Enlarging your at-home workforce may have a major effect on IT architecture, security, and corporate workflows. Progent has two decades of experience assisting SMBs to plan, configure, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that incorporate work-from-home employees. Progent can help your Anaheim organization to pick the right technologies and follow best practices in creating and maintaining a safe virtual solution for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and returns maximum business value. Progent can provide support services ranging from as-needed expertise for getting you past challenging IT bottlenecks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Anaheim, California companies to succeed with any facet of creating a high-functioning work-from-home ecosystem by providing infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud connectivity, helpdesk augmentation, cybersecurity, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Integrating the network infrastructure required for a remote work environment can be especially challenging if you have to accommodate a mix of worker-owned equipment such as PCs and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi APs from different manufacturers and with a variety of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's experience providing online support for both outdated as well as modern IT products in remote office venues enables you to make efficient use of your existing network infrastructure and offers ready access to top-tire consultants for making essential upgrades. Support services available from Progent to help your company to implement a high-functioning work-at-home ecosystem include:

  • VPN connectivity allows you to establish a safe connection for authenticated remote workers to use IT resources located at your corporate data center or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist you to configure and manage VPN connections between your teleworkers and your various IT resources by providing remote VPN configuration consulting. For organizations using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA experts can assist your remote workers to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect software to provide safe VPN connections for a wide range of endpoint devices including Microsoft Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms enable a teleworker to see and use a remote computer's desktop. This gives IT managers more control over the computing ecosystem of at-home employees and offers remote users a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers attach home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, local Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent offers expert remote support for setting up home routers from a range of vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, often shared by families and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to access their Internet router for work. This can create throughput and cybersecurity issues. Progent can help businesses to mitigate these problems by providing expertise like Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless access point setup help.
  • Internet access solutions affect the speed and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the company data center. Vital processes may demand redundant Internet access in case the primary connection fails. Progent offers guidance for picking ISPs, selecting appropriate service packages, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet access. See Internet access solutions.

VoIP Solutions for Teleworkers
Extending the business PBX system to include remote users is critical to maintaining a productive work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based IP voice platforms are popular with SMBs to support remote users. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's modern or legacy platforms for IP voice management. Progent can help businesses of any size to plan or tune a telecommuter IP voice service that provides the flexibility, convenience and protection needed for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants offer advanced support to help businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP systems to support an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) extends advanced telephony capabilities to devices such as IP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia applications used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports additional combined media services such as messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, see Cisco Unified CM consulting services.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent's consultants can assist your company to maintain your current CallManager deployment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's expertise for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older VoIP products, visit Cisco CallManager consulting services.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with PSTN networks and with users operating beyond the corporate perimeter like telecommuters. Progent offers consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for modern Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration consulting.
  • Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your wide area network infrastructure to support these VoIP solutions and deliver as-needed configuration and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A wide selection of video conferencing platforms from major vendors enable online discussions, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both onsite workers and teleworkers. Many organizations utilize multiple products to accommodate their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can help you to manage your current conferencing ecosystem and enhance the engagement of your remote workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications platform that supports presence, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing plus the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help your company to set up and manage Skype for Business client software to accommodate your remote workforce. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone app for iOS and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current versions of FaceTime support up to 32 simultaneous users for voice/video calls. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Apple FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing discrete content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session capture, plus editing and playback for future reference. For details about Progent's consulting services for Webex and for additional IP video solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a hub for conversations, contacts, and content with capabilities such as IP voice and video calling, persistent chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams as well as for other 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 troubleshooting services for these conferencing platforms and assist your business to optimize your network infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office suites, providing a powerful environment of applications that deliver a consistent user interface for exchanging information across multiple sites and on a wide selection of endpoint computers. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange Server since their initial releases and can help your company to deploy these critical collaboration products to optimize the effectiveness of your remote workers.

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 Consultants for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works with Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can support chat, video meetings that include screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and app sharing. Teams is tightly 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 features. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit solution design and configuration expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Deployment Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint uses web entities to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing by providing policy-based access to content, workflow, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint permits you to create secure portals that enables remote workers to see and edit aggregated business intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. To find out about Progent's SharePoint support services, refer to SharePoint integration and development consulting.

Exchange Deployment Consultants for Remote WorkersExchange and Exchange Online offer secure collaboration features including public folders, shared mailboxes, and shared calendars and contacts. Progent's Microsoft certified Exchange experts can show you how to activate and utilize these features for your at-home workers. For details about Progent's Exchange consulting services, go to integration consulting for Exchange.

Microsoft Onedrive Configuration Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues can retrieve them safely through a web browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables home employees to co-edit documents. Edits created offline are automatically uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for OneDrive, go to Onedrive integration experts.

Cloud Integration Services for Teleworkers
Progent offers advanced online assistance for enabling businesses to build, manage and repair integrated network architectures that include internal data centers, at-home workers, branches, and public cloud resources. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all modes of public cloud service such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help at-home workers resolve problems with cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration for TelecommutersMicrosoft Azure is a popular family of public cloud software and services that enables you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure features over 100 services services including hosting for Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can assist your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and plan data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also show you how to establish secure connections to Azure for at-home workers by setting up and debugging firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Azure, see Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365, formerly called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of client productivity software and cloud-based services available by subscription. Microsoft applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of bundles intended for users ranging from individuals and small offices to major corporations. Progent offers quick and easy remote contact with consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can help you to evaluate the various subscription plans offered with Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your teleworkers in a way that delivers top business value. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration services.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for At-Home WorkersExchange Online is among the most widely used cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the advantages of reduced spending for data center infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and other benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run transparently with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing customers to build hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange experts can provide as-needed assistance to guide you through challenging technical bottlenecks and also offer comprehensive project management services to make sure your telecommuters have easy and safe access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's consulting expertise for Exchange Online, go to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for TeleworkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud computing arena and is the world's leading provider of cloud-based services. Progent can provide quick and affordable online access to cloud integration experts who can help your organization to plan, deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds such as Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to create a high-availability network architecture so your users have a consistent computing environment whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the move. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for TeleworkersGoogle Cloud Platform is a leading suite of public cloud services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can help you to expand your current IT assets with the Google Cloud, and Progent's DBA consultants can show you how to make your mission-critical apps cloud ready so your teleworkers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can help you to deploy virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with Google Cloud Storage, and streamline identity control for at-home workers with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also help your business to utilize GCP's unified management technology to administer and monitor your Google Cloud environment. For details, go to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration support.

Help Desk Support for Teleworkers
A rapid, organization-wide switchover to a telecommuter business model, which could be the result of a pandemic or as an element of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overstretch even a well-staffed internal Help Desk. Progent's Call Center services allow organizations to outsource or expand their Call Desk by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center team.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk services leverage Progent's extensive network of online technical support experts combined with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and tracking technology to provide an affordable, modern Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide an end-to-end solution that addresses all aspects of online Level 1 PC technical support from initial service requests to trouble ticket generation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables telecommuters to monitor or revise the status of their current tickets, enter information, and append screenshots or attachments. Desktop support services are delivered at a substantial price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop support charges, and Progent offers the option of fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to deal with complex issues. For details, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Augmentation Service allows you to supplement your existing Call Desk staff by sharing delivery of Help Desk Call Center support transparently between your in-house IT support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of desktop support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Call Center service is based on a co-sourcing support solution utilizing the number one professional services automation tool for handling help requests and trouble tickets, assigning ownership, tracking progress, and producing management reports. To find out how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Augmentation Services can enable your business to deliver world-class desktop support to your from-home workers, see Progent's Support Desk supplementation Services.

Security for At-Home Workers
Work-from-Home workers typically utilize their own computing devices and usually work in a poorly secured physical area. This situation increases their vulnerability to cyber threats and calls for judicious configuration of firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, thorough end-user education, and the development of policies built on best practices. Progent's seasoned team of IT security solutions consultants can help your business to design, configure and maintain a compliant security solution that guards vital information resources in networks that incorporate telecommuters.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable you to build a network environment that can be safely accessed by local users as well as by telecommuters, mobile employees, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall appliances allow you to assign and control different access rights to different groups of users and to scale your network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as cyber threats grow more complex. Progent supports both new and older firewall appliances from all leading vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall support expertise, refer to firewall configuration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring Services for TelecommutersRemote Endpoint Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the disparate computers used by remote workers and either block or identify and mitigate the latest cyber attacks like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint agent is installed on each secured endpoint, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify new threats at inception. When an attack is spotted, ProSight ASM immediately isolates the infected endpoint device from the network to contain the malware. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoints stay secure even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To learn more about ProSight ASM, refer to remote endpoint monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TelecommutersProgent's Duo authentication Service Plans incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against password theft by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables single-tap identity verification with iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured online account and enter your password you are requested to verify who you are on 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 used as this added form of ID validation including a smartphone or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline telephone, etc. You may register multiple verification devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo identity validation services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for telecommuters.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the exposure of your information system to all types of outside and internal security threats for an environment that includes an at-home workforce. Progent can deploy online, automated security analysis scanning for quickly and affordably uncovering a wide variety of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit experts, which can be provided by security professionals with advanced credentials including CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist your company to audit your operations and governance policies and assess your WAN infrastructure to enable you to design top-level security for your teleworkers.

NodeZero Pen Testing for Work-from-Home EnpointsHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated threat assessment of your at-home connectivity solution and your internal and perimeter networks so you can expose, rank, remediate, and verify cybersecurity weaknesses before threat actors can take advantage of them. Progent can help you to use NodeZero to perform thorough penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can evaluate your present security posture. Progent can also assist you to strengthen your network security and can help you to design and implement a cohesive cybersecurity strategy that simplifies management and delivers optimum protection for on-prem, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To learn more information about Progent's vulnerability assessment services powered by on NodeZero's pentest platform, visit Consulting Support for NodeZero's Pentest Products.

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

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
Data Protection covers saving and restoring vital data so as to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time in case of storage system failures due to equipment breakdowns, software glitches, user mistakes, malware, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially difficult to design and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate private data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Recovery solutions for telecommuters must cover multiple kinds of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent offers fast online access to experts familiar with a broad range of platforms for backing up Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as laptops, tablets and smartphones. Popular backup/recovery products supported by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To back up resources distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery service that uses cloud-based storage and includes granular recovery and unified management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans commonly anticipate scenarios that call for a quick switch to a work-at-home environment. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity planning consultants can help your company to produce, document and test a DR/BC plan that includes the process of moving to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Telecommuters
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management products under the title Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud-based management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a centralized solution for protecting critical information by managing on-premises, 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-based service for managing and securing remote computers and software. Managed endpoint computers can be user owned or business owned. IT administrators managing the endpoint devices of at-home workers can use Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push updates and certificates, set up rules for accessing information and resources, manage passwords, establish VPN tunnels, determine how home-based workers share data, establish threat protection, verify compliance, and erase sensitive data from lost, stolen or deactivated endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with iOS/iPadOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. For information about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use this platform to manage the endpoint computers of your at-home workers, visit Intune mobile device management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform that helps network administrators to keep remote endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint administration combined with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for access control, app management, and configuration management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-site product through a perpetual license. Top capabilities of Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air provisioning of out-of-the-box laptops, quick onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, aggregated management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. To learn about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about creating and maintaining a productive telecommuter environment for your Anaheim, California business, phone 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.