Enlarging your telecommuter workforce can have a major effect on IT architecture, security/compliance, and company processes. Progent has 20 years of experience assisting businesses of all sizes to plan, deploy, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot IT networks that support a remote workforce. Progent can help your Brighton organization to pick the appropriate tools and adhere to leading practices in building and operating a safe virtual office ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and returns maximum business value. Progent offers support services ranging from as-needed expertise for helping you past occasional technical bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Brighton, United Kingdom organizations to succeed with any facet of building a high-functioning work-at-home environment by delivering network infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, Help Desk services, endpoint security, data protection solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the network infrastructure needed for an at-home work environment can be especially challenging if you must manage a mix of worker-owned hardware like desktop computers and notebooks, Internet routers, and wireless appliances from various vendors and with a mix of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's background delivering online help for both legacy and current IT products in virtual office venues enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and provides you with ready access to expertise for implement necessary upgrades. Support services offered by Progent to help your company to implement a high-functioning work-at-home infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity makes it possible to establish a safe tunnel for authorized remote employees to access IT assets located at your corporate data center or in a public cloud. Progent's consultants can help you to configure and manage VPN access between your at-home workforce and your key IT resources by providing online VPN configuration consulting. For organizations with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall consultants can help your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect software for secure VPN tunneling for a wide range of devices including Microsoft Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms enable an at-home worker to view and use a remote computer's desktop. This technology gives IT managers substantial control over the computing environment of telecommuters and offers remote users a familiar experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers connect home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, local Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert remote support for setting up routers from a variety of vendors. See router integration support from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wireless networks, often shared by an entire household and visitors, are frequently utilized by at-home employees to connect to their Internet router for work. This can create throughput and security issues. Progent can assist businesses to resolve these problems by providing expertise that include Aironet integration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki WiFi deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti wireless access point integration help.
  • Internet access methods impact the speed and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Mission-critical processes may require redundant Internet connections in the event the normal connection fails. Progent offers expertise for selecting ISPs, choosing sensible bandwidth and data volume packages, and integrating high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet connectivity solutions.

VoIP Integration for Remote Workers
Expanding the business phone system to accommodate teleworkers is vital to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based IP voice platforms are popular with small and mid-size businesses to server remote users. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's current or legacy products for IP voice solutions. Progent can help businesses of any size to plan or tune a remote VoIP service that provides the versatility, convenience and security needed for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts offer advanced support to assist businesses tune their current Cisco VoIP systems to handle an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) delivers advanced IP telephony capabilities to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and mixed media software used throughout the network. CUCM manages additional combined media services such as messaging, video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager support, see Cisco Unified CM expertise.
  • CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been replaced by CUCM. Progent's consultants can help you to maintain your existing CallManager environment or migrate efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's expertise for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other legacy IP voice platforms, refer to Cisco CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with PSTN networks and with clients working beyond the corporate perimeter like at-home workers. Progent offers consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products and for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your WAN infrastructure to work with these solutions and deliver as-needed configuration and debugging services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A broad range of video conferencing platforms from major vendors support virtual meetings, video conferencing, chat, and content sharing for both local users and at-home workers. Many companies use a mix of conferencing products to accommodate their various partners and clients. Progent can help you to maintain your existing voice/video conferencing environment and optimize the productivity of your remote workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications platform that enables real-time presence, IM, voice and video conferencing plus the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help your company to configure and maintain Skype for Business clients to support your at-home workforce. To learn more about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video phone app for compatible iOS and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime works over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime allow up to 32 concurrent users for voice/video calls. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Apple FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based recording, plus editing and playback for future reference and training. For details about Progent's consulting services for Webex and for other IP video products from Cisco, see Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams provides a hub for conferencing, contacts, and content with features that include voice/video calling, persistent threaded chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Teams and for other Microsoft 365 apps, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide configuration and troubleshooting expertise for these conferencing platforms and assist you to tune your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 families, providing a powerful ecosystem of productivity apps that deliver a cohesive user experience for sharing information throughout a corporate network and on a wide range of endpoints. Progent has delivered online consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their original publication and can assist your company to configure these flagship collaboration products to maximize the productivity of your remote workforce.

SharePoint Server Deployment Experts for Remote WorkersSharePoint uses web entities to promote collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-based access to data, business processes, and utilities for looking through company-wide business data. SharePoint enables you to build protected portals that allows at-home workforce to see and edit consolidated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For details about Progent's SharePoint support services, go to SharePoint configuration and development consulting.

Exchange Configuration 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 consulting services, visit planning and configuration consulting services for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Onedrive Integration Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's collaborative cloud-based file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can retrieve them safely through a browser. Provided with Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables at-home workers to co-author files. Edits created offline are synced when you reconnect to the Internet. To find out about Progent's expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, refer to Onedrive configuration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent offers advanced remote assistance for enabling organizations to create, maintain and optimize integrated network models that combine internal data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, plus cloud services. Progent offers expertise for all types of cloud service such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help teleworkers resolve issues with public cloud access, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration for TeleworkersAzure is a popular family of cloud software and services that allows you to use infrastructure, servers, and key apps running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure includes over 100 services services including hosting for Windows and Linux-based VMs, scalable cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can assist your organization to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure Active Directory, and plan backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you create secure connections to Azure services for remote workers by setting up and debugging firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Azure, go to Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of client productivity applications and cloud services available on a subscription basis. Office apps and services are provided in a variety of bundles designed for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to major corporations. Progent offers quick and affordable remote access to experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible endpoint devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can help your business to evaluate the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 apps for your teleworkers in a way that delivers top business value. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, refer to Microsoft 365 integration expertise.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most widely used cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Exchange Online provides the benefits of reduced spending for physical infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high reliability, and other benefits associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing you to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide occasional help to guide you past challenging technical bottlenecks and also offer comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your at-home workers have easy and secure access to your Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's support services for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for TelecommutersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud computing arena and is the industry's leading provider of cloud services. Progent offers quick and economical online contact with cloud integration consultants who can assist your business to design, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local resources and with other public clouds such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help you to create a high-availability network model so your users have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, from home, or on the move. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Integration Services for TelecommutersGoogle Cloud (GCP) is a leading collection of public cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist your business to extend your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database consultants can help you make your mission-critical apps cloud ready so your at-home workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud services. Progent's consultants can assist your organization to set up VMs on GCP Compute Engine, design a cost-effective storage solution with Google Cloud Storage, and streamline access management for telecommuters with Google Cloud Identity. Progent can also help your organization to utilize GCP's management technology to administer and track your Google Cloud environment. To find out, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration services.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Remote Workers
An emergency, company-wide transition to a teleworker workforce, which could be the result of a pandemic or as part of a business continuity plan, can overwhelm even a well-staffed internal Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services allow organizations to outsource or augment their Support Desk with Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk services utilize Progent's nationwide team of remote technical support specialists along with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking technology to provide an affordable, advanced Call Center. 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 through ticket creation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables from-home workers to check or edit their active trouble tickets, add information, and upload screenshots and attachments. Desktop support services are delivered at a significant discount off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop support charges, and Progent makes available the option of fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to resolve advanced problems. To find out more, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small businesses.
  • Progent's Help Desk Augmentation Service allows you to supplement your existing Support Desk organization by sharing responsibilities for Help Desk support seamlessly between your regular support organization and Progent's extensive team of desktop support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Call Desk service is based on a co-sourcing support solution utilizing the number one professional services automation tool for managing help requests and trouble tickets, establishing ownership, tracking progress, and producing reports. For information about how Progent's Call Desk Supplementation Services can help your business to provide world-class desktop support to your from-home workers, go to Progent's Call Desk augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home staff members typically utilize their personal computers and usually work in an unsecured physical area. This increases their vulnerability to cyber threats and requires judicious deployment of firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, thorough user education, and the development of policies built on best practices. Progent's seasoned roster of data security support experts can help you to design, deploy and maintain an effective security solution that guards vital information assets in environments that include remote workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable companies to build a network that can be securely utilized by on-premises users as well as by telecommuters, mobile employees, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall appliances allow you to assign and control appropriate access rights to different groups of users and to expand your IT network and adjust your security profile as your company evolves and as network attacks grow increasingly complex. Progent supports both current and legacy security devices from all leading vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall integration expertise, visit firewall integration and support services.

Remote Security Monitoring and Management for At-Home WorkersOnline Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate devices used by at-home workers and either reject or spot and mitigate modern threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint software agent is installed on every secured endpoint, monitoring all activity and utilizing advanced behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to detect new threats on arrival. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight ASM immediately isolates the targeted endpoint from the network to quarantine the threat. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoint devices remain secure even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. For details about ProSight ASM, refer to remote endpoint security monitoring for an at-home workforce.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TelecommutersProgent's Duo authentication services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo supports one-tap identity confirmation on iOS, Android, and other personal devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are asked to confirm your identity via a unit that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be utilized for this added means of ID validation including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may register several validation devices. For details about Duo 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 assess the vulnerability of your network to all types of external and local security threats for an environment that includes remote workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated security analysis software for quickly and affordably uncovering a broad range of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's security audit experts, which can be managed by data security experts with advanced certifications including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your business to evaluate your procedures and governance policies and assess your WAN infrastructure to enable you to implement top-level protection for your at-home workers.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Environment
To read or download a white paper describing critical things to concentrate on for securing a network that supports telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection involves backing up and recovering critical information in order to avoid data loss and minimize restoration time and effort in the event of storage problems due to hardware issues, software glitches, operator mistakes, malware, or other causes. Dependable data protection solutions can be especially difficult to architect and maintain in hybrid networks that combine private data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Restore strategies for remote workers must address diverse kinds of personally owned endpoints. Progent can provide quick remote access to experts knowledgeable about a broad range of products for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iOS and Android tablets and handhelds. Popular backup/recovery solutions supported by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To back up data distributed across a hybrid network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud storage and includes granular recovery and centralized management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans commonly envision circumstances that require a quick switch to a work-at-home environment. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity consultants can assist you to create, document and validate a DR/BC plan that addresses the process of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the name Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises endpoints. Endpoint Manager provides a unified platform for protecting corporate data by controlling local, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting off-premises devices and software. Remote endpoint computers can be user owned or business owned. IT administrators managing the endpoint computers of telecommuters can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push updates and certificates, set up policies for permission to access information and networks, set passwords, create VPN tunnels, control how teleworkers share information, establish threat defense, ensure compliance, and delete sensitive data from lost, stolen or deactivated devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with Apple iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. For information about Intune and how Progent can help your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the devices of your at-home workforce, go to Intune mobile device management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform that helps network managers to keep offsite endpoints current and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint management combined with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for authorization control, application management, and configuration management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE runs with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises deployment via a one-time purchase. Key capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air deployment of new laptops, quick onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of devices, aggregated management reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud services. To learn about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Expertise
To contact Progent about building and maintaining an efficient work-from-home solution for your Brighton, United Kingdom company, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.