Expanding your at-home workforce may have a major effect on network infrastructure, security/compliance, and corporate processes. Progent has two decades of background assisting small and mid-size businesses to plan, deploy, manage, optimize, and debug IT environments that incorporate at-home workers. Progent can help your Brighton company to select the right technologies and follow best practices in creating and maintaining a safe virtual solution for teleworkers that facilitates teamwork and delivers top business value. Progent offers services ranging from as-needed expertise for helping you past challenging IT roadblocks to full project management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can help Brighton, United Kingdom companies to with any aspect of building a high-performing remote work ecosystem by delivering network infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud integration, Help Desk services, security and compliance, backup/restore solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Configuring the physical and software infrastructure required to support an at-home work environment can be particularly complicated if you have to accommodate a mix of personal hardware such as desktop computers and notebooks, routers, and wireless appliances from different manufacturers and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's experience providing online help for both legacy and current technologies in remote office solutions allows you to make efficient use of your existing infrastructure and provides you with ready access to top-tire consultants for implement essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to assist your company to create a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network connectivity allows you to create a safe tunnel for authenticated at-home employees to access IT resources located at your corporate data center or in the cloud. Progent can assist you to configure and maintain VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your various network resources by providing online VPN configuration support. For businesses with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA consultants can help your at-home workers to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect software to provide safe VPN connections for a broad range of devices such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms allow a telecommuter to view and interact with a data center computer's desktop. This technology provides IT managers substantial control over the computing ecosystem of telecommuters and ensures remote users a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
  • Routers connect at-home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, local Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewall services. Progent can provide expert online support for setting up routers from a variety of vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically shared by an entire household and guests, are commonly utilized by telecommuters to access their Internet router for work. This can create throughput as well as security issues. Progent can help you to mitigate these issues by providing services that include Cisco Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco Meraki WiFi installation consulting, and Ubiquiti WiFi access point integration assistance.
  • Internet access methods affect the speed and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the corporate data center. Mission-critical processes might demand redundant Internet access in the event the normal connection breaks. Progent offers guidance for identifying Internet service providers, choosing appropriate bandwidth and data volume bundles, and integrating redundant Internet access. Refer to Internet connectivity solutions.

VoIP Solutions for Telecommuters
Expanding the company phone environment to include telecommuters is critical to supporting an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based VoIP products are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support teleworkers. Many enterprises depend on Cisco's modern or legacy products for VoIP solutions. Progent can help organizations of any size to design or maintain a telecommuter IP voice environment that provides the versatility, transparency and protection needed for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts offer advanced support to help businesses tune their current Cisco VoIP environments to support a growing remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) delivers enterprise telephony features to devices like IP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia software used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other mixed media services like unified messaging, video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's Unified Communications Manager support, see CUCM consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent's consultants can help you to support your existing CallManager deployment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. To learn about Progent's expertise for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older VoIP platforms, refer to CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with public telephony networks and with users working outside the corporate perimeter such as at-home workers. Progent offers consulting expertise for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products and for current Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your wide area network infrastructure to support these solutions and provide on-demand deployment and troubleshooting services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A wide range of video conferencing platforms from leading vendors enable online meetings, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both onsite users and teleworkers. Many companies use a mix of conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent can assist you to manage your current conferencing ecosystem and enhance the engagement of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular unified communications product that enables presence, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help your company to deploy and manage Skype for Business clients to accommodate your remote workforce. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling app for compatible iOS and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime support up to 32 concurrent users for voice/video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Apple FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that embed rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus editing and playback for future reference. To learn more about Progent's support services for Webex and for other IP video solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conversations, contacts, and information with capabilities such as video calling, threaded chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's support expertise for Microsoft Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 products, see 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 integration and debugging expertise for these conferencing platforms and assist your business to tune your WAN architecture to run them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a powerful environment of applications that deliver a consistent user interface for exchanging data and ideas throughout multiple sites and on a broad range of endpoint computers. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their original releases and can assist your company to tune these critical collaboration products to maximize the effectiveness of your remote 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 and Teams Premium Solutions Experts for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works with Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can enable chat, audio/video meetings that include screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (formerly called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of capabilities. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit planning and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint Server Integration Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint uses web entities to facilitate collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-driven access to content, business processes, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint permits you to create protected portals that permits remote workers to see and edit consolidated business intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. To learn about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, visit SharePoint integration and development consulting.

Exchange Configuration Experts for Remote WorkersExchange and Exchange Online offer secure collaboration features including public folders, shared mailboxes, and shared calendars and contacts. Progent's Microsoft certified Exchange experts can show you how to activate and utilize these features for your at-home workers. For details about Progent's Exchange support services, see integration consulting for Exchange.

Onedrive Deployment Consultants for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can store files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues anywhere can retrieve them safely through a browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive enables home workers to co-edit documents. Edits created offline are automatically synced when you reconnect to the Internet. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, visit Onedrive integration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Teleworkers
Progent can provide affordable remote support for helping organizations to build, maintain and optimize integrated network architectures that incorporate internal data centers, at-home workers, branches, and public cloud resources. 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 telecommuters resolve issues with public cloud access, identity, and security.

Azure Integration Services for Remote WorkersAzure is a leading family of cloud services that enables you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and key apps running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Azure features over 100 cloud-based services such as the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can help your organization to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity management with Azure AD, and design data backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish secure access to Azure for telecommuters by setting up and debugging firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. For information about Progent's expertise for Azure, visit Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, formerly called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of business productivity software and cloud-based services available by subscription. Office applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of plans intended for users ranging from students and households to large corporations. Progent can provide fast and affordable online access to consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can assist your business to evaluate the numerous subscription plans offered with Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 apps for your at-home workers to achieve top business value. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration for TeleworkersExchange Online is one of the most widely used applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Exchange Online offers the benefits of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and other benefits associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run seamlessly with local Exchange environments, enabling you to create hybrid networks. Progent's certified Exchange consultants are available for as-needed help to guide you through tough IT roadblocks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to make sure your at-home workers have convenient and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. For information Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, go to Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for TelecommutersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud computing arena and is the industry's biggest provider of cloud-based services. Progent offers fast and affordable online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can help your business to plan, deploy, maintain, and debug hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with on-premises data centers and with other public clouds like Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist you to create a high-uptime network model so your users have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, from home, or on the road. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS consulting services.

Google Cloud Platform Integration Services for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a leading set of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help your organization to scale your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database consultants can show you how to make your key applications cloud friendly so your remote workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can assist your organization to set up VMs on GCP Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage solution with Google Cloud Storage services, and simplify access control for teleworkers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent can also help you to utilize GCP's unified management technology to administer and track your Google Cloud environment. To learn, see Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting support.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Teleworkers
An emergency, enterprise-wide transition to a telecommuter workforce, which could be motivated by a pandemic or as part of a business continuity preparedness plan, can overwhelm even the most efficient internal Call Center. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for businesses to outsource or expand their Call Center by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) services.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk support services leverage Progent's extensive team of remote technical support specialists combined with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking technology to offer an economical, advanced Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that addresses all facets of online Level 1 desktop support from service requests through trouble ticket generation, screen sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables telecommuters to monitor or revise their current trouble tickets, enter information, and append screen captures and attachments. Desktop support services are delivered at a substantial price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop support rates, and Progent offers optional fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to deal with advanced issues. To learn more, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
  • Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Service allows your business to supplement your existing Support Desk team by splitting responsibilities for Call Desk support services seamlessly between your regular IT support personnel and Progent's nationwide roster of PC support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service is based on a collaborative support solution based on the leading professional services automation (PSA) tool for managing help requests and trouble tickets, assigning responsibility, tracking progress, and generating management reports. To learn how Progent's Support Desk Supplementation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class technical support to your at-home employees, visit Progent's Help Desk Call Center augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for Remote Workers
At-home staff members commonly utilize their own devices and usually operate in an unsecured physical space. This situation increases their susceptibility to malware attacks and requires careful configuration of firewalls, AV tools, multi-factor authentication, remote endpoint monitoring, intensive end-user training, and the creation of security policies built on leading practices. Progent's seasoned group of data security support experts can help your business to plan, deploy and manage a compliant cybersecurity solution that protects vital IT assets in environments that incorporate remote workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to create a network environment that can be securely accessed by local users and by telecommuters, mobile workers, vendors, customers, and the public. Modern firewall appliances permit you to assign and manage appropriate access rights to different groups of users and to scale your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks grow more complex. Progent works with both current and legacy security devices from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall integration expertise, visit firewall support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring for TeleworkersRemote Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate devices utilized by remote workers and either block or spot and mitigate the latest threats like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint agent is installed on each secured endpoint device, monitoring all activity and utilizing advanced machine learning from SentinelOne to detect new attacks at inception. When an attack is discovered, ProSight ASM immediately disconnects the impacted endpoint from the network to quarantine the malware. Since the ProSight ASM software agent is self-contained, endpoint devices remain protected even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To learn more about ProSight ASM, refer to remote endpoint security monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for At-Home WorkersProgent's Duo authentication Services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to protect against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo enables single-tap identity verification with iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With Duo 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected online account and enter your password you are asked to confirm who you are on a device that only you possess and that uses a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad selection of devices can be used for this second means of ID validation including an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You can designate multiple verification devices. To find out more about Duo two-factor identity authentication services, see Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your network to all classes of external and local security threats for a network that incorporates teleworkers. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity inventory software for rapidly and affordably uncovering a broad range of security holes that can be found over the Internet. Progent's security audit experts, which can be managed by data security professionals with top certifications such as CISM, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist you to audit your procedures and policies and assess your IT architecture to allow you to design the highest level of security for your at-home workers.

NodeZero Pentetration Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a breakthrough penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver autonomous threat assessment of your work-from-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks to help you expose, prioritize, remediate, and verify cybersecurity vulnerabilities before threat actors can take advantage of them. Progent can assist you to deploy NodeZero to perform comprehensive penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure in order to determine your current security profile. Progent's NodeZero experts can also help you to strengthen your existing network security and can help you to design and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and delivers optimum protection for on-premises, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT resources. To find out more information about Progent's vulnerability assessment services based on on NodeZero's pentest platform, visit Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

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

Data Protection for Telecommuters
The field of Data Protection covers saving and restoring vital information in order to avoid data loss and minimize recovery time in the event of storage system failures resulting from equipment issues, programming hiccups, operator error, malware, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially challenging to design and manage in hybrid networks that combine in-house data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore solutions for teleworkers must cover diverse kinds of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent offers fast remote help from consultants familiar with a broad array of platforms for protection Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery products supported by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect resources distributed throughout a hybrid network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud storage and features granular recovery and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans commonly anticipate circumstances that require a rapid switch to an at-home workforce. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity consultants can help your company to produce, document and validate a DR/BC plan that includes the process of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Remote Workers
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the name Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite computers. Endpoint Manager features a centralized platform for safeguarding critical data by controlling local, mobile, and at-home 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 securing remote devices and software. Managed endpoint computers can be personally owned or business owned. IT admins managing the enrolled endpoint computers of teleworkers can use Intune to provision and authenticate apps on managed devices, push updates and certificates, set up rules for permission to access information and resources, set passwords, create VPN tunnels, control how home-based workers share information, set up threat protection, verify security compliance, and erase sensitive information from lost, stolen or deactivated endpoint devices. Intune works with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X devices. For information about Intune and to find out how Progent can help your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to manage the endpoint computers of your at-home workforce, visit Intune telecommuter device management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized MDM product that helps network managers to keep offsite endpoint devices current and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint administration combined with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for authorization control, application management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or leading distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment through a perpetual license. Top capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air deployment of out-of-the-box laptops, immediate onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of devices, aggregated reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based services. For details about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote device management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To contact Progent about creating and maintaining a productive telecommuter environment for your Brighton, United Kingdom organization, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.