Boston At Home Workforce Integration Consulting and Support

Expanding your at-home workforce may have a significant impact on IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and corporate workflows. Progent has two decades of background helping businesses of all sizes to design, configure, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that support work-from-home employees. Progent can help your Boston organization to pick the right tools and follow leading practices in creating and operating a safe virtual office ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes teamwork and returns top business value. Progent offers services that go from on demand guidance for getting you over challenging technical roadblocks to full project management or co-management to help you carry out business-critical initiatives.

Progent's consultants can assist Boston, Massachusetts organizations to with any facet of building a high-performing telecommuting environment by providing network infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud connectivity, helpdesk augmentation, endpoint security, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure required for a remote work environment can be especially complex if you have to manage a combination of worker-owned equipment like desktop computers and laptops, routers, and wireless appliances from different vendors and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's background providing online help for both legacy and current technologies in virtual office solutions enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing infrastructure and provides you with fast access to expertise for implement essential upgrades. Support services offered by Progent to help your company to create a high-functioning telecommuting infrastructure include:

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity allows you to create a safe connection for authenticated at-home workers to access IT resources located at your company datacenter or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can help your company to deploy and manage VPN access between your teleworkers and your various network resources by providing online VPN integration consulting. For businesses using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall experts can help your telecommuters to set up Cisco's AnyConnect software to provide secure VPN connections for a wide range of endpoint devices including Microsoft Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products enable an at-home worker to view and use a remote computer's desktop. This technology provides IT managers substantial control over the digital ecosystem of at-home employees and ensures remote users a familiar work experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
• Routers attach at-home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, local wireless networks, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert online support for deploying home routers from all major manufacturers. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wi-Fi networks, typically shared by families and guests, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to access their Internet router for work. This can cause performance and security problems. Progent can help you to resolve these issues by providing services like Cisco Aironet integration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless installation expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi AP integration help.
• Internet access solutions affect the speed and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Line-of-business processes may demand backup Internet access in the event the primary connection breaks. Progent offers guidance for picking service providers, choosing sensible service offerings, and setting up high-availability Internet access. See Internet connectivity solutions.

VoIP Integration for Telecommuters
Extending the corporate phone environment to include remote users is critical to supporting an effective at-home workforce. A broad range of cloud-based IP voice products are used by small and mid-size businesses to server remote users. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's modern or legacy products for VoIP management. Progent can help businesses of any size to design or tune a telecommuter VoIP environment that delivers the versatility, transparency and protection required for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts can provide advanced support to assist businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP environments to support a growing at-home workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) delivers advanced telephony features to devices like IP phones, media processing products, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia applications deployed throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager manages other combined media services like messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, see Cisco Unified Communications Manager consulting services.
• Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing software and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent's consultants can assist you to maintain your current CallManager environment or migrate smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. For details about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy VoIP platforms, visit Cisco CallManager expertise.
• Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with public telephony networks and with clients working outside the corporate firewall like at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines and for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway integration expertise.
• Other VoIP Products supported by Progent include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your WAN architecture to work with these VoIP solutions and deliver online configuration and debugging expertise.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A broad range of voice/video conferencing platforms from major vendors support virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both onsite users and at-home workers. Many organizations utilize a mix of conferencing products to meet the needs of their various partners and clients. Progent can help your organization to manage your current voice/video conferencing ecosystem and enhance the experience of your at-home employees.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications product that enables presence, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help your company to configure and manage Skype for Business client software to accommodate your remote employees. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business consulting services.
• FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling platform for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS devices. FaceTime runs on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later editions of FaceTime support as many as 32 simultaneous users for voice/video calls. For details about Progent's support services for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing discrete content or computer screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus editing and playback for future reference. For details about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex as well as for additional video conferencing products from Cisco, see Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
• Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a portal for conversations, contacts, and information with capabilities such as IP voice and video conferencing, persistent chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Teams and for other Office 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Additional 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 conferencing platforms and help you to optimize your WAN infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for At-Home Workers
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office suites, offering a powerful environment of applications that create a consistent user interface for sharing data and ideas across multiple sites and on a broad range of endpoints. Progent has provided remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange Server since their initial releases and can assist businesses to configure these critical collaboration platforms to optimize the productivity of your remote workers.

SharePoint uses web sites to enable collaboration and information sharing by offering policy-based access to data, business processes, and utilities for searching through company-wide business data. SharePoint enables you to build secure web portals that permits remote workforce to view and edit aggregated business intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts. To find out about Progent's SharePoint consulting services, refer to SharePoint configuration and development expertise.

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 find out about Progent's Exchange support services, see planning and configuration consulting services for Microsoft Exchange Server.

OneDrive is Microsoft’s collaborative cloud storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers can retrieve them safely via a browser. Included with Office 365, OneDrive enables remote workers to jointly author files. Revisions created offline are uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. For information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft OneDrive, go to Microsoft Onedrive integration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent offers advanced remote support for helping organizations to create, manage and optimize integrated network models that combine physical data centers, telecommuters, branches, plus public cloud resources. Progent can provide expertise for all modes of public cloud service such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help telecommuters fix problems with cloud connectivity, authentication, and security.

Microsoft Azure is a leading family of cloud services that allows you to utilize IT infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical apps running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure includes more than one hundred services services such as the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered VMs, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can assist your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and design data backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also show you how to establish protected access to Azure services for teleworkers by configuring and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. For information about Progent's support services for Azure, refer to Microsoft Azure expertise.

Office 365, rebranded Microsoft 365, is Microsoft's growing family of client productivity software and cloud services offered on a subscription basis. Office applications and cloud services are marketed in a selection of plans intended for users ranging from students and small offices to major corporations. 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 assist your business to assess the various subscription plans available for Office 365 and configure 365 applications for your teleworkers to achieve maximum business value. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft Office 365, see Office 365 integration expertise.

Exchange Online is among the most popular applications in Azure-hosted Office 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of reduced spending for data center infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high reliability, and additional advantages inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Office 365 Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with local deployments of Exchange, enabling you to build hybrid networks. Progent's certified Exchange consultants are available for as-needed assistance to get you through tough technical bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to ensure your remote workers have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. For information Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Microsoft 365 Exchange Online configuration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud market and is the world's biggest provider of cloud services. Progent can provide rapid and affordable online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can assist your organization to plan, implement, maintain, and debug hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with local data centers and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist your company to create 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 information about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud is a popular set of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help you to scale your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database consultants can help you make your critical applications cloud ready so your remote workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud services. Progent can assist your organization to set up VMs on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with Google Cloud Storage, and simplify identity control for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also assist you to use GCP's management technology to administer and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. For information, go to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration support.

Help Desk Support for Remote Workers
A sudden, enterprise-wide transition to a teleworker workforce, which could be driven by a pandemic or as an element of a disaster recovery/business continuity preparedness plan, can overstretch even a well-staffed in-house Call Desk. Progent's Help Desk services allow businesses to outsource or supplement their Help Desk Call Center with Progent's remote Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

• Progent's Standard Help Desk Call Center services leverage Progent's extensive team of remote IT support experts combined with world-class trouble ticketing and tracking software to offer an economical, state-of-the-art Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that handles all facets of remote Level 1 desktop support from initial help requests through ticket creation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal allows from-home workers to track or update their current tickets, enter details, and upload screenshots or relevant files. Desktop support services are provided at a significant price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent offers the option of rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to deal with complex problems. For details, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
• Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Service allows you to expand your current Call Desk organization by sharing responsibilities for Help Desk Call Center support seamlessly between your regular support personnel and Progent's nationwide pool of desktop support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service uses a co-sourcing support model based on the leading PSA platform for managing service requests and ticketing, establishing ownership, monitoring progress, and producing management reports. For details about how Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Services can help your company to provide best-in-class IT support to your at-home employees, go to Progent's Call Desk augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Telecommuters
At-home workers commonly use their own computing devices and work in a physically unsecured area. This increases their exposure to cyber threats and calls for careful deployment of firewalls, remote security monitoring, and the enforcement of policies that adhere to best practices. Progent's veteran roster of certified data security experts can assist your company to plan, implement and manage a compliant cybersecurity solution that safeguards vital data in networks that incorporate telecommuters.

• Firewalls enable companies to build a network that can be securely accessed by on-premises users and by at-home workers, mobile employees, vendors, clients, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall appliances allow you to configure and manage different access rights to various classes of users and to scale your network and modify your security as your business evolves and as cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated. Progent supports both current and older security appliances from all leading vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall configuration services, see firewall integration and support services.
• Remote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the various devices used by telecommuters and either reject or identify and respond to modern threats like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight agent is installed on each secured endpoint device, monitoring all activity and using advanced machine learning and full execution context to identify new threats before they can spread. When an attack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately disconnects the infected endpoint device from the corporate network to quarantine the malware. Because the ProSight ASM agent is self-contained, endpoints stay protected even when they are disconnected from the Internet. To learn more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, visit remote endpoint monitoring for an at-home workforce.
• Security Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all types of external and local security threats for a network that incorporates at-home workers. Progent can run remote, automated cybersecurity inventory scanning for rapidly and affordably detecting a broad range of security weaknesses that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit consulting services, which can be managed by security professionals with top credentials including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your business to evaluate your procedures and governance policies and assess your network architecture to allow you to implement top-level protection for your telecommuters.

Data Protection Solutions for Telecommuters
Data Protection covers backing up and restoring vital information in order to avoid data loss and minimize recovery time in the event of storage system failures resulting from hardware breakdowns, software glitches, human error, cyber attack, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially difficult to architect and maintain in hybrid environments that combine in-house data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

• Backup/Restore solutions for telecommuters must address multiple kinds of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide quick online access to experts familiar with a wide array of products for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iPads and handhelds. Popular backup/restore products maintained by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data spread across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a managed backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud storage and features fine-grained restore and unified management capabilities.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans often envision scenarios that call for a temporary switch to telecommuting. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity planning specialists can help your company to produce, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the process of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management products under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises endpoints. Endpoint Manager features a centralized platform for protecting corporate information by controlling local, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting mobile computers and applications. Managed endpoint computers can be personally owned or business owned. Network administrators managing the endpoint devices of at-home workers can utilize Intune to provision and validate apps on devices, push updates and certificates, set up rules for permission to access data and networks, manage passwords, create VPN tunnels, determine how home-based workers share data, set up threat protection, verify security compliance, and erase corporate data from missing, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with Apple iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. To find out about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the endpoint computers of your teleworkers, see Intune telecommuter endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified MDM platform that allows network managers to keep remote endpoint devices current and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology 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 endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises product through a one-time purchase. Key features of Workspace ONE include fast remote provisioning 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 apps and cloud-based products. To learn about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE mobile device management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Support Services
To contact Progent about creating and maintaining a productive work-from-home environment for your Boston, Massachusetts business, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.