Atlanta Remote Workers Integration Advisor

Expanding your telecommuter workforce can have a major effect on IT architecture, security/compliance, and corporate culture. Progent has 20 years of experience assisting SMBs to design, deploy, manage, optimize, and debug IT environments that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can help your Atlanta organization to pick the right tools and adhere to best practices in creating and operating a safe virtual ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes teamwork and returns top business value. Progent offers support services ranging from as-needed guidance for getting you over challenging IT roadblocks to full project management or co-management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent can help Atlanta, Georgia companies to succeed with any aspect of building a high-performing work-at-home ecosystem by delivering infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud connectivity, Help Desk outsourcing, security monitoring, backup/restore solutions, and unified management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the network infrastructure required for an at-home workforce can be particularly complex if you must accommodate a mix of worker-owned equipment like PCs and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi APs from different manufacturers and with a mix of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's background providing online support for both outdated as well as modern IT products in remote office solutions allows you to make cost-effective use of your available network infrastructure and provides you with ready access to top-tire consultants for implement necessary upgrades. Support services available from Progent to help you to implement a productive work-at-home ecosystem include:

• Virtual Private Network connectivity makes it possible to create a secure connection for authorized remote workers to use IT resources located at your corporate datacenter or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist you to configure and maintain VPN access between your teleworkers and your various IT resources by providing remote VPN configuration support. For organizations using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA consultants can help your remote workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software for secure VPN tunneling for a wide range of endpoint devices such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products enable an at-home worker to see and interact with a data center PC's desktop. This gives IT managers significant control over the computing ecosystem of telecommuters and ensures them a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
• Routers attach at-home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, home wireless networks, and firewall services. Progent offers expert online consulting for deploying routers from a variety of manufacturers. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wi-Fi networks, often shared by the whole family and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to access their Internet router for work. This can cause performance as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can help businesses to mitigate these issues by providing expertise that include Cisco Aironet integration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless installation expertise, and Ubiquiti wireless AP setup assistance.
• Internet connectivity methods impact the performance and availability of connections between at-home workers and the company network. Business-critical processes might require redundant Internet access in the event the primary connection fails. Progent can provide expertise for identifying Internet service providers, selecting appropriate bandwidth and data volume packages, and integrating high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet access integration services.

VoIP Integration for an At-Home Workforce
Expanding the company phone system to include telecommuters is critical to maintaining a productive work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based IP voice platforms are popular with SMBs to server telecommuters. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's modern or older products for VoIP management. Progent can help organizations of any size to design or maintain a remote VoIP environment that delivers the flexibility, transparency and security required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer high-level support to help businesses optimize their current Cisco IP voice environments to handle an expanding at-home workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) extends advanced telephony capabilities to devices like IP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia software deployed across the network. CUCM manages other mixed media services such as messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM support, see Cisco Unified Communications Manager consulting services.
• Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent can assist you to support your current CallManager deployment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other older VoIP platforms, visit Cisco CallManager consulting.
• Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with PSTN networks and with clients working beyond the corporate firewall like telecommuters. Progent offers expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series as well as for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration consulting.
• Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can help you to enhance your WAN architecture to support these VoIP solutions and deliver online deployment and troubleshooting services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A wide range of video conferencing products from leading technology companies enable online discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and content sharing for both local workers and telecommuters. Many organizations use a mix of products to meet the needs of their different partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist you to maintain your existing conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your remote workforce.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications platform that supports presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help your company to deploy and maintain Skype for Business clients to accommodate your remote employees. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business consulting experts.
• FaceTime is Apple's group video calling platform for compatible iOS and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime support up to 32 simultaneous users for voice/video sessions. For details about Progent's support services for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing discrete content or computer screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus editing and playback for training. For details about Progent's support services for Webex and for other video conferencing solutions from Cisco, see Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
• Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conversations, contacts, and information with features that include voice/video conferencing, persistent chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams as well as for additional Office 365 apps, refer to 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 services for these products and assist your business to optimize your WAN architecture to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 families, offering a rich ecosystem of applications that create a cohesive user interface for exchanging information throughout a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoints. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial publication and can help businesses to deploy these critical collaboration platforms to optimize the effectiveness of your remote workforce.

SharePoint utilizes web entities to allow collaboration and information sharing by offering policy-driven delivery of data, workflow, and tools for searching through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint permits you to create secure web portals that allows at-home workers to view and update consolidated business intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts. To learn about Progent's SharePoint expertise, go to SharePoint integration and application development consulting.

Exchange 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 consulting expertise, see integration expertise for Microsoft Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft’s shared cloud-based file hosting and synchronization service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote users can store files to OneDrive, and co-workers can share them securely via a browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive allows at-home workers to co-author documents. Edits made offline are uploaded when you go back online. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, see Microsoft Onedrive configuration experts.

Cloud Integration Services for Teleworkers
Progent offers fast and affordable online assistance for enabling businesses to create, manage and troubleshoot integrated hybrid network architectures that incorporate physical data centers, remote workers, branch offices, plus cloud services. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of public cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers resolve problems with cloud access, identity, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure is a leading platform for public cloud services that enables you to utilize infrastructure, servers, and critical applications running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure features over one hundred services services including hosting for Windows and Linux-based VMs, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help your organization to deploy virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure Active Directory, and plan data backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to establish secure connections to Azure for remote workers by configuring and debugging firewalls and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Azure, go to Microsoft Azure consulting.

Office 365, now called Microsoft 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of business productivity applications and cloud-based services available on a subscription basis. Microsoft applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of plans designed for customers ranging from individuals and households to major corporations. Progent can provide fast and easy remote access to consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible client devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can assist you to assess the various subscription bundles available for Office 365 and deploy 365 applications for your at-home workers in a way that delivers top business value. To learn about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Office 365, see Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Office 365 Exchange Online is among the most widely used applications in the Office 365 product product suite. Exchange Online offers the benefits of lower spending for data center infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other advantages associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Office 365 Exchange Online to run smoothly with local Exchange environments, allowing you to build hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange experts can provide occasional assistance to get you through challenging IT roadblocks and can also provide end-to-end project management services to make sure your remote workers have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. To find out Progent's consulting expertise for Office 365 Exchange Online, go to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting consulting.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud market and is the world's biggest source of cloud-based services. Progent can provide quick and affordable online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can help your organization to plan, deploy, manage, and debug hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with on-premises data centers and with other public clouds like Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to assist your company to create a high-uptime network architecture to make sure your employees have a productive computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, at home, or on the road. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, refer to Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Platform is a popular suite of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist you to extend your current IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database consultants can show you how to make your critical applications cloud friendly so your at-home workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist you to deploy virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design an efficient storage solution with Google Cloud Storage services, and streamline identity management for remote workers with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent can also assist your business to utilize GCP's management tools to control and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. To find out, refer to Google Cloud Platform integration services.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Remote Workers
A fast, enterprise-wide changeover to a telecommuter business model, which might be motivated by a pandemic or as part of a disaster recovery process, can overstretch even a high-performing internal Help Desk. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services make it possible for businesses to outsource or supplement their Help Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

• Progent's Standard Help Desk Call Center support services leverage Progent's extensive network of online IT support specialists combined with world-class trouble ticketing and follow-up technology to offer an economical, state-of-the-art Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that handles all aspects of online Level 1 desktop technical support from initial help requests through ticket generation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables from-home workers to check or revise their active trouble tickets, enter details, and upload screenshots or relevant files. Technical support services are delivered at a significant discount off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service rates, and Progent makes available the option of fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to deal with advanced issues. To learn more, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
• Progent's Call Desk Supplemental Service enables you to augment your existing Help Desk Call Center team by splitting delivery of Help Desk services seamlessly between your in-house support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of PC support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Call Desk service uses a co-sourcing support solution based on the leading professional services automation (PSA) platform for handling help requests and trouble tickets, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and producing management reports. To learn how Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Services can enable your company to deliver best-in-class desktop support to your at-home workforce, see Progent's Call Center supplementation Services.

Security for Teleworkers
Telecommuters often use their personal computers and work in a physically unsecured space. This worsens their vulnerability to cyber attacks and requires careful deployment of firewalls, remote endpoint monitoring, and the enforcement of security policies in compliance with leading practices. Progent's seasoned roster of certified data security professionals can help your company to design, deploy and manage a compliant security solution that guards sensitive information in IT networks that incorporate at-home workers.

• Firewalls allow companies to build a network that can be safely utilized by local users as well as by at-home workers, mobile workers, vendors, customers, and the public. Modern firewall devices allow you to assign and control appropriate permissions to different groups of users and to scale your network and modify your security profile as your business evolves and as cyber threats become increasingly complex. Progent supports both new and legacy firewall devices from all leading 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 services.
• Remote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the disparate devices utilized by at-home workers and either block or identify and respond to modern threats like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint agent is installed on every protected endpoint device, watching all activity and using advanced machine learning to detect zero-day attacks at inception. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately disconnects the impacted device from the network to contain the malware. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoints stay protected even when they are not connected to the Internet. For details about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, go to remote endpoint monitoring for telecommuters.
• Security Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all types of external and local security threats for an environment that incorporates an at-home workforce. Progent can run online, automated cybersecurity inventory software for rapidly and economically uncovering a wide variety of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by data security professionals with top certifications including CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your business to audit your processes and policies and assess your WAN infrastructure to allow you to implement the highest level of security for your at-home workers.

Data Protection for Remote Workers
Data Protection covers backing up and restoring critical data in order to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time in case of storage system problems resulting from hardware issues, programming hiccups, user error, cyber attack, or any other reason. Reliable data protection solutions can be particularly challenging to design and manage in hybrid environments that combine in-house data centers, public clouds, and an at-home workforce.

• Backup/Recovery strategies for at-home workers must address multiple types of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide quick remote help from consultants familiar with a wide array of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as laptops, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Popular backup/restore products supported by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To back up data distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained restore and centralized management.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies commonly anticipate scenarios that require a quick switch to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity specialists can help you to create, document and test a DR/BC plan that addresses the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management products under the title Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager offers a centralized environment for safeguarding critical data by controlling local, mobile, and at-home endpoint devices.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing mobile devices and applications. Managed endpoint devices can be personally owned or company owned. Network administrators managing the endpoint devices of at-home workers can use Intune to provision and validate applications on managed devices, push updates and certificates, set up rules for permission to access information and resources, manage passwords, create VPN tunnels, determine how telecommuters share information, set up threat defense, verify security compliance, and wipe sensitive data from lost, stolen or decommissioned devices. Intune runs with iOS/iPadOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS devices. For information about Intune and to find out how Progent can help your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to manage the endpoint computers of your at-home workers, visit Intune remote endpoint management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized Mobile Device Management product that helps network administrators to keep off-premises endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for access control, app management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple 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 deployment via a one-time purchase. Top capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air deployment of out-of-the-box notebooks, quick onboarding of new employees, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, unifies management reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud products. For details about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To contact Progent about creating and managing an efficient telecommuter environment for your Atlanta, Georgia business, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.