Enlarging your remote workforce can have a significant impact on network infrastructure, security, and corporate processes. Progent has two decades of background helping SMBs to design, configure, manage, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that support at-home workers. Progent can help your Albany company to pick the right tools and adhere to leading practices in creating and operating a safe virtual solution for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and returns maximum business value. Progent can provide services that go from as-needed guidance for helping you past challenging IT roadblocks to full project management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Albany, New York organizations to with any facet of creating a high-functioning work-from-home ecosystem by providing infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, helpdesk services, cybersecurity, backup/restore solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Integrating the physical and software infrastructure needed for a remote workforce can be especially complicated if you have to manage a combination of worker-owned equipment like PCs and notebooks, routers, and Wi-Fi APs from various vendors and with a mix of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's experience providing online support for both legacy as well as modern technologies in virtual office solutions enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing infrastructure and provides you with ready access to expertise for implement necessary updates. Support services offered by Progent to assist your company to implement a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology makes it possible to establish a safe connection for authorized remote workers to use IT assets located at your company data center or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist you to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your teleworkers and your key IT resources by providing remote VPN integration consulting. For organizations using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA experts can assist your telecommuters to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software for secure VPN tunneling for a wide selection of devices such as Microsoft Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products allow a telecommuter to see and interact with a remote PC's desktop. This technology gives network managers substantial control over the digital environment of telecommuters and ensures them a familiar experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
  • Routers connect home computer networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, home Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent offers top-tier online support for deploying routers from all major manufacturers. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically supporting the whole family and guests, are commonly utilized by telecommuters to access their Internet router for work. This can cause throughput as well as security problems. Progent can assist you to resolve these issues by providing expertise that include Cisco Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless installation expertise, and Ubiquiti wireless access point setup assistance.
  • Internet connectivity solutions impact the performance and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the company data center. Mission-critical processes may demand backup Internet access in case the primary connection fails. Progent can provide expertise for identifying service providers, picking sensible bandwidth and data volume packages, and configuring high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet connectivity integration services.

IP Voice Integration for Telecommuters
Extending the business phone system to include teleworkers is critical to supporting a productive at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-centric IP voice products are used by SMBs to server telecommuters. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's current or legacy products for VoIP solutions. Progent can assist organizations of any size to design or tune a telecommuter VoIP environment that provides the versatility, convenience and security needed for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants can provide advanced support to assist organizations tune their current Cisco IP voice systems to support an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends advanced telephony capabilities to devices like VoIP phones, media processing products, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia apps deployed across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports additional mixed media services such as unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, see CUCM consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing software and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent can help you to maintain your current CallManager environment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other early IP voice platforms, visit Cisco CallManager consulting services.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with public telephony networks and with users working outside the corporate firewall like at-home workers. Progent offers expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines as well as for modern Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway integration expertise.
  • Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to update your wide area network infrastructure to work with these VoIP solutions and provide as-needed deployment and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A broad selection of voice/video conferencing platforms from major vendors support virtual meetings, video conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both local users and telecommuters. Many organizations utilize a mix of conferencing products to meet the needs of their various partners and clients. Progent can help your organization to manage your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your remote workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications platform that enables presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing plus the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified consultants who can assist you to deploy and maintain Skype for Business client software to accommodate your remote employees. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video phone app for compatible iOS and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime allow up to 32 simultaneous users for voice/video sessions. For details about Progent's support expertise for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for virtually all computing devices. Offered via Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based recording, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Webex as well as for other video conferencing solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a portal for conferencing, contacts, and information with capabilities that include IP voice and video conferencing, threaded chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams and for other Microsoft 365 products, see Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and debugging services for these products and help you to tune your network infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of productivity apps that create a consistent user experience for exchanging information across multiple sites and on a broad range of endpoint computers. Progent has delivered remote consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their first publication and can assist businesses to deploy these flagship collaboration products to maximize the productivity of your remote workers.

SharePoint Server Deployment Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to facilitate collaboration and information sharing by offering policy-based access to data, business processes, and tools for looking through company-wide information silos. SharePoint enables you to build secure web portals that allows at-home workforce to view and edit consolidated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts. To find out about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, refer to SharePoint configuration and development consulting.

Exchange Integration Experts for Remote 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 consulting expertise, visit deployment consulting services for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Onedrive Deployment Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's shared cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home users can save files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues anywhere can access them safely through a browser. Included with Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows remote workers to jointly author documents. Revisions made offline are uploaded when you go back online. For information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft OneDrive, visit Microsoft Onedrive configuration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Telecommuters
Progent offers fast and affordable remote support for enabling businesses to create, manage and troubleshoot cohesive hybrid network models that incorporate physical data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, plus cloud resources. Progent can provide expertise for all modes of public cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help remote workers resolve issues with public cloud access, authentication, and security.

Azure Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Azure is a leading family of public cloud services that allows you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and key apps running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure includes more than one hundred services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help your organization to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure Active Directory, and design backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you create protected access to Azure services for telecommuters by setting up and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Azure, visit Microsoft Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of client productivity software and cloud-based services available by subscription. Microsoft applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of plans designed for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to large corporations. Progent offers fast and affordable online access to experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can assist your business to evaluate the numerous subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 apps for your telecommuters to achieve top business value. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration for TeleworkersExchange Online is among the most popular cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online provides the benefits of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other advantages associated with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing you to build hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide occasional help to get you past challenging IT bottlenecks and can also provide end-to-end project management outsourcing to make sure your telecommuters have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's support services for Exchange Online, go to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration for At-Home WorkersAmazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud arena and is the industry's top source of cloud-based services. Progent offers quick and affordable online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can help your business to design, deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises data centers and with other popular cloud platforms such as Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to create a high-uptime network model to make sure your users have a productive computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the move. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Integration for Remote WorkersGoogle Cloud (GCP) is a popular set of public cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist you to extend your current IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA consultants can help you make your critical apps cloud friendly so your teleworkers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist you to deploy virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, design a cost-effective storage system with GCP Storage services, and streamline access management for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent can also help your business to utilize GCP's management technology to control and track your Google Cloud ecosystem. To find out, visit Google Cloud Platform integration support.

Help Desk Call Center Support for Teleworkers
A fast, enterprise-wide changeover to a from-home workforce, which could be motivated by an epidemic or as part of a business continuity preparedness plan, can overstretch even a high-performing in-house Call Center. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services allow organizations to outsource or expand their Help Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk support services utilize Progent's extensive network of remote technical support experts along with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking technology to offer an affordable, advanced Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that addresses all facets of remote Level 1 desktop support from service requests through trouble ticket generation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables at-home employees to track or revise their active trouble tickets, add details, and upload screen captures or attachments. Technical support services are delivered at a significant discount off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical service charges, and Progent offers the option of rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to resolve advanced problems. To learn more, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Augmentation Service enables your company to supplement your existing Help Desk Call Center team by sharing delivery of Support Desk support seamlessly between your in-house support personnel and Progent's nationwide pool of desktop support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Call Center service uses a collective support model based on the leading PSA tool for managing service requests and ticketing, assigning responsibility, monitoring progress, and generating management reports. For information about how Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Services can help your company to provide best-in-class desktop support to your at-home employees, visit Progent's Call Desk supplementation Services.

Cybersecurity for Remote Workers
Work-from-Home (WFH) workers typically utilize their personal computing devices and usually work in an unsecured physical area. This multiplies their vulnerability to malware threats and requires careful deployment of corporate firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, intensive user training, and the development of policies based on best practices. Progent's seasoned roster of cybersecurity solutions experts can help you to plan, deploy and maintain an effective cybersecurity solution that protects vital IT assets in environments that incorporate telecommuters.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable companies to build a network that can be safely utilized by local users and by an at-home workforce, mobile workers, suppliers, clients, and the public. Next-generation firewall devices permit you to assign and control appropriate permissions to different classes of users and to scale your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as cyber threats become increasingly complex. Progent supports both new and older firewall devices from all major vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall support services, refer to firewall integration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring for At-Home WorkersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to track the various computers used by remote workers and either reject or identify and respond to the latest cyber attacks such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint agent is installed on every secured endpoint device, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify zero-day threats at inception. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight ASM immediately isolates the infected device from the corporate network to contain the threat. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoints stay secure even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, go to remote endpoint security monitoring for an at-home workforce.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Remote WorkersProgent's Duo authentication services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity confirmation on Apple iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected application and give your password you are requested to confirm who you are via a device that only you possess and that uses a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be used as this second means of ID validation such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You can register several verification devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity validation services, see Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all types of outside and internal security threats for an environment that includes an at-home workforce. Progent can run remote, automated security inventory software for rapidly and economically detecting a broad range of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's security assessment experts, which can be provided by security professionals with advanced credentials including CISM, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist your company to audit your procedures and policies and review your WAN architecture to allow you to design top-level protection for your an at-home workforce.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network
To read or download a white paper about key things to focus on for protecting an IT environment that includes telecommuters, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Telecommuters
The field of Data Protection covers backing up and restoring vital information so as to prevent data loss and minimize restoration time and effort in case of storage failures resulting from hardware breakdowns, software glitches, user mistakes, malware, or any other reason. Dependable data protection solutions can be especially difficult to design and maintain in hybrid networks that incorporate private data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore solutions for remote workers must address diverse types of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent offers quick online access to consultants knowledgeable about a broad array of products for protection Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/restore solutions maintained by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud storage and includes granular restore and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies typically anticipate circumstances that require a rapid changeover to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity specialists can help your company to develop, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that includes the process of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management products under the name Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises computers. Endpoint Manager features a centralized platform for protecting corporate data by managing local, mobile, and at-home endpoint devices.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting off-premises devices and software. Remote endpoint devices can be user owned or company owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint computers of teleworkers can use Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for accessing data and networks, manage passwords, establish VPN connections, control how teleworkers share information, establish threat protection, ensure security compliance, and delete corporate data from missing, stolen or deactivated devices. Microsoft Intune works with Apple iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X computers. To learn about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the devices of your telecommuters, visit Intune telecommuter endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized MDM platform that allows network managers to keep off-premises endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for access control, application management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE runs with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment through a perpetual license. Key capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air deployment of new notebooks, quick onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of devices, aggregated management reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. For details about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about building and managing an efficient work-from-home solution for your Albany, New York business, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.