Expanding your remote workforce can have a significant impact on network architecture, cybersecurity, and company processes. Progent has 20 years of experience helping businesses of all sizes to design, configure, administer, optimize, and debug IT environments that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can assist your Brighton company to pick the appropriate technologies and follow leading practices in building and operating a safe virtual solution for telecommuters that promotes teamwork and delivers maximum business value. Progent can provide services ranging from on demand expertise for helping you past challenging IT roadblocks to comprehensive project management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can assist Brighton, United Kingdom businesses to with any facet of building a high-functioning remote work environment by providing network infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud connectivity, helpdesk outsourcing, endpoint security, backup/restore solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure required for an at-home workforce can be particularly complicated if you have to accommodate a combination of worker-owned equipment like PCs and laptops, routers, and wireless APs from various vendors and with a variety of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's experience providing online help for both outdated as well as current technologies in remote office solutions allows you to make efficient use of your available network infrastructure and offers fast access to top-tire consultants for making necessary upgrades. Services offered by Progent to assist your company to create a productive telecommuting infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity makes it possible to establish a safe tunnel for authenticated at-home workers to use IT resources situated at your corporate data center or in the cloud. Progent can help you to configure and manage VPN access between your at-home workforce and your key IT resources by providing remote VPN integration support. For organizations using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA experts can help your remote workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software for safe VPN tunneling for a broad range of devices including Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms allow an at-home worker to see and interact with a remote PC's desktop. This technology gives IT managers substantial control over the computing environment of telecommuters and ensures remote users a consistent and more productive work experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
  • Routers attach home networks to the Internet and support VPN connections, home Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert online support for integrating home routers from a variety of vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wireless networks, often supporting an entire household and guests, are commonly utilized by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can cause throughput and cybersecurity issues. Progent can assist you to mitigate these issues by providing services that include Cisco Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki WiFi installation expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless AP setup assistance.
  • Internet connectivity solutions impact the performance and availability of connections between at-home workers and the company data center. Line-of-business applications may require redundant Internet access in case the normal connection fails. Progent can provide expertise for selecting ISPs, selecting appropriate bandwidth and data volume offerings, and configuring fault-tolerant Internet connections. Refer to Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Solutions for an At-Home Workforce
Expanding the business phone environment to include remote users is vital to supporting a productive at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-based VoIP products are popular with SMBs to support telecommuters. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's modern or legacy products for VoIP management. Progent can assist businesses of any size to design or maintain a remote VoIP service that delivers the versatility, convenience and protection required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts offer high-level support to assist businesses tune their current Cisco IP voice environments to handle an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) delivers advanced telephony features to devices such as IP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia applications deployed throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other combined media services like messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, refer to Cisco Unified CM consultants.
  • CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM. Progent's consultants can help your company to support your current CallManager deployment or migrate efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. To learn about Progent's expertise for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older IP voice products, see CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with clients operating outside the corporate firewall like telecommuters. Progent offers consulting expertise for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series as well as for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to update your WAN infrastructure to work with these VoIP solutions and deliver online configuration and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for an At-Home Workforce
A wide range of video conferencing products from leading vendors support virtual discussions, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen/content sharing for both local users and teleworkers. Many organizations use multiple conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent can help you to maintain your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your remote employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications platform that enables real-time presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing plus the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist you to deploy and manage Skype for Business client software to accommodate your remote workforce. To learn more about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone platform for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac devices. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime support as many as 32 simultaneous users for video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for 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 granular content or screens, presentations that embed rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, session capture, plus editing and playback for future reference and training. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco Webex and for other video conferencing solutions 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 portal for conferencing, contacts, and information with features that include video conferencing, threaded chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver configuration and troubleshooting services for these conferencing platforms and assist you to optimize your network architecture to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Platforms for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office families, providing a powerful ecosystem of applications that create a cohesive user experience for sharing information across multiple sites and on a wide range of endpoint devices. Progent has delivered online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their original publication and can assist your company to deploy these critical collaboration platforms to optimize the effectiveness of your at-home workforce.

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 Solutions Consultants for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works with Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration. Designed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can enable chat, video meetings that include screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and application sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (formerly branded Azure Active Directory) for delivering its complete range of features. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, see solution design and configuration expertise for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint Integration Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web entities to allow collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-driven delivery of data, workflow, and utilities for searching through company-wide business data. SharePoint permits you to create secure web portals that permits at-home workers to view and update consolidated business intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To find out about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, visit SharePoint configuration and development expertise.

Exchange Deployment Experts for At-Home 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. To find out about Progent's Exchange expertise, see deployment consulting for Microsoft Exchange.

Onedrive Deployment Experts for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can save files to OneDrive, and colleagues anywhere can retrieve them securely via a web browser. Provided with Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows home employees to co-author documents. Edits created offline are uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, visit Onedrive integration experts.

Public Cloud Integration for Teleworkers
Progent can provide advanced online support for helping businesses to create, maintain and optimize integrated network architectures that include internal data centers, at-home workers, branch offices, plus public cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of public cloud service such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help teleworkers resolve issues with public cloud connectivity, identity, and security.

Microsoft Azure Integration for TeleworkersAzure is a leading platform for cloud software and services that enables you to utilize infrastructure, virtual servers, and key apps hosted on Microsoft's massive cloud. Azure features over one hundred services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered VMs, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can help you to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity management with Azure Active Directory, and design data backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to create secure access to Azure for telecommuters by configuring and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Azure, refer to Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of business productivity applications and cloud-based services offered by subscription. Office apps and cloud services are marketed in a selection of bundles designed for customers ranging from students and households to major corporations. Progent can provide quick and easy online access to experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible client devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can help your business to assess the various subscription bundles offered with Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 apps for your teleworkers to achieve top business value. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 consulting expertise.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most popular applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Exchange Online provides the advantages of lower spending for data center infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other benefits associated with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run seamlessly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing customers to create hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange consultants are available for as-needed help to get you past tough technical roadblocks and also offer end-to-end project management services to ensure your remote workers have convenient and secure access to your Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, visit Exchange Online configuration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for TeleworkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud market and is the industry's top source of cloud-based services. Progent offers fast and economical online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can help your business to design, implement, maintain, and debug hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to create a high-uptime network model to make sure your employees have a productive computing experience whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the move. To learn about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for Remote WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform is a popular suite of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help your business to expand your current IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA experts can show you how to make your key apps cloud ready so your telecommuters can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can help your organization to deploy virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage system with Google Cloud Storage services, and streamline access control for remote workers with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent can also help your organization to use GCP's management technology to administer and monitor your GCP environment. For information, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting services.

Help Desk Support for Telecommuters
A fast, organization-wide transition to a from-home workforce, which might be driven by a pandemic or as part of a disaster recovery process, can overwhelm even the most efficient in-house Help Desk. Progent's Call Center services allow businesses of any size to outsource or augment their Call Desk with Progent's remote Technical Response Center team.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk support services leverage Progent's extensive team of online technical support specialists combined with world-class trouble ticketing and tracking technology to provide an affordable, state-of-the-art Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that addresses all facets of online Level 1 PC support from initial service requests through ticket generation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows telecommuters to track or update the status of their active tickets, add details, and append screenshots and attachments. Support services are provided at a significant price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service rates, and Progent offers the option of fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT specialists to resolve advanced problems. To learn more, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service enables your company to expand your current Support Desk staff by splitting responsibilities for Support Desk services transparently between your regular IT support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of desktop support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk service uses a collective support solution based on the leading PSA tool for managing help requests and ticketing, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and generating management reports. To learn how Progent's Call Center Supplementation Services can enable your business to deliver best-in-class technical support to your at-home employees, see Progent's Call Desk augmentation Services.

Security for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home workers typically utilize their personal computers and usually operate in an unsecured physical space. This multiplies their susceptibility to cyber attacks and requires careful configuration of firewalls, AV tools, multi-factor authentication, remote endpoint monitoring, extensive user education, and the creation of policies built on leading practices. Progent's seasoned team of IT security solutions consultants can help you to plan, configure and maintain an effective cybersecurity solution that guards vital information assets in environments that incorporate telecommuters.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable you to build a network environment that can be securely utilized by on-premises users and by telecommuters, mobile users, suppliers, clients, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall devices 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 company evolves and as cyber threats become more sophisticated. Progent supports both current and older security devices from all major manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall support services, visit firewall integration and support expertise.

Remote Security Monitoring Services for TeleworkersOnline Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to track the various computers used by an at-home workforce and either reject or spot and mitigate the latest cyber attacks such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight agent is put on every protected endpoint, monitoring all activity and utilizing advanced behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify new threats before they can spread. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately isolates the impacted endpoint device from the corporate network to contain the malware. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is self-contained, endpoint devices remain protected even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight ASM, visit remote endpoint security monitoring for remote workers.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for TelecommutersProgent's Duo authentication Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo technology to defend against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports one-tap identity verification on Apple iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. With 2FA, whenever you log into a secured online account and give your password you are requested to confirm who you are on a unit that only you have and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be used for this added means of ID validation such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You may designate multiple verification devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity authentication services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for an at-home workforce.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all classes of external and internal security attacks for an environment that incorporates telecommuters. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity analysis scanning for rapidly and economically uncovering a wide variety of security holes that can be found via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment experts, which can be managed by network security professionals with top credentials including CISM, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help you to audit your procedures and governance policies and assess your WAN architecture to allow you to design the highest level of protection for your remote workers.

NodeZero Pentetration Testing for Work-from-Home EnpointsHorizon3.ai's NodeZero PEN Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports automated testing of your at-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can identify, rank, remediate, and verify cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent can assist you to use NodeZero to perform comprehensive penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can determine your current security profile. Progent's NodeZero experts can also help you to harden your existing network security and can assist you to design and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity strategy that streamlines management and provides optimum cyber defense for on-prem, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To learn additional details about Progent's threat analysis solutions based on on NodeZero's pentest products, see Consulting Support for NodeZero's Penetration Test Products.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Environment
To read or download a white paper describing critical things to focus on for protecting an IT environment that supports work-from-home staff, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Remote Workers
The field of Data Protection covers backing up and restoring vital information so as to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time in case of storage failures due to hardware issues, software glitches, user mistakes, malware, or other causes. Reliable data protection solutions can be especially challenging to design and maintain in hybrid networks that combine private data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Recovery strategies for teleworkers must address multiple kinds of personally owned endpoints. Progent can provide fast remote access to consultants familiar with a wide range of platforms for protection Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/restore solutions supported by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect resources spread across a hybrid network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery service that uses cloud storage and includes fine-grained restore and unified management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies often envision circumstances that require a rapid switch to a work-at-home environment. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity planning consultants can help you to produce, document and validate a DR/BC plan that addresses the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Teleworkers
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management products under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing local endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a unified platform for protecting corporate data by controlling onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting mobile computers and software. Managed endpoint computers can be user owned or company owned. IT administrators managing the endpoint computers of telecommuters can use Intune to provision and validate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for accessing information and networks, set passwords, create VPN connections, control how home-based workers share data, establish threat defense, verify security compliance, and erase sensitive data from lost, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune runs with iOS/iPadOS, Android, Windows, and macOS computers. For information about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can assist your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the devices of your telecommuters, refer to Intune remote device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized MDM product that helps network managers to keep off-premises endpoint devices current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for identity control, application management, and configuration management of endpoints. Workspace ONE runs with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple 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-site deployment via a perpetual license. Top capabilities of Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air deployment of new notebooks, quick onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, aggregated reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based services. For information about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote device management consultants.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about creating and maintaining an efficient work-from-home environment for your Brighton, United Kingdom organization, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.