Expanding your at-home workforce may have a significant effect on IT infrastructure, security/compliance, and company workflows. Progent has 20 years of experience helping small and mid-size businesses to design, configure, administer, optimize, and troubleshoot IT networks that incorporate work-from-home employees. Progent can help your Alpharetta organization to select the appropriate technologies and adhere to best practices in creating and operating a secure virtual solution for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and delivers maximum business value. Progent offers services ranging from on demand expertise for helping you past challenging IT bottlenecks to full project management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Alpharetta, Georgia organizations to succeed with any aspect of building a high-performing work-from-home environment by delivering network infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud connectivity, Call Desk augmentation, security monitoring, backup/restore solutions, and unified management.

Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Configuring the physical and software infrastructure needed to support an at-home workforce can be particularly complicated if you must manage a mix of personal hardware like desktop computers and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi APs from various manufacturers and with a mix of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's background providing remote support for both outdated as well as modern technologies in remote office solutions allows you to make efficient use of your available infrastructure and provides you with ready access to top-tire consultants for implement essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to assist you to implement a high-functioning work-at-home infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology allows you to establish a secure tunnel for authorized at-home workers to use IT resources located at your corporate data center or in the cloud. Progent can assist you to configure and manage VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your key network resources by providing remote VPN configuration consulting. For organizations using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA consultants can help your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect software for safe VPN tunneling for a broad selection of devices including Microsoft Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms enable a telecommuter to view and interact with a remote computer's desktop. This technology gives IT managers significant control over the computing environment of telecommuters and offers them a familiar work experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
  • Routers attach at-home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, local Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewall services. Progent can provide top-tier remote consulting for configuring routers from all major manufacturers. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, typically supporting an entire household and visitors, are commonly used by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can cause throughput and security issues. Progent can help businesses to resolve these issues by delivering expertise that include Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco Meraki WiFi deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti WiFi AP integration help.
  • Internet connectivity methods affect the speed and availability of connections between at-home workers and the company network. Vital processes might require backup Internet access in the event the normal connection breaks. Progent offers expertise for picking service providers, choosing sensible service bundles, and setting up redundant Internet access. Refer to Internet access solutions.

IP Voice Integration for Remote Workers
Expanding the company phone system to accommodate teleworkers is critical to maintaining an effective at-home workforce. A broad range of cloud-centric VoIP products are used by SMBs to server telecommuters. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's modern or legacy platforms for IP voice solutions. Progent can help businesses of all sizes to plan or tune a remote IP voice service that provides the versatility, transparency and security needed for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer advanced support to assist businesses tune their current Cisco IP voice systems to support an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) delivers high-end telephony capabilities to devices like IP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and mixed media apps deployed across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other mixed media services like unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, see CUCM consultants.
  • CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing software and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent's consultants can assist you to maintain your current CallManager environment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other older IP voice products, visit Cisco CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with PSTN networks and with clients working outside the corporate perimeter like telecommuters. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products and for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration expertise.
  • Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to update your wide area network architecture to work with these solutions and provide on-demand deployment and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for an At-Home Workforce
A broad selection of voice/video conferencing platforms from leading vendors support virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and content sharing for both local users and telecommuters. Many organizations utilize a mix of products to meet the needs of their various partners and clients. Progent's communications experts can help you to maintain your existing conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications product that supports presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help you to deploy and manage Skype for Business clients to support your at-home 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 on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime allow up to 32 simultaneous users for video calls. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Offered via Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing discrete content or screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, session capture, plus revision and playback for future reference. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Webex as well as for other video conferencing solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conferencing, contacts, and content with capabilities that include video conferencing, persistent chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams and for other Microsoft 365 apps, refer to 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 troubleshooting services for these conferencing platforms and assist your business to optimize your network architecture to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful environment of productivity apps that deliver a cohesive user experience for sharing information across multiple sites and on a broad range of endpoint devices. Progent has delivered online consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their first releases and can help businesses to configure these critical collaboration products to optimize the productivity of your at-home workforce.

SharePoint Server Configuration Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web entities to allow collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-driven delivery of data, business processes, and utilities for searching through company-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to create secure portals that enables at-home workers to see and update aggregated business intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. To find out about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, visit SharePoint configuration and application development expertise.

Exchange Integration 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 support services, refer to integration expertise for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Onedrive Deployment Consultants for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's collaborative cloud-based storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues can access them safely through a browser. Provided with Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables at-home employees to co-author files. Edits created offline are automatically synced when you go back online. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, go to Microsoft Onedrive integration experts.

Public Cloud Integration for At-Home Workers
Progent offers affordable remote assistance for enabling organizations to create, manage and troubleshoot integrated hybrid network architectures that combine internal data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, and cloud resources. Progent offers expertise for all modes of public cloud service such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help telecommuters fix problems with public cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration Services for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Azure is a popular family of public cloud services that allows you to utilize infrastructure, servers, and key apps running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure features over 100 services services such as the ability to host Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can assist your organization to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure Active Directory, and design backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you create secure access to Azure services for telecommuters by configuring and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN tunnels. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Azure, go to Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing family of business productivity applications and cloud services offered on a subscription basis. Office apps and cloud services are provided in a selection of plans intended for users ranging from individuals and households to major corporations. Progent can provide fast and easy remote contact with experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible client devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can help your business to assess the various subscription plans offered with Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your at-home workers to achieve top business value. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration for At-Home WorkersExchange Online is one of the most widely used applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the benefits of reduced spending for data center infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and other benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to run transparently with local deployments of Exchange, enabling you to build hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's Exchange consultants are available for occasional help to get you past challenging technical roadblocks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to make sure your at-home workers have convenient and secure access to your Exchange Online deployment. To find out Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, go to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for Remote WorkersAmazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud market and is the industry's top source of cloud-based services. Progent offers fast and affordable online access to cloud connectivity experts who can help your business to plan, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help you to build a high-availability network architecture to make sure your users have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, at home, or on the move. To find out about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform is a popular collection of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help your organization to scale your current IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA consultants can show you how to make your mission-critical apps cloud ready so your at-home workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud services. Progent's consultants can assist you to set up virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage system with Google Cloud Storage, and streamline access control for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also help your business to utilize GCP's unified management technology to control and track your Google Cloud ecosystem. For information, visit Google Cloud Platform integration services.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Teleworkers
A rapid, company-wide switchover to a telecommuter business model, which might be the result of an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery/business continuity preparedness plan, can overstretch even the most efficient in-house Call Center. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for businesses of any size to outsource or expand their Call Center by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

  • Progent's Standard Call Center support services leverage Progent's nationwide team of remote technical support experts along with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and follow-up software to provide an affordable, advanced Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that handles all facets of online Level 1 PC support from service requests to ticket creation, screen sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables telecommuters to monitor or revise the status of their current trouble tickets, add information, and upload screenshots or relevant files. Desktop support services are provided at a significant discount off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical service charges, and Progent makes available the option of fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to deal with complex issues. To learn more, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Augmentation Service allows you to supplement your current Call Desk organization by splitting responsibilities for Call Desk services transparently between your regular IT support organization and Progent's extensive roster of PC support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service is based on a co-sourcing support model based on the leading PSA platform for handling service requests and ticketing, assigning responsibility, tracking progress, and producing management reports. To learn how Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Services can enable your company to provide world-class IT support to your teleworkers, see Progent's Support Desk supplementation Services.

Security for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home (WFH) employees commonly utilize their own computers and often operate in a poorly secured physical space. This situation increases their vulnerability to malware attacks and requires judicious deployment of corporate firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, intensive user education, and the creation of security policies built on leading practices. Progent's seasoned team of IT security solutions experts can help your business to plan, configure and maintain a compliant cybersecurity solution that protects vital IT assets in environments that include an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable you to create a network that can be safely utilized by local users as well as by at-home workers, mobile employees, suppliers, clients, and the public. Next-generation firewall appliances permit you to assign and manage appropriate permissions to various groups of users and to expand your IT network and modify your security profile as your business evolves and as cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated. Progent supports both current and legacy security devices from all leading manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall integration services, visit firewall integration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring Services for At-Home WorkersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate devices utilized by an at-home workforce and either block or identify and respond to modern cyber attacks like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight software agent is installed on every secured endpoint, watching all activity and utilizing state-of-the-art machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify zero-day attacks at inception. When an attack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately disconnects the infected endpoint device from the corporate network to quarantine the threat. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoint devices stay secure even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. For more information about ProSight ASM, visit remote endpoint security monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo authentication services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to defend against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports one-tap identity verification on iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With Duo 2FA, when you sign into a secured online account and enter your password you are asked to verify your identity via a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a different network channel. A wide selection of out-of-band devices can be utilized for this second form of ID validation such as a smartphone or watch, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You can register several verification devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity authentication services, refer to Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the vulnerability of your network to all types of outside and local security attacks for a network that incorporates teleworkers. Progent can deploy online, automated security inventory scanning for rapidly and affordably detecting a wide variety of security weaknesses that can be surfaced via the Internet. Progent's security assessment consulting services, which can be managed by network security professionals with top credentials such as CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your company to evaluate your workflows and governance policies and review your IT infrastructure to enable you to implement top-level security for your teleworkers.

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

Data Protection Solutions for At-Home Workers
Data Protection covers backing up and recovering vital data in order to prevent data loss and reduce recovery time and effort in case of storage problems due to equipment breakdowns, programming hiccups, user mistakes, cyber attack, or any other reason. Reliable data protection solutions can be particularly difficult to architect and maintain in hybrid environments that incorporate private data centers, public clouds, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Restore strategies for telecommuters must address diverse kinds of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent can provide quick remote access to experts knowledgeable about a wide range of platforms for backing up Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iPads and handhelds. Popular backup/restore solutions maintained by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To back up resources distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud storage and includes fine-grained restore and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans typically envision scenarios that require a rapid switch to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity specialists can help your company to produce, document and validate a DR/BC plan that addresses the logistics of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud-based management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a unified platform for safeguarding corporate information by managing local, mobile, and at-home endpoint devices.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting mobile devices and software. Managed endpoint devices can be user owned or business owned. IT admins managing the enrolled endpoint computers of at-home workers can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate apps on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up policies for permission to access data and networks, manage passwords, establish VPN connections, determine how home-based workers share data, establish threat protection, verify security compliance, and delete sensitive information from lost, stolen or decommissioned devices. Microsoft Intune works with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X devices. To find out about Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use this platform to manage the endpoint devices of your at-home workers, go to Intune remote device management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform that allows network managers to keep offsite endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for identity control, application management, and setup management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints powered by Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or leading distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises product through a one-time purchase. Key features of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air deployment of new laptops, quick onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of devices, unifies reporting and analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud products. To learn about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote device management expertise.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Support Services
To contact Progent about building and managing a productive work-from-home solution for your Alpharetta, Georgia organization, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.