Expanding your telecommuter workforce may have a major impact on IT architecture, security, and company workflows. Progent has 20 years of background helping businesses of all sizes to plan, deploy, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot IT environments that support at-home workers. Progent can assist your Akron organization to select the right technologies and follow leading practices in creating and operating a safe virtual office solution for telecommuters that promotes collaboration and delivers maximum business value. Progent offers support services ranging from on demand expertise for helping you past occasional technical roadblocks to full project management to help you carry out business-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can assist Akron, Ohio companies to succeed with any facet of creating a high-performing telecommuting environment by delivering network infrastructure configuration services, IP voice expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud connectivity, helpdesk services, security monitoring, backup/restore solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Integrating the physical and software infrastructure required to support an at-home work environment can be especially complex if you must manage a combination of personal hardware like desktop computers and laptops, routers, and Wi-Fi APs from various manufacturers and with a variety of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's experience delivering remote help for both outdated and current IT products in remote office solutions enables you to make efficient use of your available network infrastructure and offers ready access to top-tire consultants for implement essential updates. Support services available from Progent to help your company to create a productive telecommuting infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology makes it possible to create a safe connection for authenticated remote employees to use IT assets located at your company data center or in a public cloud. Progent can help you to configure and maintain VPN connections between your teleworkers and your key IT resources by providing online VPN configuration support. For businesses with Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA consultants can assist your at-home workers to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect software to provide safe VPN connections for a broad range of devices including Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products enable a teleworker to see and use a data center PC's desktop. This provides IT managers more control over the digital ecosystem of telecommuters and offers remote users a consistent and more productive work experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
  • Routers connect at-home networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, local Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent offers expert remote support for deploying routers from all major manufacturers. See router integration support from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, often supporting the whole family and visitors, are frequently utilized by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can create throughput and cybersecurity issues. Progent can help businesses to mitigate these issues by delivering expertise that include Aironet integration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless deployment consulting, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless access point integration assistance.
  • Internet connectivity methods impact the performance and availability of connections between at-home workers and the company network. Mission-critical processes may require backup Internet connections in case the primary connection fails. Progent offers expertise for identifying ISPs, picking appropriate bandwidth and data volume bundles, and configuring high-availability Internet access. See Internet access solutions.

IP Voice Integration for Teleworkers
Expanding the business PBX environment to accommodate teleworkers is critical to supporting a productive work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-centric VoIP products are used by SMBs to server remote users. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's current or older platforms for IP voice solutions. Progent can help businesses of all sizes to plan or tune a remote VoIP service that delivers the versatility, convenience and protection required for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer high-level support to help businesses optimize their current Cisco VoIP environments to handle an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends high-end telephony features to devices such as IP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and mixed media apps used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager manages other combined media services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM support, refer to CUCM consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can assist you to maintain your current CallManager environment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony products. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other older VoIP platforms, visit CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with PSTN networks and with users operating beyond the corporate firewall such as at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to update your WAN infrastructure to support these solutions and provide as-needed integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A broad range of voice/video conferencing platforms from major technology companies enable virtual meetings, video conferencing, chat sessions, and content sharing for both local workers and teleworkers. Many companies use multiple products to accommodate their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can help you to manage your existing voice/video conferencing environment and enhance the experience of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications platform that supports presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help you to deploy and maintain Skype for Business clients to accommodate your remote employees. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business consulting experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling platform for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current editions of FaceTime support up to 32 simultaneous users for video calls. For details about Progent's support services for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Delivered via Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex capabilities include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based capture, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. For details about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex and for additional IP video solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conferencing, contacts, and information with capabilities such as IP voice and video calling, persistent chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams as well as for other Microsoft 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver configuration and debugging expertise for these products and help your business to optimize your network architecture to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a powerful environment of applications that create a cohesive user experience for sharing data and ideas throughout a corporate network and on a wide selection of endpoint devices. Progent has provided online consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their first publication and can help businesses to deploy these critical collaboration products to optimize the productivity of your at-home workers.

Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office suite, providing a rich ecosystem of applications that deliver a consistent user experience for sharing information across multiple sites and on a wide variety of endpoint devices. Progent has provided remote consulting services for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial releases and can help at-home workers set up and use these flagship collaboration platforms to maximize productivity.

Microsoft Teams Solutions Experts for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works on top of Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Designed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can support chat, audio/video meetings with screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and app sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (previously branded Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of capabilities. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit planning and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Server Integration Consultants for Remote WorkersSharePoint utilizes web entities to allow collaboration and information delivery by offering policy-based delivery of data, business processes, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint permits you to create secure portals that allows remote workforce to see and update consolidated business intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts. For details about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, visit SharePoint configuration and development consulting.

Exchange Deployment Experts for At-Home WorkersExchange and Exchange Online offer secure collaboration features including public folders, shared mailboxes, and shared calendars and contacts. Progent's Microsoft certified Exchange experts can show you how to activate and utilize these features for your at-home workers. For details about Progent's Exchange expertise, refer to integration expertise for Microsoft Exchange.

Microsoft Onedrive Configuration Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can store files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues can access them securely via a web browser. Provided with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables remote workers to co-author documents. Edits created offline are automatically synced when you go back online. For information about Progent's support services for OneDrive, visit Onedrive configuration consulting.

Cloud Integration for Remote Workers
Progent can provide affordable remote support for helping organizations to build, maintain and optimize integrated hybrid network models that incorporate physical data centers, teleworkers, branches, and cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with public cloud access, authentication, and security.

Azure Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft Azure is a leading family of cloud software and services that enables you to utilize infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure features more than 100 services services such as hosting for Windows and Linux-based VMs, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to deploy virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and plan backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you create protected access to Azure services for telecommuters by configuring and debugging firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. For information about Progent's expertise for Azure, visit Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of business productivity software and cloud-based services offered on a subscription basis. Office applications and cloud services are marketed in a selection of bundles designed for users ranging from students and households to large corporations. Progent can provide fast and easy remote contact with experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible endpoint devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can assist your business to assess the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your telecommuters to achieve maximum business value. To learn about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, see Microsoft 365 consulting expertise.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for TelecommutersExchange Online is among the most widely used applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of reduced costs for physical infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high reliability, and other advantages associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with local Exchange environments, allowing customers to create hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange experts are available for occasional assistance to get you past challenging technical bottlenecks and also offer comprehensive project management outsourcing to ensure your teleworkers have convenient and safe access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's consulting expertise for Exchange Online, see Microsoft 365 Exchange Online configuration and troubleshooting consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for TeleworkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud arena and is the industry's top provider of cloud-based services. Progent offers fast and affordable online contact with cloud integration experts who can assist your business to design, implement, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local resources and with other public clouds like Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to build a high-availability network architecture to make sure your users have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the road. For information about Progent's expertise for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Integration for Remote WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a popular collection of public cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help you to expand your current IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA experts can show you how to make your key apps cloud ready so your remote workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud services. Progent can help your organization to set up VMs on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with Google Cloud Storage, and streamline identity control for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also help your business to use GCP's management tools to administer and track your Google Cloud environment. For information, refer to Google Cloud Platform consulting expertise.

Help Desk Services for Remote Workers
A sudden, enterprise-wide transition to a telecommuter workforce, which might be activated by an epidemic or as a component of a business continuity plan, can overstretch even a high-performing in-house Call Center. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services allow organizations to outsource or supplement their Call Center by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center (TRC) services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk support services utilize Progent's nationwide team of remote technical support experts along with world-class trouble ticketing and follow-up software to provide an affordable, advanced Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that addresses all aspects of online Level 1 PC technical support from initial help requests to trouble ticket generation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal allows telecommuters to check or update their active trouble tickets, enter details, and upload screenshots or relevant files. Technical support services are provided at a significant discount off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical service rates, and Progent offers the option of fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to resolve advanced issues. To find out more, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service allows your business to supplement your existing Support Desk organization by splitting delivery of Support Desk support services seamlessly between your in-house support organization and Progent's extensive team of desktop support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Call Desk service is based on a collective support solution utilizing the number one professional services automation (PSA) tool for handling help requests and trouble tickets, assigning ownership, monitoring progress, and producing management reports. For details about how Progent's Help Desk Supplementation Services can help your business to deliver best-in-class technical support to your at-home workforce, visit Progent's Support Desk supplementation Services.

Security for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home (WFH) staff members commonly utilize their own devices and often work in a poorly secured physical area. This situation multiplies their vulnerability to cyber threats and requires careful configuration of firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, thorough user education, and the creation of policies built on best practices. Progent's seasoned roster of data security support experts can help you to plan, deploy and manage an effective security solution that guards critical information resources in networks that include an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow you to create a network environment that can be safely utilized by on-premises users and by telecommuters, mobile users, suppliers, clients, and the public. Next-generation firewall devices allow you to configure and control different access rights to various groups of users and to expand your network and adjust your security profile as your business evolves and as cyber threats become more sophisticated. Progent works with both current and legacy security devices from all leading manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall support services, go to firewall configuration and support services.

Remote Security Monitoring Services for TelecommutersOnline Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate devices used by teleworkers and either block or identify and respond to the latest cyber attacks like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight agent is put on every protected endpoint, monitoring all activity and using state-of-the-art behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to detect zero-day threats at inception. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight ASM instantly disconnects the targeted endpoint device from the network to quarantine the threat. Since the ProSight ASM software agent is self-contained, endpoints remain secure even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint monitoring for an at-home workforce.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Remote WorkersProgent's Duo authentication Managed Services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to protect against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity verification on iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, when you log into a secured application and enter your password you are requested to confirm your identity via a unit that only you have and that uses a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad selection of out-of-band devices can be used for this added means of authentication such as a smartphone or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may register several verification devices. To learn more about Duo identity authentication services, see Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for an at-home workforce.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the vulnerability of your network to all classes of outside and local security attacks for an environment that incorporates at-home workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated security inventory software for quickly and economically detecting a broad range of security holes that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit consulting services, which can be provided by security professionals with top certifications such as CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help your business to evaluate your workflows and governance policies and assess your WAN architecture to enable you to design top-level protection for your teleworkers.

NodeZero Pentetration Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports autonomous threat assessment of your at-home connectivity solution and your internal and perimeter networks so you can find, rank, fix, and confirm cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent's pentest experts can assist you to use NodeZero to carry out thorough penetration tests of your perimeter and your internal network so you can evaluate your present security profile. Progent can also assist you to strengthen your network security and can assist you to design and implement a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and provides maximum cyber defense for on-premises, cloud-based, remote, and perimeter IT assets. To find out additional information about Progent's threat assessment services powered by on NodeZero's PEN test platform, refer to Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Products.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Environment
To read or download a white paper about key areas to focus on for protecting a network that supports telecommuters, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Telecommuters
Data Protection involves saving and recovering critical information in order to avoid data loss and reduce restoration time in the event of storage failures due to hardware issues, software hiccups, user mistakes, malware, or any other reason. Dependable data protection solutions can be particularly challenging to architect and manage in hybrid networks that combine local data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore strategies for telecommuters must address diverse kinds of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent can provide quick online access to consultants knowledgeable about a wide array of products for protection Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery products maintained by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To back up data distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud-based storage and includes granular recovery and centralized management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) strategies commonly anticipate circumstances that require a quick changeover to telecommuting. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity specialists can assist you to produce, document and test a DR/BC plan that addresses the logistics of moving to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the name Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides a centralized environment for protecting corporate data by managing on-premises, mobile, and at-home endpoint devices.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing remote devices and applications. Remote endpoint computers can be personally owned or company owned. Network admins managing the enrolled endpoint devices of telecommuters can use Intune to deploy and authenticate applications on devices, push patches and certificates, set up rules for permission to access data and resources, set passwords, establish VPN connections, control how home-based workers share information, set up threat protection, ensure compliance, and erase sensitive information from lost, stolen or deactivated endpoint devices. Intune works with iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X devices. To learn about Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the devices of your telecommuters, refer to Intune remote endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that helps network managers to keep off-premises endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint administration along with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for access control, application management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints powered by Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-site deployment via a one-time purchase. Top features of Workspace ONE include rapid remote provisioning of new laptops, quick onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of devices, aggregated reporting and analytics, email encryption, and integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based products. For information about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Support Services
To contact Progent about building and managing a productive work-from-home environment for your Akron, Ohio company, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.