Expanding your remote workforce can have a major impact on IT architecture, security, and corporate culture. Progent has two decades of experience assisting businesses of all sizes to design, deploy, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT networks that support work-from-home employees. Progent can assist your Charlotte company to pick the right tools and adhere to best practices in creating and maintaining a secure virtual office solution for teleworkers that promotes teamwork and returns top business value. Progent can provide services that go from as-needed guidance for getting you over challenging IT bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you successfully complete business-critical initiatives.

Progent's consultants can help Charlotte, North Caroline organizations to succeed with any aspect of creating a high-performing work-from-home environment by providing network infrastructure configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud connectivity, helpdesk augmentation, security monitoring, backup/restore solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Setting up the network infrastructure required to support an at-home workforce can be particularly challenging if you must manage a combination of personal equipment like desktop computers and laptops, routers, and Wi-Fi APs from various vendors and with a mix of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's experience delivering online help for both outdated and modern technologies in remote office venues enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and offers fast access to top-tire consultants for implement essential upgrades. Support services available from Progent to help your company to implement a high-functioning work-at-home infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network connectivity makes it possible to establish a secure tunnel for authorized remote workers to access IT assets situated at your corporate datacenter or in a public cloud. Progent can assist your company to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your various network resources by providing remote VPN integration support. For businesses using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall consultants can help your at-home workers to set up Cisco's popular AnyConnect software to provide secure VPN connections for a broad range of endpoint devices including Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products enable a telecommuter to see and use a remote PC's desktop. This technology gives IT managers substantial control over the computing environment of at-home employees and ensures them a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers connect at-home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN connections, local Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent offers top-tier online consulting for integrating routers from a variety of manufacturers. See router integration support from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically shared by the whole family and guests, are frequently utilized by at-home employees to connect to their Internet router for work. This can create performance and security issues. Progent can help you to mitigate these issues by providing expertise that include Cisco Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti wireless AP integration help.
  • Internet connectivity solutions impact the performance and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the corporate network. Line-of-business applications may demand backup Internet connections in case the primary connection fails. Progent can provide guidance for selecting Internet service providers, choosing appropriate service offerings, and configuring high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet access integration services.

VoIP Solutions for Telecommuters
Extending the corporate phone environment to accommodate telecommuters is vital to maintaining an effective at-home workforce. A broad range of cloud-based digital PBX products are popular with small and mid-size businesses to server telecommuters. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's current or older products for IP voice management. Progent can assist businesses of any size to plan or maintain a remote VoIP service that provides the flexibility, convenience and security needed for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts offer high-level support to help businesses tune their current Cisco IP voice environments to support a growing remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) extends enterprise IP telephony capabilities to devices like IP phones, media processing products, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia apps used across the network. CUCM supports other mixed media services like unified messaging, video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, see Cisco Unified CM consultants.
  • CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent can help your company to support your current CallManager deployment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. To learn about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy VoIP products, refer to CallManager consulting services.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with public telephony networks and with clients working beyond the corporate perimeter such as telecommuters. Progent offers consulting expertise for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines and for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration consulting.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to update your wide area network infrastructure to support these solutions and provide as-needed configuration and debugging services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Remote Workers
A broad range of voice/video conferencing platforms from major technology companies support virtual meetings, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen/content sharing for both onsite workers and teleworkers. Many organizations use a mix of conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent can assist you to maintain your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and optimize the productivity of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular unified communications product that supports presence, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing as well as the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist your company to deploy and maintain Skype for Business clients to support your remote employees. To learn more about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling app for iOS and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime allow as many as 32 concurrent users for voice/video calls. For details 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 granular content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based capture, plus revision and playback for training. For details about Progent's support expertise for Cisco Webex and for additional IP video solutions from Cisco, see Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a hub for conversations, contacts, and information with features such as voice/video calling, persistent threaded chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 apps, 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 deliver integration and troubleshooting expertise for these conferencing platforms and help you to optimize your network architecture to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a rich ecosystem of applications that deliver a cohesive user experience for sharing data and ideas throughout multiple sites and on a broad range of endpoint computers. Progent has provided remote consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their original publication and can help businesses to tune these flagship collaboration products to optimize the effectiveness of your remote workers.

SharePoint Configuration Consultants for Remote WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to allow collaboration and information delivery by offering policy-driven access to content, business processes, and tools for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to build secure web portals that enables remote workers to see and edit consolidated business intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For details about Progent's SharePoint consulting services, visit SharePoint integration and development expertise.

Exchange Deployment Consultants 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. For details about Progent's Exchange consulting expertise, refer to planning and configuration expertise for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Microsoft Onedrive Deployment Consultants for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's shared cloud-based storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues anywhere can share them safely via a browser. Included with Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables at-home workers to co-author documents. Revisions created offline are uploaded when you go back online. To learn about Progent's consulting services for OneDrive, go to Microsoft Onedrive integration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration for Teleworkers
Progent offers advanced online support for helping organizations to build, maintain and troubleshoot integrated network architectures that incorporate physical data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, plus public cloud services. Progent can provide expertise for all types of public cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help at-home workers fix problems with public cloud access, identity, and security.

Microsoft Azure Integration for Remote WorkersAzure is a leading platform for cloud software and services that enables you to use infrastructure, servers, and critical apps hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure includes more than one hundred services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered VMs, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can assist your organization to deploy virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and design backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also show you how to establish secure access to Azure services for at-home workers by configuring and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Azure, go to Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing family of client productivity software and cloud-based services offered on a subscription basis. Office applications and cloud services are marketed in a variety of bundles intended for users ranging from individuals and households to major enterprises. Progent offers fast and affordable online access to consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoints running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can help your business to assess the various subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your telecommuters to achieve maximum business value. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration services.

Exchange Online Integration Services for TelecommutersExchange Online is among the most popular applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the advantages of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and additional benefits associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to run transparently with local deployments of Exchange, enabling you to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide occasional help to guide you through tough IT roadblocks and can also provide comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your at-home workers have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. To learn Progent's expertise for Exchange Online, see Microsoft 365 Exchange Online configuration and troubleshooting consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for TeleworkersAmazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud arena and is the world's biggest provider of cloud-based services. Progent can provide rapid and affordable online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can help your organization to plan, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local resources and with other public clouds like Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help you to create a high-uptime network model so your employees have a consistent computing environment regardless of whether they are working from your headquarters, a remote branch, at home, or on the road. For details about Progent's expertise for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS integration expertise.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a popular set of cloud services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can help your business to scale your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database experts can help you make your mission-critical applications cloud ready so your remote workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can assist your organization to set up VMs on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage solution with GCP Storage services, and simplify identity management for at-home workers with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also help your organization to utilize GCP's unified management technology to administer and monitor your GCP environment. For information, visit Google Cloud Platform integration support.

Help Desk Services for At-Home Workers
A rapid, company-wide transition to a teleworker business model, which could be activated by an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery plan, can overstretch even a well-staffed in-house Help Desk. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for businesses to outsource or expand their Help Desk with Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk services leverage Progent's extensive network of remote IT support experts combined with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and tracking software to provide an affordable, modern Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that addresses all facets of remote Level 1 desktop support from service requests to ticket creation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows from-home workers to track or update their current trouble tickets, add information, and upload screen captures and relevant files. Technical support services are provided at a significant discount off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service charges, and Progent makes available the option of rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to resolve complex problems. For more information, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small businesses.
  • Progent's Support Desk Supplemental Service allows your company to expand your existing Help Desk Call Center team by splitting delivery of Help Desk Call Center support transparently between your in-house IT support organization and Progent's nationwide team of PC support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service uses a co-sourcing support model utilizing the number one professional services automation platform for managing help requests and trouble tickets, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and generating reports. To find out how Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Services can help your business to provide world-class technical support to your at-home employees, go to Progent's Call Desk augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home employees typically utilize their own computing devices and usually operate in a poorly secured physical environment. This situation multiplies their vulnerability to cyber attacks and requires judicious configuration of corporate firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, intensive user education, and the creation of policies based on best practices. Progent's seasoned group of IT security solutions consultants can assist you to plan, deploy and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that guards critical information resources in networks that incorporate at-home workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to build a network environment that can be safely accessed by local users as well as by an at-home workforce, mobile workers, suppliers, customers, and the public. Modern firewall devices permit you to assign and control different access rights to different groups of users and to scale your network and modify your security as your company evolves and as network attacks become more complex. Progent supports both current and legacy security devices from all major vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall support services, refer to firewall integration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management for TelecommutersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the disparate devices utilized by at-home workers and either reject or spot and mitigate the latest cyber attacks such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight agent is installed on every protected endpoint, watching all activity and using advanced machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify zero-day attacks before they can spread. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly isolates the infected endpoint device from the network to quarantine the malware. Since the ProSight ASM software agent is self-contained, endpoint devices stay secure even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To learn more about ProSight ASM, go to remote endpoint security monitoring for at-home workers.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo authentication Service Plans incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity verification with iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a protected application and give your password you are requested to verify who you are via a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad selection of out-of-band devices can be used as this second form of ID validation such as an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You can register several validation devices. For details about ProSight Duo identity validation services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the vulnerability of your information system to all types of external and internal security threats for a network that includes teleworkers. Progent can deploy online, automated security inventory software for quickly and economically uncovering a broad range of security weaknesses that can be found via the Internet. Progent's security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by security professionals with advanced certifications including CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist your company to audit your processes and governance policies and review your network infrastructure to allow you to implement the highest level of security for your an at-home workforce.

NodeZero Pen Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated testing of your work-from-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can expose, prioritize, fix, and verify cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can help you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure in order to determine your current security posture. Progent can also assist you to harden your network security and can assist you to design and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and provides maximum cyber defense for on-prem, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To find out additional information about Progent's threat analysis solutions based on on NodeZero's PEN test platform, refer to Consulting Services for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Network
To read or download a white paper about key areas to concentrate on for protecting an IT environment that incorporates work-from-home staff, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Teleworkers
Data Protection covers backing up and restoring vital information in order to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time and effort in the event of storage system problems due to equipment breakdowns, programming glitches, user mistakes, malware, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially challenging to design and maintain in hybrid environments that incorporate private data centers, public clouds, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Restore strategies for telecommuters must cover multiple kinds of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide fast online help from experts knowledgeable about a wide array of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iPads and handhelds. Popular backup/restore products maintained by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To back up data distributed across a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud-based storage and features fine-grained recovery and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans often envision circumstances that call for a temporary changeover to telecommuting. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity planning consultants can assist your company to produce, document and validate a DR/BC plan that addresses the process of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the title Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud-based management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Endpoint Manager offers a unified solution for safeguarding critical data by controlling onsite, mobile, and at-home endpoint devices.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting off-premises computers and software. Managed endpoint devices can be user owned or company owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of teleworkers can utilize Intune to provision and validate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up policies for accessing data and resources, manage passwords, create VPN tunnels, determine how home-based workers share data, establish threat defense, ensure compliance, and wipe sensitive data from missing, stolen or deactivated devices. Intune runs with iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS endpoints. For details about Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use this platform to administer the endpoint devices of your at-home workforce, go to Intune remote endpoint management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management platform that allows network administrators to keep off-premises endpoint devices current and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint administration along with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for access control, application management, and configuration management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment through a perpetual license. Top capabilities of Workspace ONE include rapid remote deployment of new laptops, quick onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, aggregated reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based services. For details about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about building and managing an efficient work-from-home solution for your Charlotte, North Caroline company, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.