Expanding your remote workforce can have a major impact on IT architecture, security, and corporate processes. Progent has two decades of background assisting SMBs to design, deploy, manage, tune, and debug IT networks that support a remote workforce. Progent can help your Augusta-Richmond County company to select the appropriate technologies and adhere to best practices in building and maintaining a secure virtual office ecosystem for telecommuters that facilitates teamwork and delivers top value. Progent can provide services ranging from on demand guidance for getting you past challenging IT bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you carry out business-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia companies to succeed with any aspect of creating a high-performing telecommuting environment by delivering network infrastructure configuration services, IP voice expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud connectivity, Call Desk services, endpoint security, backup/restore solutions, and unified management.

Network Infrastructure for Telecommuters
Configuring the network infrastructure needed to support a remote workforce can be especially complicated if you have to accommodate a mix of worker-owned equipment like PCs and laptops, routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from various manufacturers and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's background providing online support for both legacy and modern technologies in remote office venues enables you to make efficient use of your available network infrastructure and offers fast access to top-tire consultants for making essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to assist you to implement a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology makes it possible to create a secure tunnel for authenticated at-home employees to access IT resources located at your company datacenter or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can help your company to configure and maintain VPN access between your teleworkers and your key network resources by providing online VPN configuration support. For organizations with Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall consultants can assist your at-home workers to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect software for safe VPN connections for a wide range of endpoint devices including Microsoft Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products enable a teleworker to see and interact with a remote PC's desktop. This provides IT managers substantial control over the computing environment of at-home employees and ensures them a familiar work experience. Progent's VDI consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
  • Routers attach home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, local wireless networks, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier online consulting for deploying routers from all major vendors. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, typically supporting families and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to access their router for work. This can cause performance as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can assist you to resolve these problems by delivering expertise like Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco Meraki WiFi installation expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless AP setup assistance.
  • Internet access solutions impact the performance and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the company data center. Business-critical processes might require backup Internet access in the event the normal connection breaks. Progent can provide guidance for identifying service providers, picking appropriate service bundles, and integrating fault-tolerant Internet connections. See Internet connectivity integration services.

IP Voice Integration for Telecommuters
Expanding the corporate PBX environment to include telecommuters is vital to maintaining a productive at-home workforce. A broad range of cloud-based IP voice products are used by small and mid-size businesses to server telecommuters. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's modern or legacy products for IP voice management. Progent can assist organizations of all sizes to plan or tune a telecommuter IP voice environment that delivers the flexibility, transparency and security needed for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants offer high-level support to assist businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP systems to handle an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) extends enterprise IP telephony features to devices such as IP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and mixed media applications used throughout the network. CUCM supports other combined media services like messaging, video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's CUCM support, see Cisco Unified Communications Manager consultants.
  • CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing software and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent's consultants can help your company to maintain your existing CallManager environment or migrate efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony products. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older IP voice platforms, see CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with public telephony networks and with clients operating beyond the corporate firewall such as at-home workers. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series as well as for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your WAN architecture to support these solutions and provide online integration and debugging expertise.

Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A wide range of video conferencing products from major vendors enable virtual meetings, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both local workers and telecommuters. Many organizations use multiple products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent can help you to maintain your existing conferencing ecosystem and optimize the productivity of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular unified communications platform that supports presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist your company to set up and manage Skype for Business clients to support your remote employees. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business integration services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling platform for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS devices. FaceTime runs on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current versions of FaceTime allow as many as 32 concurrent users for video calls. To learn more about Progent's support services for FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for virtually all computing devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing discrete content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus editing and playback for future reference. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Cisco Webex as well as for other IP video products from Cisco, refer to Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a hub for conferencing, contacts, and information with features that include voice/video calling, persistent chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, see Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Additional Conferencing Apps supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and debugging services for these products and assist you to optimize your WAN infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for At-Home Workers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of applications that deliver a cohesive user experience for exchanging information throughout a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoint computers. Progent has provided online consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their first publication and can help your company to tune these critical collaboration platforms to optimize the effectiveness of your at-home 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 Solutions Experts for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Teams works on top of Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration and communication. Designed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can support chat, video meetings with screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (previously called Azure Active Directory) for delivering its complete range of capabilities. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, see solution design and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint Integration Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint uses web entities to enable collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-based delivery of content, business processes, and utilities for looking through company-wide business data. SharePoint enables you to build secure web portals that allows at-home workers to view and update aggregated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts. For details about Progent's SharePoint expertise, visit SharePoint integration and development consulting.

Exchange Deployment Experts 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 information about Progent's Exchange expertise, go to deployment consulting services for Exchange Server.

Microsoft Onedrive Configuration Consultants for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can save files to OneDrive, and colleagues anywhere can share them safely via a web browser. Provided with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables home employees to jointly author documents. Revisions made offline are synced when you reconnect to the Internet. To learn about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft OneDrive, see Microsoft Onedrive integration experts.

Public Cloud Integration for Teleworkers
Progent offers advanced remote assistance for helping businesses to build, maintain and optimize cohesive network architectures that combine physical data centers, telecommuters, branches, plus cloud services. Progent offers expertise for all modes of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers resolve problems with cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration Services for TelecommutersAzure is a popular family of cloud services that enables you to utilize IT infrastructure, servers, and key applications running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure features over 100 services services including hosting for Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure Active Directory, and plan backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to create secure connections to Azure for telecommuters by setting up and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Azure, refer to Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of client productivity software and cloud-based services available on a subscription basis. Office apps and services are provided in a selection of bundles intended for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to large enterprises. Progent offers fast and affordable remote access to consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can assist you to assess the numerous subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your at-home workers to achieve maximum business value. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, see Microsoft 365 integration services.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most popular applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the advantages of reduced spending for physical infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and additional advantages associated with public clouds. Microsoft has engineered Exchange Online to run transparently with on-premises deployments of Exchange, enabling you to create hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's certified Exchange consultants can provide as-needed assistance to guide you through tough IT roadblocks and also offer comprehensive project management services to make sure your at-home workers have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. To learn Progent's expertise for Exchange Online, go to Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for Remote WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud computing arena and is the world's leading source of cloud-based services. Progent offers quick and economical online contact with cloud connectivity consultants who can help your business to plan, deploy, manage, and debug hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist your company to build a high-availability network model to make sure your users have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the move. For information about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, refer to Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Platform Integration Services for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud is a popular set of public cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist you to extend your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database experts can help you make your mission-critical apps cloud friendly so your telecommuters can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist you to set up VMs on GCP Compute Engine, design an efficient storage solution with Google Cloud Storage services, and simplify access management for remote workers with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also assist your organization to utilize GCP's unified management technology to administer and track your Google Cloud ecosystem. For details, go to Google Cloud Platform integration support.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Telecommuters
An emergency, enterprise-wide switchover to a telecommuter workforce, which might be driven by a pandemic or as an element of a disaster recovery plan, can overwhelm even a high-performing internal Call Desk. Progent's Call Center services allow organizations of any size to outsource or supplement their Call Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) services.

  • Progent's Standard Support Desk support services leverage Progent's extensive network of remote technical support experts along with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking software to offer an economical, modern Call Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that handles all aspects of online Level 1 PC support from initial help requests through ticket generation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables from-home workers to check or update the status of their current tickets, add information, and append screenshots and attachments. Desktop support services are delivered at a substantial price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical support charges, and Progent offers the option of fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to resolve complex issues. For details, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small businesses.
  • Progent's Help Desk Augmentation Service enables your company to supplement your current Help Desk Call Center organization by splitting delivery of Help Desk services transparently between your in-house IT support organization and Progent's extensive pool of desktop support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Call Center service is based on a collaborative support solution utilizing the number one PSA platform for managing help requests and trouble tickets, assigning ownership, tracking progress, and producing management reports. To find out how Progent's Support Desk Supplementation Services can help your business to deliver world-class technical support to your telecommuters, see Progent's Call Desk augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Remote Workers
At-home staff members commonly utilize their personal devices and usually work in a poorly secured physical area. This situation increases their vulnerability to cyber attacks and requires careful configuration of firewalls, AV tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, intensive user training, and the creation of security policies built on best practices. Progent's seasoned group of IT security support experts can help you to design, configure and maintain an effective cybersecurity solution that guards vital information assets in networks that incorporate an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable companies to create a network that can be safely accessed by local users as well as by at-home workers, mobile employees, suppliers, clients, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall appliances allow you to assign and manage different access rights to various groups of users and to scale your IT network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as cyber threats grow increasingly complex. Progent supports both current and older security devices from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall configuration services, refer to firewall configuration and support services.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management Services for TelecommutersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the disparate devices utilized by telecommuters and either reject or spot and respond to modern threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight agent is put on each secured endpoint, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art machine learning from SentinelOne to identify zero-day threats before they can spread. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly disconnects the infected endpoint device from the corporate network to quarantine the malware. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoints remain secure even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, visit remote endpoint security monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for TelecommutersProgent's Duo MFA Managed Services incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo enables one-tap identity confirmation on Apple iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a secured application and give your password you are requested to confirm who you are on a unit that only you possess and that uses a different network channel. A broad selection of devices can be used for this second form of authentication including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate several verification devices. For details about Duo two-factor identity authentication services, refer to Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for at-home workers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the exposure of your information system to all classes of external and local security attacks for a network that includes telecommuters. Progent can run online, automated cybersecurity analysis scanning for rapidly and economically detecting a broad range of security gaps that can be found over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit consulting services, which can be managed by security professionals with top credentials such as CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your company to evaluate your operations and governance policies and assess your IT architecture to allow you to design top-level security for your at-home workers.

NodeZero Pen Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated threat assessment of your at-home environment as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can find, rank, remediate, and confirm cybersecurity weaknesses before threat actors can exploit them. Progent can assist you to use NodeZero to carry out thorough penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal network in order to evaluate your current security profile. Progent's NodeZero experts can also assist you to harden your existing network security and can help you to plan and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and delivers optimum protection for on-prem, cloud-based, remote, and perimeter IT assets. To learn more information about Progent's threat analysis solutions powered by on NodeZero's PEN test platform, see Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Products.

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

Data Protection Solutions for Telecommuters
Data Protection involves backing up and recovering vital information in order to avoid data loss and reduce restoration time and effort in case of storage problems resulting from hardware breakdowns, software hiccups, operator error, cyber attack, or other causes. Reliable data protection strategies can be especially challenging to design and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate in-house data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Recovery solutions for teleworkers must cover diverse kinds of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent offers fast online help from experts familiar with a broad range of platforms for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iPads and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery products supported by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect resources distributed across a hybrid network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud storage and includes fine-grained restore and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans commonly anticipate circumstances that call for a temporary switch to an at-home workforce. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity planning specialists can help you to produce, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Telecommuters
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud-based management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a unified solution for protecting critical data by controlling onsite, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting off-premises devices and software. Remote endpoint computers can be personally owned or business owned. IT admins managing the endpoint computers of telecommuters can use Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push updates and certificates, configure rules for accessing information and resources, set passwords, establish VPN tunnels, determine how home-based workers share data, set up threat defense, verify security compliance, and wipe sensitive information from lost, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune works with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS computers. To learn about Intune and how Progent can assist you to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the devices of your telecommuters, go to Intune mobile endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified MDM product that helps network managers to keep off-premises endpoints up to date and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint management combined with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for access control, app management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment via a one-time purchase. Top capabilities of Workspace ONE include fast remote provisioning of out-of-the-box laptops, quick onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, aggregated management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud services. For information about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, go to VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about creating and managing a productive telecommuter environment for your Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia organization, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.