Start with the software, not the brochure
A hosted desktop is only useful if the applications you already run will behave on it. List every line-of-business app: Sage 50, IRIS, TaxCalc, case management, CAD, manufacturing ERP. Then ask the provider — in writing — whether they have put that software on a hosted desktop for a UK firm of your size. If they pivot to “it is Windows, so yes”, keep walking. The what is a hosted desktop explainer covers the product; this page is how to buy it.
1. Where does the data live?
Ask for the datacentre region. “Cloud” is not an answer. UK SMEs bidding for public-sector work, holding client files, or answering insurers need a UK answer. PrimeNodes hosted desktops run on infrastructure we operate in the UK. Windows 365 can sit in UK South if you configure it that way — but you still need someone who will keep it there after the first licence change.
2. Who do you call when the application, not Windows, is the problem?
Cloud PCs and cheap VPS boxes fail the Sage test. The ticket is never “Windows will not boot”. It is a locked company file, a mapped drive that vanished after a patch, or print that worked on Friday. A UK hosted desktop provider should have engineers who have seen that error before, not a global queue that asks you to reinstall Teams. Call 02394 331 999 if you want that conversation without a form.
3. Is this a Cloud PC, or a shared office in the cloud?
Windows 365 is a personal Cloud PC in Azure, billed per user. A hosted desktop is a shared environment: one platform for the firm’s apps, profiles and files. Most UK practices under 100 seats want the second model. We spelled out the fork in hosted desktop vs Windows 365. VPN-into-the-office-PC is a third, usually worse, option — covered in hosted desktop vs VPN.
4. What is actually in the monthly number?
A useful quote names seats, storage, backup, the applications, printing, support hours and who owns the image. UK hosted desktop pricing typically lands around £30–£100 per user per month once those are included. A cheaper figure that omits backup, FSLogix-style profiles or support is not cheaper. Our hosted desktop pricing guide is the honest version of that spreadsheet.
5. How do they migrate you without losing a working day?
Ask for a migration window, not a slogan. Accountants need out-of-hours. Hotels need off-season. A new firm with no server can go live before the first client. If the provider cannot describe a weekend cutover or a staged move, they have not done this recently. Our case studies are the receipts: Hadfields moved Sage, IRIS and TaxCalc out of hours; Whitcombe & Rye retired a failing office server over a weekend.
6. Can you leave?
You should own the data, the application licences and a documented way out. If admin access, DNS or the Microsoft tenant sits solely with the provider, you are renting a hostage situation. A decent UK hosted desktop contract says how you export files, profiles and mail, and what happens to backups after notice.
A short decision rule
Choose Windows 365 if Microsoft 365 is the job and nobody runs a LAN-era desktop application. Choose a UK hosted desktop if the business still depends on Sage, case management, manufacturing or construction software, or you want UK data and UK support in one contract. Choose a VPN only if you have already decided to keep the office server and accept that laptops become the weakest link. Then pick the provider who will put your actual software list on a scoping call before they send a quote.