Expanding your at-home workforce may have a significant impact on network architecture, cybersecurity, and company culture. Progent has 20 years of experience assisting businesses of all sizes to plan, configure, administer, optimize, and debug IT environments that support at-home workers. Progent can help your Augusta-Richmond County company to pick the right tools and follow best practices in creating and operating a secure virtual solution for telecommuters that promotes teamwork and returns maximum business value. Progent offers support services ranging from on demand expertise for getting you over occasional IT roadblocks to comprehensive project management to help you carry out mission-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia organizations to succeed with any aspect of building a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem by delivering infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud connectivity, helpdesk augmentation, cybersecurity, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Setting up the network infrastructure needed for a remote work environment can be especially complex if you have to manage a mix of personal hardware such as desktop computers and notebooks, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from various vendors and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's background delivering online help for both outdated and current technologies in virtual office venues allows you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and provides you with ready access to top-tire consultants for making essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to assist your company to implement a productive work-at-home ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology makes it possible to create a secure tunnel for authenticated remote employees to use IT assets located at your corporate data center or in a public cloud. Progent's consultants can help your company to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your teleworkers and your various IT resources by providing online VPN integration support. For businesses using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA consultants can help your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect client software for safe VPN connections for a wide selection of devices including Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms enable a telecommuter to see and interact with a data center computer's desktop. This provides network managers more control over the computing ecosystem of telecommuters and offers them a familiar work experience. Progent's VDI consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers connect home networks to the Internet and support VPN connections, local wireless networks, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert remote support for deploying home routers from a variety of manufacturers. See router integration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, typically shared by the whole family and guests, are frequently used by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can create throughput and security issues. Progent can help you to resolve these problems by providing expertise like Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco Meraki wireless deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless access point integration assistance.
  • Internet access solutions impact the speed and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Business-critical applications may require backup Internet connections in case the primary connection breaks. Progent offers guidance for selecting service providers, picking sensible bandwidth and data volume offerings, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet access. Refer to Internet access integration services.

IP Voice Integration for an At-Home Workforce
Extending the corporate PBX environment to include telecommuters is critical to supporting an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-centric IP voice 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 design or tune a telecommuter IP voice service that provides the versatility, transparency and protection needed for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts offer high-level support to assist organizations optimize their existing Cisco IP voice systems to handle an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) extends high-end telephony capabilities to devices like IP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and multimedia software deployed across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other combined media services like messaging, video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, see CUCM expertise.
  • CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing software and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent's consultants can help you to support your current CallManager environment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other early IP voice platforms, refer to Cisco CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with PSTN networks and with users working outside the corporate perimeter like at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to enhance your wide area network architecture to work with these solutions and deliver online configuration and troubleshooting expertise.

Voice/Video Conferencing for an At-Home Workforce
A broad range of video conferencing products from leading vendors support online discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both local workers and teleworkers. Many organizations use multiple conferencing products to accommodate their various partners and customers. Progent can help your organization to manage your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications platform that supports real-time presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist your company to configure and maintain Skype for Business clients to support your at-home employees. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling platform for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime works over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer editions of FaceTime support as many as 32 concurrent users for voice/video calls. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing discrete content or screens, presentations that embed rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based recording, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's support services for Webex as well as for additional 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 conferencing, contacts, and content with features such as video calling, persistent chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Teams and for other Microsoft 365 products, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide configuration and troubleshooting expertise for these products and help you to tune your WAN architecture to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of productivity apps that deliver a consistent user experience for sharing data and ideas across a corporate network and on a wide range of endpoints. Progent has delivered online consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their original releases and can help your company to configure these critical collaboration platforms to maximize the productivity of your remote workers.

SharePoint Server Deployment Experts for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web entities to promote collaboration and knowledge delivery by offering policy-based delivery of data, workflow, and utilities for searching through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint permits you to create protected web portals that enables remote workforce to see and edit consolidated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. For information about Progent's SharePoint expertise, refer to SharePoint integration and development expertise.

Exchange Configuration 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, refer to integration expertise for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Microsoft Onedrive Deployment Experts for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's shared cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote users can save files to OneDrive, and colleagues anywhere can retrieve them safely via a browser. Included with Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables at-home employees to co-edit documents. Revisions made offline are synced when you reconnect to the Internet. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft OneDrive, see Onedrive configuration consulting.

Cloud Integration for Teleworkers
Progent can provide advanced online support for enabling organizations to create, manage and optimize integrated hybrid network models that incorporate physical data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, and public cloud services. Progent offers 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 (SaaS). Progent can help telecommuters fix problems with cloud access, identity, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration Services for TeleworkersMicrosoft Azure is a popular platform for cloud software and services that allows you to use infrastructure, servers, and critical apps hosted on Microsoft's massive cloud. Azure includes over 100 cloud-based services such as hosting for Windows and Linux-powered VMs, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help you to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure Active Directory, and design backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to establish protected access to Azure for remote workers by configuring and debugging firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Azure, refer to Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of client productivity applications and cloud services available on a subscription basis. Office applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of plans designed for customers ranging from individuals and households to large enterprises. Progent offers quick and affordable online access to experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible endpoint devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can assist your business to evaluate the various subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your remote workers in a way that delivers maximum business value. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration expertise.

Exchange Online Integration Services for At-Home WorkersExchange Online is one of the most widely used applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Exchange Online offers the benefits of lower spending for physical infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and additional advantages inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to operate transparently with local Exchange environments, enabling you to create hybrid information systems. Progent's certified Exchange consultants can provide as-needed assistance to get you past tough technical roadblocks and can also provide end-to-end project management outsourcing to ensure your telecommuters have easy and secure access to your Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's support services for Exchange Online, see Exchange Online configuration and troubleshooting consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration for TelecommutersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud computing market and is the world's leading source of cloud-based services. Progent can provide fast and economical online contact with cloud connectivity consultants who can help your organization to plan, implement, manage, and debug hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help your company to build a high-availability network model so your users have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, from home, or on the move. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS integration expertise.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for TeleworkersGoogle Cloud is a popular suite of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help your business to expand your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database experts can show you how to make your key apps cloud friendly so your remote workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can help your business to deploy virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, design an efficient storage system with GCP Storage, and streamline identity control for telecommuters with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also assist you to utilize GCP's management technology to control and monitor your Google Cloud environment. To learn, see Google Cloud Platform consulting support.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Telecommuters
A sudden, organization-wide transition to a teleworker business model, which could be the result of an epidemic or as part of a disaster recovery plan, can overstretch even the most efficient in-house Support Desk. Progent's Call Center services make it possible for businesses of any size to outsource or supplement their Help Desk Call Center with Progent's online Technical Response Center team.

  • Progent's Standard Support Desk support services leverage Progent's nationwide network of remote IT support specialists along with world-class trouble ticketing and tracking technology to offer an economical, state-of-the-art Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that handles all facets of remote Level 1 desktop technical support from initial service requests to ticket generation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows telecommuters to monitor or update the status of their active tickets, add details, and upload screen captures or relevant files. Technical support services are provided at a significant discount off Progent's normal Level 1 technical service charges, and Progent offers the option of rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to deal with advanced problems. To find out more, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small and mid-size businesses.
  • Progent's Call Center Augmentation Service allows your company to expand your current Help Desk team by sharing delivery of Call Desk support transparently between your in-house support personnel and Progent's extensive roster of PC support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Call Desk service is based on a collective support solution based on the leading professional services automation (PSA) platform for handling help requests and ticketing, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and generating reports. To find out how Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Services can enable your company to provide best-in-class IT support to your at-home employees, refer to Progent's Support Desk augmentation Services.

Security for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home employees typically utilize their own devices and usually operate in a poorly secured physical area. This increases their vulnerability to cyber threats and calls for careful deployment of corporate firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, thorough end-user training, and the development of policies based on best practices. Progent's veteran roster of IT security solutions consultants can help your business to plan, deploy and manage a compliant security solution that protects vital information assets in environments that incorporate remote workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable you to create a network that can be safely accessed by local users and by telecommuters, mobile users, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall appliances permit you to configure and manage different access rights to various classes of users and to scale your IT network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as cyber threats become more sophisticated. Progent supports both new and legacy security devices from all leading manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall integration expertise, visit firewall support expertise.

Remote Security Monitoring Services for TeleworkersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate computers utilized by remote workers and either block or identify and mitigate the latest threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint agent is installed on each secured endpoint, monitoring all activity and using state-of-the-art machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to detect new attacks at inception. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly isolates the impacted device from the corporate network to quarantine the threat. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoint devices remain secure even when they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, refer to remote endpoint monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Remote WorkersProgent's Duo authentication Managed Services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against stolen passwords through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity verification with Apple iOS, Android, and other personal devices. With 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured online account and enter your password you are asked to verify who you are on a unit that only you have and that uses a different network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this added form of ID validation including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may register multiple verification devices. For more information about ProSight Duo two-factor identity validation services, go to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all types of outside and internal security threats for an environment that incorporates remote workers. Progent can run remote, automated cybersecurity analysis software for rapidly and economically detecting a wide variety of security holes that can be found over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by network security professionals with top certifications including CISM, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help your company to evaluate your processes and governance policies and assess your WAN infrastructure to allow you to design the highest level of protection for your remote workers.

NodeZero Pen Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero PEN Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver autonomous testing of your work-from-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks so you can uncover, prioritize, fix, and confirm security vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can assist you to use NodeZero to perform thorough pentests of your perimeter and your internal network so you can evaluate your present security profile. Progent can also assist you to harden your existing network security and can help you to plan and deploy a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and delivers optimum protection for on-premises, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To learn additional information about Progent's threat analysis services powered by on NodeZero's pentest products, visit Consulting Support for NodeZero's Penetration Test Products.

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

Data Protection for Telecommuters
The field of Data Protection covers backing up and restoring critical data in order to prevent data loss and minimize restoration time in the event of storage failures resulting from hardware breakdowns, software hiccups, user error, cyber attack, or any other reason. Dependable data protection solutions can be particularly challenging to design and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate private data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Recovery solutions for teleworkers must address diverse kinds of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent offers fast remote access to experts knowledgeable about a broad range of products for backing up Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iPads and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery products supported by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data spread throughout a hybrid network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained recovery and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies commonly envision scenarios that call for a rapid changeover to a work-at-home environment. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity specialists can assist you to create, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the process of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the name Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a unified environment for protecting corporate data by managing onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting remote devices and software. Managed endpoint computers can be user owned or company owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint computers of at-home workers can use Intune to deploy and validate apps on managed devices, push updates and certificates, configure rules for permission to access information and networks, manage passwords, create VPN connections, determine how teleworkers share data, set up threat protection, verify compliance, and delete corporate information from lost, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune works with iOS/iPadOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS computers. To find out about Intune and to find out how Progent can help your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the endpoint devices of your at-home workforce, refer to Intune remote endpoint management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified Mobile Device Management platform that helps network managers to keep offsite endpoint devices up to date and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint management combined with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for authorization control, app management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-site product via a one-time purchase. Top features of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air deployment of out-of-the-box laptops, quick onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of devices, aggregated management reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud services. For information about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about building and maintaining an efficient work-from-home environment for your Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia business, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.