Expanding your telecommuter workforce may have a significant effect on network architecture, security/compliance, and corporate culture. Progent has 20 years of experience assisting SMBs to plan, configure, manage, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that support at-home workers. Progent can help your Albany organization to pick the right tools and follow best practices in building and maintaining a safe virtual solution for teleworkers that facilitates collaboration and delivers top business value. Progent can provide services that go from on demand expertise for helping you over challenging technical roadblocks to full project management or co-management to help you carry out mission-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Albany, New York businesses to with any aspect of creating a high-performing remote work environment by providing network infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud connectivity, Help Desk augmentation, security monitoring, backup/restore solutions, and unified management.

Network Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the network infrastructure needed to support a remote workforce can be especially complicated if you have to accommodate a mix of personal equipment such as PCs and laptops, routers, and wireless appliances from an assortment of vendors and with a mix of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's experience providing online help for both legacy and current IT products in virtual office solutions allows you to make efficient use of your existing network infrastructure and offers ready access to expertise for making necessary updates. Services offered by Progent to help you to create a high-functioning work-at-home infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network connectivity makes it possible to establish a safe connection for authorized remote workers to access IT resources situated at your corporate data center or in the cloud. Progent can assist your company to configure and maintain VPN access between your teleworkers and your key IT resources by providing online VPN integration consulting. For organizations using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall consultants can assist your remote workers to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect software for secure VPN connections for a wide selection of endpoint devices including Microsoft Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products enable a telecommuter to see and use a data center PC's desktop. This gives IT managers substantial control over the digital ecosystem of at-home employees and ensures remote users a consistent and more productive work experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers connect home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, local wireless networks, and firewall services. Progent offers top-tier remote consulting for integrating routers from a variety of vendors. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, typically supporting an entire household and guests, are commonly used by telecommuters to connect to their router for work. This can create throughput and security issues. Progent can assist you to mitigate these issues by delivering expertise like Cisco Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco Meraki WiFi installation expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi access point setup help.
  • Internet connectivity solutions impact the performance and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Business-critical processes may demand backup Internet access in the event the normal connection breaks. Progent offers expertise for identifying service providers, selecting sensible bandwidth and data volume offerings, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet access. See Internet access integration services.

VoIP Integration for Telecommuters
Extending the business phone system to include telecommuters is critical to supporting an effective at-home workforce. A broad range of cloud-centric VoIP platforms are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support telecommuters. Many enterprises depend on Cisco's modern or legacy products for VoIP solutions. Progent can help organizations of all sizes to plan or maintain a telecommuter VoIP service that delivers the flexibility, convenience and security needed for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts offer high-level support to assist businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP environments to support a growing remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) extends advanced IP telephony capabilities to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia apps deployed across the network. CUCM supports other mixed media services such as messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, see Cisco Unified CM expertise.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing software and has been replaced by CUCM. Progent can help you to support your current CallManager deployment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony products. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other legacy VoIP products, visit CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with PSTN networks and with clients working outside the corporate firewall such as telecommuters. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series as well as for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration expertise.
  • Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your wide area network architecture to work with these solutions and deliver as-needed deployment and debugging services.

Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A broad range of voice/video conferencing products from major vendors enable online discussions, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both local users and teleworkers. Many companies use multiple products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist your organization to manage your existing voice/video conferencing environment and optimize the engagement of your remote workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications platform that supports presence, IM, audio and video conferencing plus the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified consultants who can assist your company to deploy and maintain Skype for Business client software to accommodate your remote employees. For details about Progent's support expertise for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business consulting experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone app for iOS and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime allow up to 32 concurrent users for video calls. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Offered via Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, session recording, plus editing and playback for training. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex as well as for other video conferencing solutions from Cisco, refer to Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conversations, contacts, and content with capabilities that include video conferencing, threaded chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Teams as well as for other Microsoft 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver configuration and debugging expertise for these products and assist you to optimize your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office families, offering a powerful ecosystem of applications that create a cohesive user interface for exchanging information across multiple sites and on a broad range of endpoint devices. Progent has delivered online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial releases and can assist businesses to deploy these flagship collaboration products to maximize the effectiveness of your remote 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 Consultants for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Teams works with Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Designed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can enable chat, audio/video meetings that include screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and app sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (previously called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its full range of features. For additional information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit planning and configuration expertise for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint Deployment Consultants for Remote WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to facilitate collaboration and information sharing by offering policy-based access to content, workflow, and tools for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint enables you to build protected portals that allows remote workforce to view and update consolidated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts. For details about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, visit SharePoint integration and development consulting.

Exchange Integration Consultants 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 support services, visit deployment consulting services for Exchange.

Onedrive Integration Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud-based storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home users can store files to OneDrive, and colleagues can retrieve them safely via a browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive allows at-home workers to jointly author files. Edits made offline are uploaded when you go back online. For details about Progent's support services for OneDrive, go to Onedrive integration experts.

Cloud Integration Services for Teleworkers
Progent can provide fast and affordable remote assistance for helping organizations to build, manage and optimize cohesive hybrid network architectures that incorporate internal data centers, teleworkers, branch offices, and public cloud services. Progent can provide expertise for all modes of public cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with public cloud access, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration Services for At-Home WorkersAzure is a popular family of public cloud services that enables you to utilize infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure offers over one hundred services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can assist your organization to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and design backup and recovery systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you create secure access to Azure services for at-home workers by setting up and debugging firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Azure, visit Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of business productivity software and cloud-based services offered on a subscription basis. Office applications and services are provided in a selection of bundles intended for users ranging from students and households to large corporations. Progent offers fast and affordable online access to experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoints running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can assist you to evaluate the various subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your at-home workers in a way that delivers top business value. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 integration services.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most widely used cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Exchange Online offers the advantages of lower costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other advantages inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Exchange Online to run transparently with local Exchange environments, enabling customers to build hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide occasional help to guide you through challenging IT bottlenecks and also offer end-to-end project management services to make sure your remote workers have convenient and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. For information Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for At-Home WorkersAmazon AWS is a trailblazer in the public cloud market and is the industry's biggest source of cloud services. Progent can provide fast and economical online access to cloud integration experts who can assist your business to design, implement, manage, and debug hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds such as Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist you to build a high-availability network architecture to make sure your users have a productive computing environment regardless of whether they are working from your headquarters, a remote branch, at home, or on the move. To learn about Progent's expertise for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Integration Services for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud (GCP) is a leading collection of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can help you to extend your current IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA consultants can help you make your critical applications cloud ready so your remote workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud services. Progent's consultants can help you to set up virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage solution with Google Cloud Storage services, and streamline access management for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent's experts can also assist your organization to utilize GCP's unified management technology to administer and track your Google Cloud ecosystem. For information, refer to Google Cloud Platform consulting support.

Help Desk Services for At-Home Workers
A sudden, enterprise-wide switchover to a from-home workforce, which might be motivated by a pandemic or as a component of a business continuity process, can overstretch even a well-staffed in-house Help Desk. Progent's Call Center services allow businesses of any size to outsource or supplement their Help Desk Call Center by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk Call Center services leverage Progent's extensive network of online IT support experts combined with world-class ticketing and follow-up technology to provide an economical, modern Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that addresses all facets of online Level 1 PC technical support from initial help requests to trouble ticket generation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal allows from-home workers to monitor or edit the status of their active tickets, add information, and append screenshots or relevant files. Desktop support services are provided at a significant discount off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service rates, and Progent makes available optional rapid escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to resolve complex issues. For more information, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
  • Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Service enables your company to supplement your current Help Desk staff by sharing delivery of Help Desk Call Center support services seamlessly between your in-house IT support staff and Progent's nationwide pool of PC support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Call Center service is based on a collective support model based on the leading PSA tool for handling service requests and ticketing, assigning ownership, monitoring progress, and generating reports. To learn how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Augmentation Services can enable your company to deliver world-class technical support to your teleworkers, refer to Progent's Help Desk Call Center supplementation Services.

Security and Compliance for Remote Workers
Work-from-Home employees typically utilize their personal computing devices and usually operate in an unsecured physical environment. This multiplies their vulnerability to malware threats and requires careful configuration of firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, intensive user education, and the creation of policies built on leading practices. Progent's veteran roster of data security solutions consultants can help your business to design, implement and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that guards vital IT assets in networks that include an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to create a network environment that can be securely accessed by on-premises users as well as by teleworkers, mobile workers, vendors, clients, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall appliances permit you to configure and control appropriate access rights to various groups of users and to scale your network and modify your security as your company evolves and as network attacks grow increasingly complex. Progent works with both new and legacy firewall devices from all leading vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall integration expertise, refer to firewall configuration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring Services for At-Home WorkersRemote Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate computers utilized by telecommuters and either block or identify and respond to modern cyber attacks such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint software agent is installed on every secured endpoint, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art machine learning from SentinelOne to detect new attacks on arrival. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly isolates the infected device from the corporate network to quarantine the threat. Since the ProSight ASM agent is autonomous, endpoint devices stay protected even if they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For more information about ProSight ASM, visit remote endpoint security monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TelecommutersProgent's Duo MFA Managed Services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against password theft by using two-factor authentication. Duo supports one-tap identity verification with iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a protected online account and enter your password you are asked to confirm your identity via a unit that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A broad range of devices can be used for this added form of authentication including a smartphone or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may register multiple verification devices. For more information about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, refer to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for an at-home workforce.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all classes of outside and local security threats for an environment that includes remote workers. Progent can run remote, automated cybersecurity analysis software for rapidly and economically detecting a wide variety of security weaknesses that can be found via the Internet. Progent's security audit consulting services, which can be managed by data security experts with top certifications including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your business to evaluate your operations and policies and assess your network infrastructure to enable you to implement the highest level of protection for your an at-home workforce.

NodeZero Pentetration Testing for Work-from-Home EnpointsHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports automated threat assessment of your work-from-home environment as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can uncover, rank, fix, and verify cybersecurity weaknesses before threat actors can exploit them. Progent can assist you to deploy NodeZero to carry out comprehensive penetration tests of your perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure in order to determine your present security posture. Progent can also help you to harden your existing network security and can help you to design and implement a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and provides maximum protection for on-premises, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To learn more details about Progent's vulnerability analysis solutions based on on NodeZero's PEN test products, see Consulting Support for NodeZero's Penetration Test Products.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Environment
To read or download a white paper describing critical areas to focus on for protecting an IT environment that incorporates work-from-home staff, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
Data Protection covers backing up and restoring vital information in order to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time in case of storage system problems due to hardware breakdowns, software hiccups, user error, cyber attack, or any other reason. Dependable data protection solutions can be especially challenging to design and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate in-house data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore strategies for telecommuters must cover multiple kinds of user-owned endpoints. Progent offers quick online access to consultants knowledgeable about a broad range of products for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, tablets and handhelds. Leading backup/recovery solutions supported by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To back up data spread across a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery service that uses cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained restore and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies typically envision circumstances that call for a temporary changeover to a work-at-home environment. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity specialists can help your business to develop, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Telecommuters
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management products under the title Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud-based management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Endpoint Manager offers a unified solution for safeguarding critical data by controlling on-premises, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and securing off-premises devices and software. Remote endpoint devices can be personally owned or company owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of at-home workers can utilize Intune to deploy and validate apps on devices, push patches and certificates, set up policies for permission to access information and resources, manage passwords, create VPN connections, control how telecommuters share information, establish threat protection, ensure compliance, and erase corporate information from lost, stolen or decommissioned devices. Intune runs with iOS/iPadOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. For details about Intune and to find out how Progent can help your company to use this platform to manage the endpoint computers of your teleworkers, go to Intune remote device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform that helps network administrators to keep offsite endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for access control, application management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-site product through a one-time purchase. Top capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid remote provisioning of out-of-the-box notebooks, quick onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, unifies management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and tight integration with Microsoft applications and cloud services. To find out about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To contact Progent about building and managing an efficient telecommuter solution for your Albany, New York organization, phone 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.