Moving to a Co-Working Space? Here's What IT You Need

Co-working spaces have become a defining feature of the modern British business landscape. From converted warehouses in Shoreditch to serviced offices in Manchester's Northern Quarter, shared workspaces offer growing businesses an attractive combination of flexibility, community, and cost savings. The appeal is obvious: no long-term lease commitments, no responsibility for building maintenance, and a professional environment that can scale as your team grows.

However, the transition from a traditional office — or from working at home — to a co-working environment introduces a specific set of IT challenges that many businesses fail to anticipate. The shared infrastructure, the lack of control over the network, the security implications of working alongside other companies, and the need to maintain business continuity during the move all require careful planning. This guide covers everything you need to consider from an IT perspective when moving your business into a co-working space.

Understanding What the Co-Working Space Provides (and What It Does Not)

The first step is to understand exactly what IT infrastructure your co-working space includes and, more importantly, what it does not. Most co-working spaces provide shared Wi-Fi, communal printers, and basic meeting room technology such as a screen or projector. Some higher-end providers offer dedicated Ethernet ports, private network segments, and even server room space. However, the level of service varies enormously between providers.

Before signing a contract, you need clear answers to several critical questions. What is the internet bandwidth and is it shared across all tenants? Is there a dedicated VLAN or network segment for your business? What is the Wi-Fi security protocol — WPA2-Enterprise or basic WPA2-Personal with a shared password? Is there a service level agreement (SLA) for internet uptime? What happens during an outage — is there a backup connection? Who manages the network hardware and how quickly are issues resolved?

Network Security: Your Biggest Concern

The most significant IT risk in a co-working environment is network security. When you share a network with other businesses and individuals, you are inherently more exposed than in a private office. Even if the co-working space provides separate VLANs, the underlying infrastructure is shared, and you have no control over how it is configured or maintained.

At a minimum, every device your team uses in a co-working space should connect to the internet through a business-grade VPN. This encrypts all traffic between your devices and your cloud services, preventing anyone on the shared network from intercepting sensitive data. A split-tunnel VPN configuration allows you to route business traffic through the encrypted tunnel whilst allowing general internet traffic to flow directly, balancing security with performance.

Beyond VPN, consider deploying a portable firewall appliance if you have a dedicated room or fixed desks. Devices like a Cisco Meraki MX or a small Ubiquiti gateway can sit between the co-working space's network and your devices, giving you control over firewall rules, content filtering, and intrusion detection. This is particularly important if your business handles sensitive data or operates under regulatory requirements such as UK GDPR or PCI DSS.

Device Management in a Shared Environment

When your team works in a co-working space, physical security of devices becomes a more pressing concern. Unlike a private office where you control who enters the building, a co-working space is accessible to dozens or even hundreds of people from different organisations. Laptops left unattended, USB drives sitting on desks, and screens displaying confidential information are all real risks.

Every company device should have full disk encryption enabled — BitLocker on Windows and FileVault on macOS. This ensures that even if a laptop is stolen, the data is inaccessible without the correct credentials. Mobile device management (MDM) solutions such as Microsoft Intune or Meraki Systems Manager allow you to enforce security policies, push software updates, and remotely wipe a device if it is lost or stolen.

Screen privacy filters are a simple but effective measure for preventing visual eavesdropping — particularly important in open-plan environments where neighbouring desks may be occupied by strangers. Kensington locks or similar cable locks provide a basic level of physical theft deterrence, though they should be considered a supplement to, not a replacement for, proper device tracking and remote wipe capabilities.

Cloud-First Strategy: Essential for Co-Working

A co-working environment strongly favours a cloud-first approach to IT. Traditional on-premises infrastructure — file servers, Exchange servers, local databases — becomes impractical when you do not control the physical space. Moving to cloud platforms ensures your team can work productively from any location whilst maintaining security and compliance.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the most popular choice for UK SMEs in co-working spaces, and with good reason. It provides Exchange Online for email, SharePoint and OneDrive for file storage and collaboration, Teams for communication, and — critically — it includes Microsoft Intune for device management and Microsoft Defender for Business for endpoint security. This single subscription covers the majority of your core IT needs without requiring any on-premises infrastructure.

IT Function	Traditional Office	Co-Working (Cloud-Based)
Email	On-premises Exchange Server	Microsoft 365 Exchange Online
File storage	Local file server with mapped drives	SharePoint / OneDrive for Business
Phone system	On-site PBX with handsets	Microsoft Teams Phone / VoIP
Printing	Networked MFP on private network	Cloud print or portable USB printer
Backup	On-site NAS or tape	Cloud backup (e.g., Veeam for M365)
Security	On-premises firewall and AV	Cloud firewall, EDR, and SASE
Line-of-business apps	Locally installed software	SaaS or Azure Virtual Desktop

For businesses that rely on legacy applications that cannot run in the cloud, Azure Virtual Desktop provides a solution. It allows your team to access a full Windows desktop environment hosted in Microsoft's UK data centres, running your specific applications, from any device in the co-working space. This keeps your data secure in the cloud rather than stored on potentially vulnerable local devices.

Internet Connectivity: Do Not Rely on the Space Alone

Co-working internet is shared infrastructure. During busy periods, bandwidth can degrade significantly — particularly if other tenants are running large file transfers, video streaming, or data-intensive operations. For businesses that depend on reliable, fast internet — which is virtually every business today — relying solely on the co-working space's connection is risky.

Consider providing your team with 4G or 5G mobile broadband dongles or MiFi devices as backup connectivity. A business 5G SIM from providers like Three Business, Vodafone Business, or EE can deliver speeds of 100-300 Mbps, often exceeding the shared Wi-Fi in a co-working space. This ensures your team can continue working even if the building's internet goes down, and provides an alternative for video calls when the shared Wi-Fi is congested.

Telephony and Communication

Traditional desk phones are generally impractical in co-working spaces. Most businesses in shared environments rely on VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solutions that run on laptops, tablets, or mobile phones. Microsoft Teams Phone is the most seamless option if you are already using Microsoft 365, allowing you to make and receive calls using your business phone number from any device. Alternatives include 3CX, RingCentral, and 8x8, all of which offer UK phone numbers and competitive calling rates.

If your business makes a high volume of external calls, consider the quality of the co-working space's internet connection carefully. VoIP calls require consistent, low-latency bandwidth — and a congested shared Wi-Fi network can make calls sound terrible. Using a wired Ethernet connection or your own 5G backup for VoIP traffic can make a significant difference.

Printing and Document Handling

Printing in a co-working space requires careful thought, particularly if you handle confidential documents. The communal printer in the shared kitchen area is not the place to print client contracts, financial reports, or employee records. Anyone could pick up your documents before you reach the printer, and many shared printers store copies of printed documents on internal hard drives.

Options include using a small portable USB printer at your desk, implementing cloud printing with secure release (where documents only print when you authenticate at the printer), or simply going as paperless as possible. For most businesses in co-working spaces, the latter approach is the most practical and secure. Digital signatures, electronic forms, and cloud document management eliminate the vast majority of printing needs.

Planning the Move: A Practical Checklist

Moving to a co-working space requires systematic IT planning to avoid disruption. Begin at least four weeks before your move date, and assign a clear owner for each task — ideally your managed IT provider, who can handle the technical details whilst you focus on running the business.

Compliance Considerations

If your business is subject to UK GDPR — and virtually every business is — working from a co-working space does not reduce your obligations. You remain the data controller and must ensure that personal data is protected regardless of where your team works. This means encrypting data in transit and at rest, controlling who can access what, maintaining audit logs, and being able to demonstrate your security measures to the ICO if required.

For businesses in regulated sectors, the requirements are more stringent. Financial services firms regulated by the FCA must ensure their operational resilience is not compromised by the move. Healthcare organisations handling NHS data must comply with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit. Legal firms must satisfy their professional body's requirements around client confidentiality. In all cases, a properly configured cloud environment with appropriate security controls will meet these requirements — but only if it is set up correctly from the start.

Cyber Essentials certification is increasingly expected by UK businesses and government bodies. If your business holds or is pursuing Cyber Essentials, your IT setup in the co-working space must meet the scheme's requirements for firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection, and patch management. A managed IT provider experienced in co-working environments can ensure your setup passes certification.