Mid-market firms embrace hybrid working, but connectivity challenges threaten to derail much-needed growth, Node4 research finds 

Findings show hybrid working is widely valued, but network connectivity, security and cost-related challenges continue to limit its impact

Over two-thirds of mid-market IT leaders are in favour of some form of hybrid working, with a quarter planning to become remote-first this year. That’s according to independent research commissioned for Node4’s most recent mid-market report. Good news as day-one workers’ rights to flexible working take effect at the start of April. Despite good intentions, data from Unlocking Growth in the Mid-Market show that the quality of the remote working experience for many mid-market employees remains poor, with over a third of firms still unable to resolve some of the most fundamental barriers. From an IT perspective, these include: 

• Ensuring secure remote access to business systems (34%)
• Providing seamless collaboration tools and infrastructure (35%)
• Mitigating compliance and data security risks relating to remote work (36%)

Mid-market companies are also hampered by a range of culture and people-related issues. Interestingly, however, many of these concerns are also directly related to the network quality and coverage:

• Managing employee productivity and engagement (32%)
• Ensuring fairness and inclusivity between remote and in-office employees (34%)
• Maintaining corporate culture in a hybrid environment (37%) 

Organisations experiencing IT skills shortages are twice as likely to expand remote work options this year, underscoring the role of flexible working in attracting and retaining scarce talent. This is particularly significant, given that more than nine out of ten mid-market organisations report being impacted by IT skills shortages.

Meanwhile, mid-market organisations that are still evaluating their hybrid work policies are likely facing greater economic pressure and budget constraints. These pressures may help explain why some organisations are pausing or reassessing their approach — including the one in ten planning to reduce remote working options in the early part of this year. 

“Given current economic conditions and pending workers’ rights legislation, you might think that businesses would be trying to bring down the cost of delivering the hybrid infrastructure that underpins remote and flexible working,” says Mark Skelton, Chief Technology Officer, Node4. “Yet only a third say they are controlling IT costs relating to remote work enablement, with almost a quarter reporting that it’s either a work in progress or a major challenge. The danger here is that we might see businesses start to reduce hybrid working as a cost-cutting exercise exactly at the time when they need to attract and retain staff, improve productivity, and drive growth,” he concludes. 

Click this link to download a copy of Unlocking Growth in the Mid-Market: The Node4 Report. 

Unlocking Growth in the Mid-Market: The Node4 Report is based on a survey conducted independently and exclusively for Node4 by Censuswide. It reveals the views of 601 IT and Business leaders across finance, private healthcare, retail, manufacturing, professional and construction organisations – with an equal split across each sector. 

The sample comprised Heads of IT, IT Directors, IT Managers, CIOs, CTOs, CEOs, CFOs, MDs, and Finance Directors. Respondents were selected from organisations with 500 to 5,000 employees and annual revenue between £100 million and £1 billion. Data for this report was collected between March 13th and 25th, 2025.