Enlarging your remote workforce may have a major effect on network architecture, security, and corporate workflows. Progent has 20 years of background helping SMBs to plan, configure, administer, tune, and debug IT networks that support at-home workers. Progent can help your Allentown organization to select the right tools and adhere to leading practices in building and operating a secure virtual office ecosystem for telecommuters that facilitates teamwork and returns top business value. Progent can provide support services that go from on demand expertise for getting you over occasional technical roadblocks to full project management to help you carry out business-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Allentown, Pennsylvania organizations to with any aspect of building a high-performing work-from-home environment by providing infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, Help Desk services, security monitoring, backup/restore solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Integrating the physical and software infrastructure needed to support an at-home work environment can be particularly complicated if you must accommodate a combination of worker-owned equipment such as PCs and notebooks, routers, and Wi-Fi APs from various vendors and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's background providing remote support for both outdated as well as current technologies in virtual office solutions enables you to make efficient use of your existing network infrastructure and offers ready access to expertise for making necessary upgrades. Services offered by Progent to help you to create a productive work-at-home ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology makes it possible to create a safe tunnel for authenticated at-home workers to access IT assets located at your company data center or in the cloud. Progent can help you to deploy and manage VPN access between your at-home workforce and your key network resources by providing remote VPN configuration support. For businesses using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall experts can help your at-home workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software to provide safe VPN tunneling for a broad range of devices such as Microsoft Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products enable a teleworker to view and use a remote PC's desktop. This technology provides IT managers more control over the digital ecosystem of telecommuters and ensures remote users a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
  • Routers attach at-home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, local Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier online consulting for setting up home routers from a variety of manufacturers. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, often supporting the whole family and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to connect to their Internet router for work. This can create throughput and security issues. Progent can assist you to resolve these problems by delivering services that include Aironet integration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless installation expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless access point setup assistance.
  • Internet connectivity solutions affect the speed and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate network. Vital processes might demand backup Internet connections in the event the primary connection breaks. Progent offers guidance for selecting ISPs, picking appropriate bandwidth and data volume packages, and setting up redundant Internet access. Refer to Internet connectivity integration services.

IP Voice Integration for At-Home Workers
Extending the corporate phone environment to accommodate teleworkers is critical to supporting an effective work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based IP voice platforms are popular with small and mid-size businesses to server teleworkers. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's current or legacy products for VoIP solutions. Progent can help businesses of all sizes to plan or tune a remote VoIP environment that provides the flexibility, transparency and protection required for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts can provide high-level support to help organizations optimize their existing Cisco VoIP systems to handle an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) extends enterprise IP telephony capabilities to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and mixed media software deployed throughout the network. CUCM supports other mixed media services like unified messaging, video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, visit Cisco Unified CM expertise.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing software and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can help your company to support your existing CallManager deployment or migrate smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older VoIP products, refer to Cisco CallManager consulting services.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with public telephony networks and with clients working outside the corporate firewall like at-home workers. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series and for modern Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
  • 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 VoIP solutions and deliver on-demand deployment and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A broad selection of video conferencing products from leading technology companies support virtual meetings, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both onsite users and telecommuters. Many organizations use multiple products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent can assist you to maintain your current conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications product that supports real-time presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing as well as the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help your company to configure and manage Skype for Business clients to accommodate your remote employees. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video calling app for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer editions of FaceTime allow up to 32 concurrent users for voice/video sessions. For details about Progent's consulting services for FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for most computing devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing discrete content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, session capture, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. For details about Progent's support expertise for Webex as well as for additional IP video solutions from Cisco, see Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a portal for conversations, contacts, and information with capabilities such as voice/video calling, persistent chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver configuration and troubleshooting expertise for these products and help your business to optimize your network infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful environment of applications that deliver a cohesive user interface for exchanging data and ideas across a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoint computers. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their original releases and can help businesses to tune these flagship collaboration products to maximize the effectiveness of your remote workforce.

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 Integration Consultants for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Teams works on top of Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration. Developed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can support chat, video meetings that include screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (previously branded Azure Active Directory) for supporting its full range of features. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams, visit solution design and configuration expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Integration Experts for At-Home WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing by offering policy-driven access to content, workflow, and utilities for searching through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint permits you to build protected web portals that permits remote workforce to see and update consolidated business intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts. To find out about Progent's SharePoint support services, visit SharePoint integration and development consulting.

Exchange Configuration Consultants 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 information about Progent's Exchange support services, go to planning and configuration expertise for Exchange.

Onedrive Configuration Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based file hosting and synchronization service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can store files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues anywhere can retrieve them securely through a browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows home workers to co-edit files. Revisions made offline are uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. To learn about Progent's support services for OneDrive, go to Microsoft Onedrive integration experts.

Cloud Integration for Telecommuters
Progent offers affordable online support for enabling businesses to create, manage and optimize cohesive hybrid network architectures that include internal data centers, teleworkers, branch offices, plus cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all types of cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with public cloud access, identity, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Azure is a popular family of public cloud software and services that enables you to utilize infrastructure, servers, and key applications running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Azure features over 100 cloud-based services including hosting for Windows and Linux-powered VMs, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure Active Directory, and plan backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to create secure connections to Azure for telecommuters by configuring and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. For details about Progent's expertise for Azure, visit Microsoft Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of client productivity applications and cloud-based services available on a subscription basis. Office applications and cloud services are marketed in a variety of plans designed for customers ranging from individuals and households to large enterprises. Progent offers fast and easy remote contact with consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible clients based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can assist your business to assess the numerous subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 apps for your at-home workers to achieve top business value. To learn about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, see Microsoft 365 consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most popular cloud-based applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of reduced costs for physical infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and additional benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate smoothly with local deployments of Exchange, allowing customers to build hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's certified Exchange consultants are available for occasional help to get you past challenging IT roadblocks and also offer end-to-end project management outsourcing to ensure your telecommuters have convenient and secure access to your Exchange Online deployment. For information Progent's expertise for Exchange Online, go to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online configuration and support consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration for At-Home WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud computing arena and is the industry's biggest source of cloud-based services. Progent can provide fast and economical online contact with cloud integration consultants who can assist your business to design, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to create a high-availability network architecture to make sure your employees have a productive computing environment regardless of whether they are working from your headquarters, a remote branch, at home, or on the move. For information about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS consulting expertise.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for Remote WorkersGoogle Cloud (GCP) is a leading collection of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help your organization to extend your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database consultants can help you make your key applications cloud friendly so your telecommuters can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist your business to set up VMs on GCP Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage system with GCP Storage services, and simplify access control for remote workers with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent's consultants can also help your business to use GCP's unified management tools to administer and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. For details, refer to Google Cloud Platform consulting expertise.

Help Desk Support for Remote Workers
An emergency, company-wide changeover to a telecommuter workforce, which might be motivated by a pandemic or as an element of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Help Desk. Progent's Call Center services make it possible for businesses to outsource or expand their Help Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Center support services utilize Progent's extensive network of remote technical support specialists along with world-class trouble ticketing and tracking software to provide an economical, advanced Call Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that handles all aspects of online Level 1 PC technical support from initial help requests through trouble ticket generation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables at-home employees to track or revise their current tickets, enter details, and append screenshots and relevant files. Desktop support services are provided at a substantial discount off Progent's normal Level 1 technical service rates, and Progent makes available the option of rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to deal with complex issues. For more information, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small companies.
  • Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Service enables you to expand your existing Support Desk organization by sharing delivery of Call Desk support transparently between your in-house IT support personnel and Progent's extensive team of PC support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Call Desk service is based on a collaborative support solution utilizing the number one professional services automation (PSA) tool for managing help requests and trouble tickets, assigning ownership, tracking progress, and generating management reports. To find out how Progent's Call Desk Supplementation Services can help your company to deliver best-in-class technical support to your at-home employees, see Progent's Call Center augmentation Services.

Security for Remote Workers
Work-from-Home staff members commonly utilize their personal computing devices and usually operate in an unsecured physical environment. This multiplies their susceptibility to malware attacks and calls for judicious configuration 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 group of data security support consultants can help you to design, deploy and maintain a compliant security solution that guards critical IT assets in networks that include an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to create a network that can be securely utilized by on-premises users as well as by an at-home workforce, mobile users, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall appliances allow you to assign and control appropriate permissions to various classes of users and to expand your IT network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks grow more sophisticated. Progent supports both current and older security appliances from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall support expertise, see firewall integration and support expertise.

Remote Security Monitoring for TelecommutersOnline Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the various computers utilized by at-home workers and either block or spot and mitigate the latest threats like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint agent is put on each secured endpoint, monitoring all activity and using advanced behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify zero-day threats before they can spread. When an attack is discovered, ProSight ASM instantly isolates the targeted endpoint device from the corporate network to contain the threat. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoint devices stay secure even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight ASM, refer to remote endpoint security monitoring for at-home workers.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo MFA Services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity verification with Apple iOS, Android, and other personal devices. Using 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected application and enter your password you are asked to confirm your identity via a device that only you have and that is accessed using a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be used for this added form of authentication including a smartphone or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline telephone, etc. You can designate several verification devices. For details about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all classes of outside and local security threats for an environment that includes teleworkers. Progent can deploy online, automated security inventory software for rapidly and affordably detecting a broad range of security weaknesses that can be found over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by data security professionals with top credentials such as CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist you to audit your processes and policies and review your network infrastructure to allow you to design the highest level of security for your an at-home workforce.

NodeZero Pen Testing for Work-from-Home EnpointsHorizon3.ai's NodeZero PEN Testing Platform is a breakthrough penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated testing of your at-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks to help you expose, prioritize, fix, and confirm security weaknesses before threat actors can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can assist you to use NodeZero to perform thorough pentests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can determine your present security posture. Progent can also help you to strengthen your network security and can assist you to design and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity strategy that simplifies management and provides maximum cyber defense for on-prem, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT assets. To find out additional information about Progent's threat assessment solutions based on on NodeZero's PEN test products, visit Consulting Services for NodeZero's Penetration Test Platform.

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

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
Data Protection covers saving and recovering critical information in order to prevent data loss and reduce recovery time and effort in the event of storage failures due to equipment issues, programming hiccups, human mistakes, malware, or any other reason. Reliable data protection strategies can be especially difficult to design and maintain in hybrid networks that combine local data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Recovery strategies for an at-home workforce must address diverse types of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide quick remote help from consultants familiar with a wide array of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Popular backup/restore products maintained by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data spread throughout a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a managed backup/recovery service that uses cloud storage and includes fine-grained restore and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies commonly envision circumstances that require a rapid changeover to an at-home workforce. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity planning specialists can help you to develop, document and validate a DR/BC plan that addresses the process of moving to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides a unified platform for protecting corporate data by controlling local, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing off-premises computers and applications. Remote endpoint computers can be personally owned or company owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of teleworkers can utilize Intune to deploy and authenticate apps on devices, push updates and certificates, configure rules for accessing information and networks, manage passwords, establish VPN connections, determine how home-based workers share information, establish threat protection, verify compliance, and erase sensitive information from lost, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Intune can be used with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X endpoints. To find out about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can help your company to use this platform to administer the endpoint computers of your telecommuters, refer to Intune teleworker endpoint management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that allows network managers to keep offsite endpoints current and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch technology for centralized endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for authorization control, app management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates 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-based service or as an on-premises deployment through a perpetual license. Key features of Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air deployment of out-of-the-box laptops, immediate onboarding of new employees, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, unifies reporting and analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud products. For information about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about creating and managing an efficient work-from-home solution for your Allentown, Pennsylvania organization, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.