Expanding your remote workforce can have a significant impact on IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and corporate culture. Progent has 20 years of experience helping small and mid-size businesses to plan, deploy, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT networks that support at-home workers. Progent can help your Brisbane organization to pick the appropriate technologies and adhere to best practices in building and maintaining a secure virtual solution for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and delivers maximum value. Progent can provide support services that go from as-needed expertise for getting you past occasional technical roadblocks to full project management or co-management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent can help Brisbane, Queensland businesses to succeed with any aspect of creating a high-functioning remote work ecosystem by providing network infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, helpdesk outsourcing, security and compliance, data protection solutions, and centralized management.

Network Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Configuring the network infrastructure required for a remote work environment can be especially challenging if you have to manage a mix of worker-owned equipment like PCs and laptops, Internet routers, and wireless APs from various vendors and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's background delivering remote support for both outdated as well as current IT products in remote office solutions enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and offers ready access to expertise for implement essential updates. Support services offered by Progent to help you to create a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • VPN technology makes it possible to create a secure tunnel for authorized remote workers to access IT resources located at your corporate datacenter or in the cloud. Progent can assist your company to deploy and manage VPN access between your teleworkers and your key IT resources by providing online VPN configuration support. For businesses using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA consultants can assist your remote workers to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect software for secure VPN tunneling for a wide selection of endpoint devices such as Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms enable an at-home worker to view and use a remote computer's desktop. This technology gives IT managers substantial control over the digital environment of at-home employees and ensures them a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers connect home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, home wireless networks, and firewalls. Progent offers top-tier remote support for integrating home routers from all major manufacturers. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, often shared by an entire household and guests, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to access their router for work. This can create performance and cybersecurity issues. Progent can help you to resolve these issues by providing expertise that include Aironet integration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi AP setup assistance.
  • Internet access methods impact the speed and availability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate network. Vital processes might demand redundant Internet connections in the event the primary connection fails. Progent can provide expertise for identifying service providers, picking appropriate service packages, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet connections. See Internet access solutions.

VoIP Integration for Remote Workers
Expanding the corporate phone environment to accommodate teleworkers is vital to supporting an effective at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-based IP voice products are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support telecommuters. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's current or older platforms for VoIP solutions. Progent can assist organizations of all sizes to design or tune a telecommuter IP voice service that delivers the flexibility, transparency and security needed for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts offer advanced support to assist businesses tune their current Cisco IP voice systems to support a growing at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) delivers advanced telephony features to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and mixed media applications used across the network. CUCM manages other mixed media services such as messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For details about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, refer to Cisco Unified Communications Manager consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing software and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent can assist you to maintain your current CallManager environment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. To find out about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older IP voice products, visit CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with public telephony networks and with users operating beyond the corporate perimeter such as telecommuters. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines and for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway integration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your wide area network architecture to work with these VoIP solutions and provide online integration and debugging expertise.

Video Conferencing for Remote Workers
A wide range of voice/video conferencing products from leading vendors enable online meetings, video conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both onsite users and teleworkers. Many companies use a mix of conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and clients. Progent's communications experts can help your organization to maintain your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and optimize the experience of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications platform that enables real-time presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing plus the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can assist you to configure and maintain Skype for Business clients to support your at-home workforce. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone app for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current editions of FaceTime support up to 32 concurrent users for video calls. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Apple FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Offered via Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing specific content or computer screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session recording, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. For details about Progent's consulting services for 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 provides a portal for conversations, contacts, and content with features that include video conferencing, persistent chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Microsoft Teams and for other Microsoft 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and troubleshooting services for these conferencing platforms and assist your business to optimize your WAN architecture to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 families, offering a powerful environment of productivity apps that create a cohesive user interface for sharing information across a corporate network and on a broad range of endpoints. Progent has provided remote consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their initial publication and can assist businesses to deploy these flagship collaboration platforms to maximize the productivity of your remote workers.

SharePoint Server Configuration Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to allow collaboration and knowledge delivery by offering policy-based delivery of content, business processes, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint enables you to build secure web portals that enables remote workforce to view and update aggregated business intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For details about Progent's SharePoint expertise, refer to SharePoint integration and application development consulting.

Exchange Integration 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. To find out about Progent's Exchange expertise, see integration expertise for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Onedrive Integration Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's collaborative cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues anywhere can retrieve them securely via a web browser. Provided with Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows at-home employees to co-edit documents. Edits made offline are automatically uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft OneDrive, see Onedrive configuration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration for Remote Workers
Progent offers affordable remote assistance for helping organizations to build, maintain and optimize cohesive network architectures that include physical data centers, teleworkers, branches, plus public cloud services. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all types of cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help teleworkers fix problems with public cloud access, identity, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration for TelecommutersAzure is a popular family of public cloud software and services that allows you to utilize infrastructure, virtual servers, and key apps running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure includes over one hundred cloud-based services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure Active Directory, and design backup and recovery systems with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you create secure connections to Azure services for telecommuters by setting up and debugging firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's expertise for Azure, see Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of business productivity software and cloud services available on a subscription basis. Office applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of bundles intended for users ranging from individuals and households to large enterprises. Progent can provide quick and affordable remote contact with experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can help you to evaluate the numerous subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your telecommuters to achieve maximum business value. To learn about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for Remote WorkersExchange Online is among the most widely used cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the advantages of lower costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and additional advantages associated with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run transparently with local Exchange environments, allowing you to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's Exchange experts are available for occasional assistance to guide you through challenging IT bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your telecommuters have convenient and secure access to your Exchange Online deployment. For information Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, refer to Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for At-Home WorkersAmazon AWS is a trailblazer in the public cloud arena and is the world's leading source of cloud services. Progent offers fast and affordable online access to cloud connectivity experts who can help your organization to design, implement, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist you to build a high-availability network model so your employees have a consistent computing environment whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, at home, or on the move. To learn about Progent's expertise for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for TeleworkersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a leading collection of public cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist you to scale your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud, and Progent's DBA experts can show you how to make your key apps cloud friendly so your teleworkers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can help your organization to set up virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with GCP Storage, and simplify access management for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent can also assist your organization to use GCP's unified management technology to control and monitor your GCP ecosystem. To find out, go to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration services.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Remote Workers
A fast, organization-wide switchover to a from-home business model, which might be driven by an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery/business continuity preparedness plan, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk services allow organizations to outsource or expand their Call Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center team.

  • Progent's Standard Call Center services leverage Progent's nationwide network of remote technical support experts combined with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking technology to offer an economical, advanced Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide an end-to-end solution that handles all facets of remote Level 1 desktop support from initial service requests to ticket generation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal allows telecommuters to monitor or update their current tickets, add details, and upload screen captures and relevant files. Support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service rates, and Progent offers optional fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to deal with advanced problems. To learn more, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small businesses.
  • Progent's Call Center Supplemental Service allows you to augment your current Call Desk organization by sharing responsibilities for Call Center services seamlessly between your in-house support organization and Progent's extensive pool of PC support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Help Desk Call Center service uses a collaborative support model utilizing the leading professional services automation (PSA) platform for handling help requests and trouble tickets, establishing ownership, tracking progress, and generating management reports. For information about how Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class technical support to your telecommuters, refer to Progent's Call Desk supplementation Services.

Security for Teleworkers
At-home employees commonly utilize their own computing devices and often work in an unsecured physical area. This situation multiplies their susceptibility to malware threats and requires judicious deployment of corporate firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, thorough end-user training, and the creation of policies built on best practices. Progent's veteran roster of cybersecurity support consultants can help you to plan, configure and maintain an effective security solution that guards critical information resources in networks that include at-home workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow you to create a network that can be safely accessed by on-premises users as well as by an at-home workforce, mobile employees, suppliers, customers, and the public. Modern firewall devices permit you to assign and manage different permissions to different groups of users and to scale your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks become increasingly complex. Progent works with both new and older firewall devices from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall integration expertise, see firewall support expertise.

Remote Security Monitoring and Management for TelecommutersOnline Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate devices used by telecommuters and either reject or identify and respond to the latest threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint agent is put on each secured endpoint device, monitoring all activity and using state-of-the-art behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify zero-day threats on arrival. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly disconnects the impacted endpoint from the network to quarantine the threat. Since the ProSight ASM software agent is self-contained, endpoints stay protected even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For more information about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, refer to remote endpoint security monitoring for remote workers.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo MFA services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to protect against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation on Apple iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you log into a secured online account and enter your password you are asked to verify who you are via a unit that only you possess and that uses a different network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized for this second form of authentication including an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You can register multiple verification devices. To find out more about Duo identity validation services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for at-home workers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the exposure of your information system to all classes of outside and internal security threats for an environment that includes telecommuters. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity analysis software for quickly and economically uncovering a broad range of security weaknesses that can be surfaced via the Internet. Progent's security audit experts, which can be provided by network security professionals with advanced certifications such as CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can help you to audit your workflows and policies and review your IT infrastructure to enable you to implement the highest level of protection for your remote workers.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment
To view or download a white paper about critical things to concentrate on for protecting a network that supports work-from-home staff, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection involves saving and recovering vital information in order to avoid data loss and minimize restoration time in case of storage failures resulting from equipment issues, software glitches, human error, malware, or other causes. Reliable data protection solutions can be particularly difficult to design and maintain in hybrid networks that combine local data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore solutions for an at-home workforce must cover multiple types of personally owned endpoints. Progent offers quick online help from consultants familiar with a broad range of platforms for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iPads and handhelds. Popular backup/recovery products supported by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To back up resources spread across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a managed backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud storage and features granular recovery and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies typically anticipate scenarios that require a temporary changeover to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity planning consultants can assist you to create, document and validate a DR/BC plan that includes the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Remote Workers
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management products under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager offers a unified solution for safeguarding critical data by controlling on-premises, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing remote computers and applications. Managed endpoint computers can be personally owned or company owned. IT administrators managing the endpoint computers of telecommuters can use Intune to deploy and authenticate apps on managed devices, push updates and certificates, configure rules for permission to access information and networks, manage passwords, establish VPN tunnels, control how teleworkers share data, set up threat protection, verify compliance, and erase corporate data from missing, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Intune can be used with Apple iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS computers. To find out about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can help your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to manage the endpoint devices of your teleworkers, see Intune mobile device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that helps network administrators to keep remote endpoints current and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for identity control, application management, and configuration management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or leading distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-site product through a one-time purchase. Key capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include fast remote provisioning of new notebooks, immediate onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of devices, aggregated management reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based services. For details about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about creating and maintaining an efficient work-from-home environment for your Brisbane, Queensland organization, phone 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.