Expanding your telecommuter workforce may have a significant effect on network infrastructure, cybersecurity, and company processes. Progent has 20 years of background helping SMBs to design, configure, administer, tune, and debug IT environments that support at-home workers. Progent can assist your Anaheim organization to pick the right tools and adhere to leading practices in creating and operating a secure virtual ecosystem for telecommuters that promotes collaboration and returns top value. Progent can provide services ranging from on demand guidance for helping you over occasional technical roadblocks to full project management to help you carry out business-critical initiatives.

Progent can assist Anaheim, California companies to succeed with any aspect of creating a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem by delivering network infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud integration, Help Desk outsourcing, cybersecurity, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Configuring the network infrastructure required to support an at-home workforce can be particularly challenging if you must manage a mix of worker-owned hardware like PCs and laptops, routers, and Wi-Fi APs from different manufacturers and with a variety of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's background delivering online support for both legacy as well as current IT products in virtual office venues enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and provides you with ready access to expertise for making essential updates. Services available from Progent to assist you to implement a productive telecommuting infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology makes it possible to establish a safe connection for authenticated remote employees to use IT resources located at your company datacenter or in a public cloud. Progent can help you to configure and maintain VPN access between your teleworkers and your various network resources by providing online VPN integration support. For organizations with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA experts can assist your at-home workers to set up Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software to provide safe VPN tunneling for a wide selection of devices such as Microsoft Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms enable a telecommuter to see and use a remote PC's desktop. This technology provides IT managers substantial control over the computing environment of at-home employees and ensures remote users a familiar experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
  • Routers connect home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, local Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewall services. Progent offers top-tier remote consulting for deploying routers from all major vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically shared by families and guests, are commonly utilized by at-home employees to access their router for work. This can cause throughput and cybersecurity problems. Progent can help businesses to mitigate these issues by providing expertise like Cisco Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco Meraki WiFi installation expertise, and Ubiquiti wireless AP setup assistance.
  • Internet access methods impact the performance and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate data center. Line-of-business applications may demand backup Internet connections in case the primary connection fails. Progent can provide guidance for identifying Internet service providers, picking sensible bandwidth and data volume packages, and configuring high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet access integration services.

IP Voice Solutions for Teleworkers
Expanding the company phone environment to include telecommuters is vital to supporting a productive work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based digital PBX products are used by small and mid-size businesses to server remote users. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's current or older products for VoIP solutions. Progent can assist businesses of any size to plan or tune a remote IP voice service that delivers the versatility, transparency and protection required for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants can provide high-level support to help organizations optimize their current Cisco VoIP environments to support an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) delivers enterprise telephony features to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia apps used throughout the network. CUCM manages additional mixed media services like unified messaging, video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For details about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, refer to CUCM consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can help you to support your current CallManager deployment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. To learn about Progent's expertise for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other early IP voice products, refer to CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with public telephony networks and with clients working beyond the corporate perimeter such as telecommuters. Progent offers expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to enhance your wide area network infrastructure to support these solutions and provide as-needed integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A broad range of voice/video conferencing platforms from major technology companies support virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen/content sharing for both local workers and teleworkers. Many companies utilize a mix of conferencing products to meet the needs of their different partners and clients. Progent can help you to manage your existing conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications product that enables presence, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing plus the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified consultants who can assist your company to deploy and manage Skype for Business client software to accommodate your at-home workforce. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video phone platform for iOS and macOS devices. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime support up to 32 concurrent users for video sessions. For details about Progent's support services for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for virtually all computing devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex capabilities include sharing granular content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based capture, plus revision and playback for training. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex as well as for additional video conferencing products from Cisco, refer to Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams provides a hub for conversations, contacts, and information with capabilities that include voice/video conferencing, threaded chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 products, see Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide configuration and debugging expertise for these products and help your business to optimize your WAN architecture to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a powerful ecosystem of applications that create a consistent user experience for exchanging information throughout multiple sites and on a wide range of endpoints. Progent has provided online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial publication and can assist your company to configure these critical collaboration products to optimize 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 and Teams Premium Integration Experts for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works with Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can support chat, video meetings with screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (previously branded Azure Active Directory) for delivering its full range of capabilities. For additional information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, visit solution design and configuration expertise for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint Server Configuration Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to facilitate collaboration and information sharing by offering policy-driven delivery of data, business processes, and tools for searching through company-wide information silos. SharePoint enables you to create secure portals that allows remote workforce to view and edit consolidated corporate intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For information about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, go to SharePoint integration 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 learn about Progent's Exchange support services, go to planning and configuration consulting for Exchange.

Onedrive Deployment Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers can share them securely via a browser. Provided with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables remote employees to co-author files. Edits made offline are automatically uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. For information about Progent's expertise for OneDrive, go to Onedrive integration experts.

Public Cloud Integration for Remote Workers
Progent can provide fast and affordable remote assistance for helping organizations to build, manage and troubleshoot cohesive network architectures that incorporate physical data centers, remote workers, branches, plus cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of public cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers fix problems with cloud access, authentication, and security.

Microsoft Azure Integration Services for TelecommutersAzure is a popular platform for public cloud services that allows you to utilize IT infrastructure, virtual servers, and key applications running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure features over 100 services services including hosting for Windows and Linux-based VMs, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help you to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity management with Azure AD, and design backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to create protected access to Azure for telecommuters by setting up and debugging firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Azure, see Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of business productivity applications and cloud-based services available on a subscription basis. Office apps and cloud services are provided in a variety of bundles intended for customers ranging from students and small offices to large corporations. Progent can provide quick and affordable online access to experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible clients based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can assist your business to assess the various subscription bundles offered with Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your at-home workers to achieve maximum business value. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for At-Home WorkersExchange Online is one of the most popular applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the benefits of reduced spending for physical infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high reliability, and additional advantages inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Exchange Online to operate smoothly with local deployments of Exchange, enabling you to build hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's Exchange experts can provide occasional assistance to guide you past tough IT bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your at-home workers have convenient and safe access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. For information Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Exchange Online configuration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for Remote WorkersAmazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud computing arena and is the world's biggest source of cloud services. Progent can provide rapid and economical online access to cloud connectivity experts who can help your business to design, implement, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds such as Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help you to build a high-uptime network architecture so your users have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the move. For details about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS integration expertise.

Google Cloud Integration for TeleworkersGoogle Cloud is a popular suite of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist your business to expand your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database experts can show you how to make your critical apps cloud ready so your telecommuters can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist you to set up virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with GCP Storage services, and streamline identity control for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also help you to utilize GCP's unified management technology to control and track your GCP environment. For details, go to Google Cloud Platform consulting services.

Help Desk Call Center Support for Telecommuters
A fast, organization-wide switchover to a from-home workforce, which might be the result of an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery/business continuity plan, can overstretch even a high-performing internal Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for organizations to outsource or supplement their Call Desk with Progent's remote Technical Response Center services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk services utilize Progent's nationwide team of online IT support specialists combined with world-class ticketing and follow-up technology to provide an economical, modern Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that handles all facets of remote Level 1 desktop technical support from initial service requests through trouble ticket generation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables teleworkers to track or revise the status of their active tickets, add information, and upload screenshots and relevant files. Desktop support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical service rates, and Progent makes available optional fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to deal with advanced issues. To find out more, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small and mid-size businesses.
  • Progent's Call Center Augmentation Service enables your company to augment your existing Help Desk Call Center staff by splitting delivery of Call Desk support services seamlessly between your regular IT support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of PC support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Call Desk service is based on a collective support solution based on the number one PSA platform for managing help requests and ticketing, assigning ownership, monitoring progress, and generating reports. For details about how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Augmentation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class IT support to your telecommuters, go to Progent's Call Center supplementation Services.

Security for Remote Workers
Work-from-Home (WFH) staff members typically use their own devices and usually operate in an unsecured physical environment. This multiplies their vulnerability to malware attacks and requires judicious deployment of corporate firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, thorough user training, and the development of security policies based on best practices. Progent's veteran team of cybersecurity solutions consultants can help your business to design, deploy and manage a compliant cybersecurity solution that protects critical information resources in environments that incorporate an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to build a network environment that can be securely accessed by on-premises users as well as by at-home workers, mobile workers, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall appliances permit you to assign and control appropriate access rights to various classes of users and to expand your network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks become increasingly sophisticated. Progent supports both new and older security appliances from all major manufacturers including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall configuration services, refer to firewall integration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management Services for At-Home WorkersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate computers utilized by telecommuters and either reject or spot and mitigate modern cyber attacks like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint software agent is put on every protected endpoint, monitoring all activity and using advanced behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify new threats on arrival. When an attack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly isolates the targeted endpoint device from the corporate network to contain the malware. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoint devices stay protected even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For more information about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, visit remote endpoint monitoring for an at-home workforce.

Two-factor Authentication Services for Remote WorkersProgent's Duo MFA Service Plans incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to defend against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation with Apple iOS, Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you log into a secured application and enter your password you are requested to verify your identity on a device that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be used as this added means of ID validation such as an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate several validation devices. For details about Duo two-factor identity authentication services, go to Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for telecommuters.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all types of outside and internal security attacks for a network that includes telecommuters. Progent can run remote, automated security inventory scanning for quickly and affordably detecting a wide variety of security weaknesses that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be managed by data security experts with advanced credentials such as CISM, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help your business to audit your processes and policies and assess your IT architecture to enable you to implement top-level security for your telecommuters.

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 so you can uncover, prioritize, remediate, and verify cybersecurity vulnerabilities before threat actors can take advantage of them. Progent's pentest experts can help you to use NodeZero to carry out thorough penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your present security profile. Progent's NodeZero experts can also help you to harden your network security and can assist you to design and implement a unified cybersecurity strategy that streamlines management and provides maximum cyber defense for on-premises, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To find out more information about Progent's vulnerability analysis services powered by on NodeZero's penetration test platform, visit Consulting Services for NodeZero's Pentest Products.

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

Data Protection for Teleworkers
The field of Data Protection involves saving and restoring vital data in order to prevent data loss and reduce restoration time in case of storage system failures resulting from hardware breakdowns, programming glitches, user mistakes, malware, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be particularly challenging to architect and maintain in hybrid networks that combine in-house data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Restore solutions for at-home workers must address multiple types of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide fast online access to experts knowledgeable about a wide array of platforms for protection Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iPads and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery products maintained by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To back up resources spread across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud-based storage and features fine-grained restore and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) strategies commonly envision circumstances that require a temporary changeover to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity specialists can assist you to create, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that includes the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Remote Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud-based management of remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing onsite computers. Endpoint Manager offers a centralized environment for protecting corporate data by controlling local, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing off-premises computers and software. Managed endpoint computers can be user owned or company owned. Network admins managing the endpoint computers of at-home workers can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up policies for permission to access information and networks, set passwords, establish VPN connections, determine how telecommuters share information, establish threat protection, ensure security compliance, and delete corporate data from lost, stolen or deactivated devices. Microsoft Intune works with iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS endpoints. For details about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can assist you to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the devices of your at-home workers, refer to Intune mobile device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform that helps network managers to keep off-premises endpoint devices current and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for access control, app management, and configuration management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises product through a perpetual license. Key capabilities of Workspace ONE include fast remote deployment of new laptops, immediate onboarding of new employees, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of devices, unifies reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based services. To find out about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE mobile device management expertise.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To contact Progent about creating and managing an efficient work-from-home environment for your Anaheim, California business, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.