking procedures
• Port phone numbers to new VoIP provider

1 Week Before Move

• Final connectivity test at workspace — all devices, all services
• Confirm meeting room technology compatibility
• Distribute IT welcome packs to all staff — VPN access, Wi-Fi credentials, printing instructions, support contacts
• Ensure helpdesk is briefed and ready for day-one support requests

Day One and Beyond

• On-site IT support presence for the first week (even if remote-first normally)
• Monitor network performance, VoIP quality, and user feedback closely for the first month
• Schedule a 30-day review to identify and resolve any ongoing IT issues
• Review and update your business continuity plan to reflect the new workspace setup

Common IT Mistakes When Moving to Flexible Workspace

Having helped dozens of UK businesses transition to flexible workspaces, we see the same mistakes repeatedly. Avoid these and your move will be significantly smoother.

1. Assuming the workspace internet is enough — shared internet works for basic browsing but often fails under the demands of VoIP, video conferencing, and cloud applications during peak hours. Always test before committing.
2. Neglecting security on shared networks — treating a flexible workspace network like your own private office network is a serious mistake. VPN or ZTNA, endpoint protection, and MFA should be non-negotiable from day one.
3. Forgetting about printing — businesses that print regularly are often surprised by the limitations and costs of shared printing in flexible workspaces. Plan your printing solution before the move.
4. Not migrating to cloud before the move — trying to migrate email, files, and applications while settling into a new workspace creates unnecessary stress. Complete your cloud migration beforehand.
5. Ignoring the phone system — many businesses leave their phone system as an afterthought, only to discover on day one that their old PBX does not work in the new location. Migrate to cloud VoIP well in advance.
6. Skipping staff training — new tools, new security policies, and new working practices require proper training. A 30-minute onboarding session saves weeks of helpdesk tickets.
7. No IT support plan — flexible workspace operators provide building IT support, not your IT support. Ensure you have a managed IT provider or internal team ready to handle day-one issues.

Why IT Planning Makes or Breaks Your Flexible Workspace Move

The appeal of flexible workspaces is undeniable — lower costs, greater agility, modern environments, and the freedom to scale without the burden of long leases. But that flexibility comes with IT complexity that many businesses underestimate. The businesses that thrive in flexible workspaces are the ones that treat IT planning as a first-class concern, not an afterthought.

A well-planned IT setup for a flexible workspace delivers genuine competitive advantage. Your team can work from any desk, any location, any device — with the same security, performance, and access to tools they would have in a traditional office. Cloud-first infrastructure means no single point of failure. VPN or Zero Trust protects your data on shared networks. Cloud VoIP keeps your phones ringing regardless of where your team is sitting. And a managed IT provider ensures someone is always watching the dashboard, even when you’re focused on running your business.

The transition requires investment — in cloud licences, security tools, new hardware, and professional IT guidance. But that investment is typically offset by the savings from eliminating on-premise infrastructure, reducing property costs, and improving staff productivity through modern, flexible working practices.

For UK businesses considering a move to flexible workspace in 2026, the message is clear: start with IT. Get your connectivity, security, cloud services, and telephony right, and everything else falls into place. Get them wrong, and no amount of trendy office design or free barista coffee will make up for a workforce that cannot connect, communicate, or collaborate effectively.