Cloud Solutions

Progent offers fast and affordable access to cloud connectivity consultants who can assist your organization to plan, configure, maintain, and debug hybrid information networks that combine Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud services with on-premises datacenters as well as with other public clouds such as Microsoft Azure.

Progent's experts can help you assess the advantages and weaknesses of Amazon AWS services compared to other vendors, move apps and infrastructure to Amazon AWS, develop backup/restore solutions that utilize Amazon AWS cloud storage technology, and resolve firewall and VPN connectivity problems. Progent can provide help from Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to show you how to create a resilient network architecture so your clients have a productive experience whether they are working at your corporate headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the road.

Amazon is a pioneer in the cloud computing market and is the world's top vendor of public cloud services. Amazon AWS can provide a broad range of cloud services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) for as-needed compute capacity for virtual servers, Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for dynamically scalable primary storage, and Amazon Glacier for low-cost long-term backup. These Infrastructure-as-a-Service products enable businesses of all sizes to move some or all of their IT infrastructure to the Amazon cloud, using a pay-for-use model to minimize hardware expenses while simplifying management hassle and shortening the time needed to deploy new apps.

Hybrid Cloud Integration
For the majority of organizations, using public cloud products and services is a given. The issue is how to find the right trade-off between cloud-based and on-premises resources. Many companies have legacy mission-critical applications which are not easy to migrate to the cloud. Performance-sensitive OLTP database applications may require local systems to provided the highest possible throughput. In addition, corporate culture or government standards could require more control over key types of data than is possible with public cloud environments. In these and other cases, hybrid networks, which integrate local and cloud infrastructure, are often adopted as the best network model.

To complicate things further, Amazon AWS competes with other vendors of public cloud services such as Microsoft, whose Azure products include Infrastructure-as-a-Service options and also a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model optimized for Windows-based applications. Essentially, careful research and planning is needed for any business to determine the appropriate cloud environment.

Progent's veteran solution architects can assist your company to define and deploy a hybrid cloud environment that includes Amazon AWS so that it maximizes business value. Progent can help your IT team with every aspect of Amazon AWS integration including requirements analysis, readiness evaluation, architectural design, testing, deployment, administration, performance optimization, licensing management, disaster recovery solutions, and security and compliance. Progent offers advanced expertise with firewalls and VPN access and can help you deploy all-cloud or hybrid cloud environments that efficiently integrate Amazon AWS services. Progent can provide occasional consulting or deliver end-to-end project management outsourcing or co-sourcing to help you migrate smoothly to the Amazon AWS cloud.

Popular Amazon AWS Cloud Services
The Amazon AWS family of cloud products includes dozens of infrastructure options that address processing, storage, databases, analytics, mobility, enterprise applications, administration, Internet of Things, and security, Amazon AWS cloud services popular with organizations of all sizes and for which Progent offers comprehensive support include:

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, called Amazon EC2, is a virtual server hosting product that lets you configure, scale, and administer cloud-based virtual machines, known as EC2 instances. You can deploy any quantity of instances and you pay only for the resources you use. You can manage the individual server and cluster-level features of a range of OS platforms, add your cloud-hosted applications, and control network access permissions. You also manage your own software licenses under a Bring Your Own License (BYOL) model. You can use a standard Amazon Machine Image template and go online instantly or you can build your own image that includes your apps, libraries, data, and setup information. Amazon EC2 can scale processing capacity on demand to accommodate variations in usage, avoiding the need for sophisticated capacity planning. You also can request multiple geographic sites for improved resilience and you can use fixed IP addresses to work with your application environment.

Amazon Simple Storage Service, called Amazon S3, is a cloud-based storage product that provides low-latency storage for any amount of data. Amazon S3 expands or contracts dynamically and you pay only for the storage you actually utilize. Amazon S3 is often implemented as offsite storage for disaster recovery but is also well fitted for high-use applications, most notably Amazon's vast commercial web site. Amazon S3's interface can handle multiple storage types intended for different usage cases. These include Amazon S3 Standard for storage of frequently accessed data, Amazon S3 Standard-Infrequent Access for long-lived but seldomly used data, and Amazon Glacier for long-term archives. You can also define your own lifecycle parameters so your Amazon S3 data automatically and transparently moves to a different storage category without forcing you to make modifications to your apps. Amazon S3 cloud storage can be used with Amazon EC2 or as a standalone cloud service.

Amazon Glacier is a cloud-based storage service designed to offer low-cost data archiving and long-term backup for data that is rarely accessed. Glacier does not deliver the low-latency of Amazon S3 cloud storage and is not suitable for online applications. Although restore time is slow and can take hours, storage costs are lower than one cent per gigabyte per month, which is less expensive than on-premises storage. In addition, you can reduce overall storage costs by specifying lifecycle rules to migrate groups of Amazon S3 objects automatically to Amazon Glacier. Amazon Glacier can also assist companies to meet regulatory standards for archival data by offering ultra-reliable offsite archiving with features like periodic, automatic integrity audits and automatic self-healing capability.

How Progent's Experts Can Help You Integrate Amazon AWS Solutions
If you intend to integrate Amazon's AWS cloud services into your information network using either a cloud-centric or a hybrid architecture, Progent can help you evaluate the business benefits of Amazon AWS compared to competing cloud products. Progent can help with every facet of your cloud integration migration including needs analysis, solution design, feasibility testing, deployment, administration, performance optimization, software license management, and disaster recovery strategies. Progent also offers the help of certified cybersecurity experts to ensure. make sure your environment is protected and compliant with government and industry standards.

Progent can assist you to identify which of your critical apps are suitable for Amazon AWS and help you upgrade legacy or custom applications so they can be hosted by Amazon AWS. Progent can provide economical remote and on-premises expertise to help you deal with occasional technical issues, or Progent can provide end-to-end project management outsourcing or co-sourcing to make sure you execute your cloud migration project on schedule and within budget.

A common technical issue confronted while integrating your network with Amazon AWS, or with any other cloud platform, is establishing secure access for different end points situated either inside or outside your corporate firewall. Progent can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE network consultant as well as firewall integration experts certified by Symantec, Barracuda, SonicWall, Check Point and others to help you deploy and administer security appliances for connecting safely to Amazon AWS services. Progent can also provide the support of iPhone and iPad technology specialists and Android integration consultants to assist you to connect smartphones and tablets for your Amazon AWS solution.

Some examples of remote integration services available from Progent to assist companies interface with the Amazon AWS cloud include:

• Propose or review the solution design for hybrid environments that use Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud and Simple Storage Service
• Deploy and troubleshoot VPN connections to AWS
• Integrate Cisco AnyConnect and Symantec AWS Gateway Service
• Install and troubleshoot firewalls from Barracuda, Cisco, WatchGuard, Check Point and others
• Design, deploy, and test backup/restore systems integrated with Amazon Simple Storage Service
• Build and verify Amazon Machine Images for Windows or Linux virtual servers and apps
• Set up Java tools for AMI images
• Specify, configure and test security policies
• Debug elastic and static IP issues
• Debug DNS and load balancing problems
• Configure NATs for datacenters and remote offices
• Create PHP routines for signing Amazon AWS requests
• Create Active Directory instances for Amazon EC2
• Help with Amazon Simple Queue Service

Other Hybrid Cloud Integration Support Services Available from Progent
Progent offers support for all leading public cloud platforms and can provide quick remote access to a hybrid cloud integration consultant. Popular cloud platforms and services supported by Progent include:

Amazon Marketplace Web Service is an integrated collection of APIs that enables Amazon sellers to improve the efficiency of their business processes by automating crucial sales functions including listings, orders, shipments, fulfillment, and finances. By leveraging Amazon's extensive online selling environment and automating their sales processes, merchants can expand their market, reduce their operating costs, accelerate reaction time to customers, and increase their bottom line. Progent's Amazon Marketplace Web Service consultants can collaborate with your development team and provide programming, workflow integration, project management support, and mentoring to help you shorten development time and speed up your return on investment.

Progent's Microsoft Azure integration experts can help you with every stage of Azure cloud integration such as requirements analysis, readiness evaluation, system design, pre-production testing, deployment, automated management, performance tuning, software license management, disaster recovery preparedness, security planning, and regulatory compliance assessment. Progent can help you to configure and debug firewall appliances and VPN connections so your clients can safely connect to Azure services, and Progent's Microsoft-certified consulting experts can assist you set up key Microsoft platforms to work in the cloud including Windows Server, Exchange, SQL and SharePoint. Progent can also assist you to set up a hybrid environment that transparently integrates on-premises datacenters with Azure-based resources.

Microsoft has made a strong effort to enable transparent hybrid environments that integrate Microsoft 365 and on-premises Exchange. This permits you to have specific Exchange mailboxes hosted on your on-premises datacenter or private cloud and other mailboxes resident on Microsoft 365. Progent's Microsoft-certified Exchange consultants can assist you with any phase of planning, implementing and debugging your hybrid Exchange network. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide occasional expertise to help you resolve stubborn technical issues and also can provide extensive project management outsourcing to ensure your hybrid Exchange solution is completed on schedule and within budget. To learn more about Progent's consulting support for hybrid Microsoft 365 Exchange and on-premises Exchange systems, go to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration with on-premises Exchange.

Progent's certified Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 experts can assist companies to integrate Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including Office Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Access, Project and Publisher into a cohesive productivity solution that offers quick ROI and enables improved business outcomes. Progent can help you to interface Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365 applications with each other and with other core Microsoft platforms such as SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SQL Server running on-premises or hosted in the cloud. Progent can also assist you to fix compatibility issues between different versions of Microsoft Office desktop and can provide customized online Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 instruction to individuals and teams.

Progent's Google Cloud Platform (GCP) planning and integration consultants can provide cost-effective remote and onsite consulting to help businesses of any size to move all or part of their core network resources to Google Cloud Platform services. This can save management hassle and hardware costs and enable access to Google's state-of-the-art machine learning technology. Progent can help you with every phase of Google Cloud Platform integration including needs analysis, preparedness evaluation, architectural design, pilot testing, configuration, administration, performance optimization, software license management, disaster recovery solutions, and security and compliance.