Expanding your remote workforce may have a significant impact on IT architecture, security/compliance, and corporate processes. Progent has 20 years of background helping businesses of all sizes to plan, configure, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot IT environments that support a remote workforce. Progent can assist your Alpharetta organization to pick the appropriate technologies and adhere to best practices in creating and operating a secure virtual office ecosystem for telecommuters that facilitates collaboration and delivers maximum value. Progent offers services that go from as-needed expertise for getting you past challenging technical roadblocks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you carry out mission-critical initiatives.

Progent's consultants can help Alpharetta, Georgia organizations to succeed with any facet of creating a high-performing work-at-home environment by delivering network infrastructure configuration services, IP voice expertise, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud integration, Help Desk outsourcing, security and compliance, data protection solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Integrating the physical and software infrastructure needed for an at-home work environment can be particularly complicated if you have to manage a combination of worker-owned equipment such as PCs and laptops, routers, and wireless appliances from various vendors and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's experience delivering remote help for both legacy and modern IT products in virtual office venues allows you to make cost-effective use of your available infrastructure and provides you with fast access to top-tire consultants for implement necessary updates. Services available from Progent to assist your company to create a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • VPN connectivity makes it possible to establish a safe connection for authenticated at-home workers to use IT resources situated at your corporate data center or in a public cloud. Progent's consultants can help your company to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your at-home workforce 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 help your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect software for secure VPN tunneling for a broad range of devices such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms allow a teleworker to see and use a data center computer's desktop. This technology provides network managers significant control over the computing environment of telecommuters and offers remote users a familiar work experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
  • Routers attach home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home Wi-Fi networks, and firewall services. Progent offers expert remote consulting for deploying home routers from all major vendors. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wireless networks, often shared by an entire household and visitors, are frequently used by telecommuters to connect to their Internet router for work. This can cause throughput and security problems. Progent can assist you to resolve these problems by delivering services that include Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless installation expertise, and Ubiquiti WiFi access point integration assistance.
  • Internet connectivity methods affect the performance and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company data center. Line-of-business processes may require redundant Internet access in the event the normal connection breaks. Progent can provide guidance for identifying ISPs, selecting sensible service bundles, and integrating redundant Internet access. Refer to Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Solutions for an At-Home Workforce
Expanding the company phone environment to include telecommuters is critical to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based digital PBX platforms are used by SMBs to support teleworkers. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's current or legacy platforms for VoIP management. Progent can assist businesses of any size to plan or maintain a telecommuter IP voice service that provides the flexibility, transparency and protection required for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts offer high-level support to help organizations tune their existing Cisco IP voice systems to handle a growing at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends enterprise telephony capabilities to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and mixed media software deployed across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports additional combined media services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, see Cisco Unified CM expertise.
  • CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent's consultants can assist your company to support your current CallManager deployment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony products. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy IP voice products, see Cisco CallManager consulting services.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with clients working beyond the corporate perimeter like at-home workers. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines and for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your wide area network architecture to work with these solutions and provide online configuration and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A broad selection of voice/video conferencing platforms from major technology companies enable virtual meetings, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both onsite users and teleworkers. Many organizations use a mix of conferencing products to meet the needs of their various partners and customers. Progent can help you to manage your existing conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your remote employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications platform that supports presence, instant messaging, audio and video conferencing as well as the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent offers the skills of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help your company to set up and manage 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 consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone app for iOS and macOS devices. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime support as many as 32 concurrent users for video calls. For details about Progent's consulting services for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for virtually all computing devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing granular content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session capture, plus editing and playback for future reference. To learn more about Progent's support services for Webex as well as for other IP video 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 hub for conferencing, contacts, and content with features that include voice/video calling, threaded chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams as well as for other Microsoft 365 products, see 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 debugging services for these conferencing platforms and assist you to tune your network architecture to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a powerful ecosystem of productivity apps that create a consistent user experience for exchanging information across a corporate network and on a wide range of endpoint devices. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange Server since their initial releases and can help your company to configure these flagship collaboration products to optimize the productivity of your at-home workers.

SharePoint Server Configuration Experts for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to allow collaboration and information delivery by offering policy-based delivery of content, business processes, and utilities for looking through company-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to create secure portals that enables remote workforce to view and update aggregated business intelligence by means of Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. To find out about Progent's SharePoint expertise, see SharePoint configuration and development expertise.

Exchange Configuration 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. To find out about Progent's Exchange consulting services, go to planning and configuration consulting services for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Onedrive Integration Experts for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's shared cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote users can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can retrieve them securely through a browser. Included with Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows at-home employees to jointly author files. Revisions made offline are uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. To learn about Progent's support services for Microsoft OneDrive, go to Microsoft Onedrive configuration experts.

Cloud Integration Services for Telecommuters
Progent can provide affordable online support for enabling organizations to create, manage and repair cohesive hybrid network architectures that include internal data centers, at-home workers, branches, and cloud services. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all modes of cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help remote workers resolve issues with cloud connectivity, identity, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration Services for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Azure is a leading platform for public cloud services that allows you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical apps running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure features more than one hundred services services including hosting for Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can help you to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure Active Directory, and plan data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to create protected connections to Azure services for at-home workers by configuring and debugging firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's expertise for Azure, refer to Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing family of business productivity applications and cloud-based services available by subscription. Office applications and services are marketed in a selection of bundles intended for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to large enterprises. Progent offers fast and easy online contact with experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible client devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can help your business to evaluate the numerous subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your teleworkers to achieve maximum business value. For information about Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365, refer to Microsoft 365 integration expertise.

Exchange Online Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most popular applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the advantages of lower costs for physical infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and additional advantages inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to run transparently with local deployments of Exchange, allowing you to create hybrid networks. Progent's certified Exchange consultants can provide occasional assistance to get you through tough IT roadblocks and also offer comprehensive project management services to make sure your at-home workers have convenient and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Exchange Online configuration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for At-Home WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud arena and is the world's biggest provider of cloud-based services. Progent offers fast and affordable online contact with cloud connectivity consultants who can help your organization to design, implement, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local data centers and with other public clouds like Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist you to create a high-uptime network model to make sure your employees have a consistent computing environment regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, from home, or on the road. For details about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Integration for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform is a leading suite of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's certified 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 show you how to make your key applications cloud ready so your remote workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud services. Progent can assist your business to deploy VMs on GCP Compute Engine, design an efficient storage system with GCP Storage, and streamline identity management for teleworkers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent can also help your organization to use GCP's unified management tools to control and track your Google Cloud environment. For information, see Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration expertise.

Help Desk Call Center Support for Telecommuters
A fast, enterprise-wide switchover to a from-home business model, which could be the result of an epidemic or as an element of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk 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) services.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk support services leverage Progent's nationwide team of online IT support specialists along with enterprise-class ticketing and follow-up technology to provide an affordable, state-of-the-art Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that addresses all aspects of online Level 1 PC support from service requests through trouble ticket creation, screen sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables from-home workers to track or edit their current tickets, enter details, and upload screenshots or relevant files. Technical support services are delivered at a substantial price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop support rates, and Progent makes available optional rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to resolve advanced issues. To find out more, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size businesses.
  • Progent's Help Desk Augmentation Service allows your business to expand your existing Support Desk team by splitting responsibilities for Call Desk support services transparently between your in-house support organization and Progent's extensive team of PC support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Help Desk Call Center service uses a collective support solution utilizing the leading PSA tool for handling help requests and trouble tickets, establishing ownership, tracking progress, and producing management reports. To learn how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplementation Services can enable your company to provide best-in-class technical support to your telecommuters, see Progent's Help Desk Call Center supplementation Services.

Security for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home (WFH) employees commonly use their personal devices and usually operate in an unsecured physical space. This situation increases their vulnerability to cyber attacks and requires judicious configuration of corporate firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, extensive end-user training, and the creation of policies based on leading practices. Progent's veteran group of data security solutions consultants can assist you to plan, deploy and maintain a compliant security solution that protects critical information resources in networks that include an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable you to build a network environment that can be safely utilized by on-premises users as well as by at-home workers, mobile workers, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall appliances permit you to assign and manage appropriate access rights to different groups of users and to scale your IT network and modify your security profile as your business evolves and as network attacks become more sophisticated. Progent works with both current and older firewall appliances from all leading vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall support expertise, refer to firewall support services.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management for At-Home WorkersOnline Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate devices utilized by telecommuters and either reject or identify and mitigate modern threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint software agent is put on each secured endpoint, monitoring all activity and using state-of-the-art behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify zero-day threats at inception. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately disconnects the infected endpoint device from the corporate network to quarantine the malware. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoints remain protected even when they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight ASM, see remote endpoint monitoring for an at-home workforce.

Two-factor Authentication Services for Remote WorkersProgent's Duo authentication Managed Services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against password theft by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you sign into a secured online account and enter your password you are requested to verify your identity via a device that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this second form of authentication including an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You can register multiple verification devices. For details 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 network to all classes of external and local security attacks for an environment that incorporates remote workers. Progent can deploy online, automated security analysis scanning for quickly and economically uncovering a wide variety of security gaps that can be found via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by data security experts with advanced certifications such as CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your business to evaluate your procedures and governance policies and assess your network architecture to allow you to implement top-level security for your at-home workers.

NodeZero Pentetration Testing for Work-from-Home EnpointsHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver autonomous testing of your at-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks so you can uncover, prioritize, remediate, and verify cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent can assist you to use NodeZero to perform thorough pentests of your perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure in order to determine your current security profile. Progent's NodeZero experts can also assist you to strengthen your existing network security and can assist you to design and deploy a unified cybersecurity strategy that streamlines management and provides maximum cyber defense for on-premises, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To find out additional information about Progent's vulnerability assessment services powered by on NodeZero's PEN test platform, see Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Network
To read or download a white paper about key areas to concentrate on for securing an IT environment that incorporates telecommuters, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Teleworkers
The field of Data Protection involves backing up and recovering vital information in order to avoid data loss and minimize restoration time in the event of storage system problems resulting from hardware issues, software hiccups, operator mistakes, cyber attack, or any other reason. Reliable data protection strategies can be particularly difficult to architect and maintain in hybrid environments that incorporate local data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore solutions for an at-home workforce must address diverse kinds of personally owned endpoints. Progent offers fast online access to consultants familiar with a wide range of products for backing up Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktops as well as laptops, tablets and handhelds. Popular backup/recovery products maintained by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed across a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a managed backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud storage and includes fine-grained recovery and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans often anticipate circumstances that require a quick switch to telecommuting. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity consultants can help your company to create, document and validate a DR/BC plan that addresses the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Remote Workers
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management products under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud-based management of remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager offers a unified platform for safeguarding critical data by managing local, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting off-premises computers and software. Managed endpoint devices can be personally owned or business owned. Network administrators managing the endpoint devices of at-home workers can use Intune to deploy and authenticate applications on devices, push patches and certificates, set up policies for permission to access information and resources, set passwords, establish VPN connections, control how telecommuters share information, establish threat defense, verify security compliance, and delete corporate information from lost, stolen or deactivated devices. Intune can be used with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X devices. To find out about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to administer the devices of your telecommuters, refer to Intune mobile device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified MDM platform that helps network administrators to keep offsite endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint administration along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for identity control, application management, and setup management of endpoints. 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-premises product via a one-time purchase. Top capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air provisioning of new notebooks, quick onboarding of new employees, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of devices, unifies reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based products. To learn about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote device management expertise.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To contact Progent about building and managing an efficient work-from-home solution for your Alpharetta, Georgia company, phone 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.