

This will let you access the same desktop environment you’re used to, although there’ll be no fancy graphics. Just leave it running (with power saving turned off!), take your mobile phone or tablet computer instead, and access the laptop via a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connection over the Internet.

If you’re out of the office, there’s no need to take your laptop with you. Backing up should be fine, but if you create a copy of a VM installation to give to a friend, for example, then you’ll be contravening copyright laws (assuming they apply, as with Microsoft, but not always with Linux). Bear in mind that creating a copy of a VM creates legal issues.
