Enlarging your at-home workforce can have a major effect on network architecture, security, and company culture. Progent has 20 years of experience helping businesses of all sizes to design, configure, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can assist your Boston organization to select the right technologies and follow best practices in building and operating a safe virtual solution for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and returns maximum value. Progent offers services that go from as-needed guidance for getting you past challenging IT bottlenecks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you carry out business-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Boston, Massachusetts organizations to succeed with any aspect of creating a high-performing work-at-home environment by delivering network infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud integration, Help Desk augmentation, cybersecurity, backup/restore solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for Telecommuters
Integrating the physical and software infrastructure needed to support an at-home work environment can be especially complex if you have to manage a mix of personal hardware like desktop computers and laptops, routers, and Wi-Fi APs from an assortment of manufacturers and with a mix of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's experience providing remote help for both legacy and modern IT products in remote office venues allows you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and offers ready access to expertise for making essential updates. Support services offered by Progent to assist you to implement a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology makes it possible to establish a secure tunnel for authorized remote employees to use IT assets situated at your company datacenter or in the cloud. Progent can assist your company to configure and manage VPN access between your teleworkers and your various network resources by providing remote VPN configuration support. For organizations using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA experts can assist your at-home workers to set up Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software to provide safe VPN tunneling for a broad selection of endpoint devices including Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products allow an at-home worker to see and use a remote computer's desktop. This technology provides IT managers substantial control over the digital ecosystem of at-home employees and ensures them a consistent and more productive work experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
  • Routers connect at-home networks to the Internet and support VPN connections, local wireless connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier online support for configuring home routers from a variety of manufacturers. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wireless networks, often shared by families and visitors, are frequently utilized by at-home employees to access their router for work. This can cause performance and security problems. Progent can assist businesses to resolve these problems by delivering expertise like Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki WiFi deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi access point setup help.
  • Internet connectivity solutions impact the performance and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the corporate network. Mission-critical applications might demand redundant Internet access in the event the primary connection fails. Progent can provide guidance for picking ISPs, choosing appropriate service bundles, and setting up high-availability Internet connections. Refer to Internet access integration services.

IP Voice Integration for Teleworkers
Expanding the company PBX system to accommodate remote users is critical to supporting a productive at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-centric digital PBX products are used by SMBs to support telecommuters. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's modern or older platforms for IP voice management. Progent can help organizations of all sizes to plan or maintain a remote IP voice environment that delivers the flexibility, transparency and protection required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts offer high-level support to help businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP systems to support an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) extends enterprise telephony capabilities to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and mixed media software used across the network. Unified Communications Manager manages additional combined media services such as unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, visit Cisco Unified Communications Manager expertise.
  • CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent's consultants can assist you to maintain your existing CallManager deployment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy IP voice platforms, see Cisco CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with PSTN networks and with users 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 Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway integration consulting.
  • Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to update your wide area network architecture to support these VoIP solutions and provide online integration and debugging services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for an At-Home Workforce
A wide range of video conferencing products from major technology companies enable virtual meetings, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both local users and at-home workers. Many organizations utilize multiple products to meet the needs of their different partners and clients. Progent can help your organization to maintain your current conferencing ecosystem and optimize the experience of your remote employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications platform that enables presence, IM, audio and video conferencing plus the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help you to set up and manage Skype for Business client software to support your remote employees. For details about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video calling app for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS devices. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later editions of FaceTime allow as many as 32 simultaneous users for voice/video calls. For details about Progent's support services for FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Offered via Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing discrete content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, session capture, plus editing and playback for training. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Cisco Webex and for other video conferencing products from Cisco, refer to Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a hub for conferencing, contacts, and content with capabilities such as voice/video calling, threaded chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, see 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 deliver configuration and troubleshooting expertise for these products and help you to optimize your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Software for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of applications that create a cohesive user interface for exchanging data and ideas across multiple sites and on a broad range of endpoint computers. Progent has provided remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their original releases and can assist your company to tune these flagship collaboration platforms to maximize the productivity of your remote workforce.

SharePoint Configuration Experts for At-Home WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to promote collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-based delivery of data, workflow, and utilities for searching through company-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to create protected portals that permits remote workers to see and update aggregated business intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts. To learn about Progent's SharePoint support services, go to SharePoint integration and development expertise.

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, see deployment expertise for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Microsoft Onedrive Integration Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's shared cloud-based storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues can retrieve them securely via a web browser. Included with Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables home employees to co-edit documents. Revisions made offline are uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for OneDrive, refer to Onedrive integration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration for Teleworkers
Progent can provide affordable remote support for enabling businesses to build, manage and optimize cohesive hybrid network models that include internal data centers, telecommuters, branches, plus 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. Progent can help teleworkers fix issues with public cloud access, identity, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft Azure is a leading family of cloud services that enables you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure includes over one hundred services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered VMs, scalable cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure AD, and plan backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you create protected access to Azure services for telecommuters by setting up and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN tunnels. To learn about Progent's support services for Azure, visit Microsoft Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of business productivity applications and cloud-based services offered by subscription. Microsoft applications and services are marketed in a variety of bundles intended for users ranging from students and small offices to major enterprises. Progent offers quick and affordable online access to consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible clients based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can help your business to evaluate the numerous subscription bundles offered with Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your remote workers to achieve maximum business value. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, see Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Exchange Online Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most widely used cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online provides the benefits of lower costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and other benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has engineered Exchange Online to operate smoothly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing customers to build hybrid networks. Progent's certified Exchange consultants are available for occasional assistance to get you past challenging IT roadblocks and can also provide end-to-end project management outsourcing to make sure your teleworkers have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's expertise for Exchange Online, visit Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for Remote WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud computing market and is the world's top provider of cloud-based services. Progent offers quick and affordable online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can help your organization to design, implement, manage, and debug hybrid information networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds like Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help you to build a high-uptime network model to make sure your employees have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your headquarters, a remote branch, at home, or on the road. For details about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS integration support.

Google Cloud 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 consulting experts can assist you to scale your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA experts can help you make your mission-critical applications cloud friendly so your remote workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can assist you to deploy virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, design a cost-effective storage solution with Google Cloud Storage services, and simplify identity control for telecommuters with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent's consultants can also assist your business to use GCP's unified management tools to administer and track your GCP ecosystem. To find out, see Google Cloud Platform consulting services.

Help Desk Call Center Support for At-Home Workers
An emergency, organization-wide changeover to a from-home business model, which could be driven by an epidemic or as part of a disaster recovery process, can overwhelm even a well-staffed in-house Call Center. Progent's Call Center services make it possible for organizations of any size to outsource or expand their Support Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk services leverage Progent's extensive team of online technical support specialists combined with world-class trouble ticketing and follow-up technology to provide an affordable, state-of-the-art Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that addresses all aspects of online Level 1 PC support from initial help requests through ticket creation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables teleworkers to monitor or edit the status of their active trouble tickets, enter information, and upload screenshots or relevant files. Support services are provided at a significant price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 desktop service charges, and Progent makes available optional fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to deal with advanced problems. For details, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplemental Service enables your business to supplement your existing Support Desk organization by sharing responsibilities for Support Desk support transparently between your regular support staff and Progent's nationwide pool of PC support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Help Desk Call Center service is based on a co-sourcing support solution based on the number one professional services automation tool for managing service requests and ticketing, assigning ownership, tracking progress, and producing reports. For information about how Progent's Help Desk Supplementation Services can help your company to provide best-in-class IT support to your at-home workforce, visit Progent's Help Desk supplementation Services.

Cybersecurity for Telecommuters
At-home employees commonly utilize their personal devices and usually work in a poorly secured physical area. This situation multiplies their vulnerability to cyber attacks and calls for judicious deployment of corporate firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, intensive user training, and the development of security policies built on best practices. Progent's seasoned roster of data security solutions consultants can help you to plan, configure and manage an effective security solution that protects critical information assets in environments that incorporate remote workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable companies to build a network environment that can be safely accessed by on-premises users as well as by teleworkers, mobile users, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall devices allow you to assign and manage different permissions to various classes of users and to expand your network and modify your security as your company evolves and as network attacks become increasingly complex. Progent works with both current and legacy firewall devices from all major manufacturers including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall integration expertise, visit firewall configuration and support expertise.

Remote Security Monitoring for TelecommutersOnline Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the disparate computers used by remote workers and either block or spot and respond to modern cyber attacks like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight software agent is installed on each secured endpoint device, watching all activity and using advanced machine learning from SentinelOne to detect zero-day threats before they can spread. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight ASM instantly disconnects the targeted endpoint from the corporate network to contain the threat. Because the ProSight ASM software agent is self-contained, endpoint devices stay protected even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight ASM, go to remote endpoint monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication Services for Remote WorkersProgent's Duo MFA services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, when you log into a protected online account and enter your password you are asked to confirm who you are on a unit that only you have and that uses a different network channel. A broad selection of out-of-band devices can be used for this added form of authentication such as an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate several verification devices. For details about Duo two-factor identity authentication services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for at-home workers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your network to all types of external and local security attacks for an environment that incorporates at-home workers. Progent can deploy online, automated cybersecurity inventory scanning for rapidly and economically uncovering a wide variety of security gaps that can be surfaced via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit consulting services, which can be managed by data security experts with top credentials including CISM, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help your business to evaluate your procedures and governance policies and assess your network architecture to enable you to implement the highest level of protection for your telecommuters.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Environment
To view or download a white paper describing key areas to concentrate on for securing a network that incorporates telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection involves backing up and restoring critical information in order to avoid data loss and reduce restoration time and effort in case of storage failures resulting from hardware breakdowns, programming hiccups, user error, malware, or other causes. Reliable data protection strategies can be particularly challenging to design and maintain in hybrid networks that incorporate local data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Recovery strategies for an at-home workforce must cover diverse types of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide fast remote access to consultants knowledgeable about a broad range of platforms for backing up Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, tablets and handhelds. Leading backup/restore solutions maintained by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect data spread throughout a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud storage and features granular restore and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans commonly envision scenarios that require a rapid switch to an at-home workforce. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity consultants can assist your business to create, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that includes the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management products under the name Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite computers. Endpoint Manager offers a centralized solution for safeguarding critical data by managing on-premises, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting remote devices and software. Managed endpoint devices can be user owned or business owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of telecommuters can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push updates and certificates, set up rules for accessing information and networks, set passwords, create VPN connections, determine how telecommuters share data, set up threat protection, verify security compliance, and erase corporate information from missing, stolen or decommissioned devices. Intune can be used with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X endpoints. To find out about Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use this platform to manage the endpoint computers of your at-home workforce, go to Intune mobile endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized Mobile Device Management platform that helps network administrators to keep remote endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint management combined with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for authorization control, app management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints powered by Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises product via a perpetual license. Top features of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air provisioning of new laptops, quick onboarding of new employees, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, aggregated management reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud products. To find out about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about building and maintaining an efficient work-from-home environment for your Boston, Massachusetts company, phone 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.