For UK small businesses and SMEs with staff working from home, having reliable remote support for devices is increasingly essential. Remote support means your IT provider can troubleshoot, fix, and maintain laptops, desktops, and mobile devices without needing to visit in person. This capability helps keep your team productive and your systems secure, no matter where your employees are based.
Why remote support matters for your business
When employees use their work devices at home, issues like software errors, connectivity problems, or security alerts can quickly disrupt their ability to work. Without prompt IT help, downtime can increase, leading to lost productivity and delays in serving customers. Additionally, unmanaged devices pose a higher cyber risk, potentially exposing sensitive business or customer data and complicating compliance with UK regulations such as the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
Remote support enables your IT team or managed service provider (MSP) to respond quickly to issues, apply security patches, and enforce policies like multi-factor authentication (MFA) or device encryption. This reduces the risk of data breaches and helps maintain audit readiness for standards like Cyber Essentials or ISO 27001.
A typical scenario
Consider a UK company with 50 employees, half of whom work remotely. One morning, several remote staff find their laptops unable to access the company network due to a VPN configuration error. Without remote support, these employees might be stuck waiting for onsite IT help, losing hours of productive time. With remote support in place, the IT provider can immediately connect securely to the affected devices, diagnose the problem, and restore access within minutes. They can also check that security settings remain compliant and update software remotely to prevent future issues.
Practical checklist: what to do next
- Ask your IT provider: Do you offer secure remote support tools that allow quick access to employee devices without compromising data privacy?
- Check service agreements: What are the guaranteed response times for remote support requests? Are out-of-hours or emergency support options available?
- Review security controls: Is remote access protected by MFA and encrypted connections? Are access logs maintained for audit purposes?
- Assess device management: Can your provider remotely deploy updates, patches, and security software to all devices, including those at home?
- Internal checks: Ensure your staff use strong passwords and MFA on work devices; confirm regular backups are performed and stored securely offsite or in the cloud.
- Compliance readiness: Verify that your remote support processes align with Cyber Essentials requirements and that your provider can assist with supplier questionnaires or audits.
Next steps
Having dependable remote support is a practical step to safeguard your business continuity and data security in a hybrid working environment. If you do not currently have remote support capabilities, or want to review your existing arrangements, speak with a trusted managed IT provider or IT advisor familiar with UK SME needs. They can help you implement or improve remote support solutions that fit your budget and compliance requirements.