Enlarging your telecommuter workforce may have a significant effect on IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and corporate workflows. Progent has 20 years of experience assisting small and mid-size businesses to plan, configure, manage, tune, and debug IT networks that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can help your Chattanooga organization to select the right technologies and follow best practices in building and maintaining a secure virtual office ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and returns top value. Progent can provide services that go from as-needed guidance for helping you over occasional IT bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you successfully complete mission-critical tasks.
Progent's consultants can assist Chattanooga, Tennessee organizations to succeed with any facet of creating a high-performing work-at-home ecosystem by delivering network infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud integration, Call Desk augmentation, data security, data protection solutions, and centralized management.
Network Infrastructure for Telecommuters
Setting up the network infrastructure required for a remote work environment can be particularly challenging if you must manage a mix of worker-owned equipment like PCs and notebooks, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from an assortment of vendors and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's background delivering online help for both outdated and modern technologies in remote office solutions allows you to make cost-effective use of your available network infrastructure and provides you with ready access to top-tire consultants for implement essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to assist you to implement a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem include:
IP Voice Integration for Telecommuters
Expanding the corporate phone environment to accommodate teleworkers is vital to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-centric digital PBX platforms are popular with SMBs to support telecommuters. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's modern or older products for VoIP solutions. Progent can help organizations of any size to plan or tune a telecommuter VoIP service that delivers the versatility, transparency and protection required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts can provide high-level support to assist organizations tune their existing Cisco IP voice environments to support an expanding at-home workforce.
Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A wide range of voice/video conferencing products from major technology companies support virtual discussions, video conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both onsite workers and teleworkers. Many organizations utilize multiple products to accommodate their various partners and clients. Progent can assist you to manage your current conferencing environment and enhance the productivity of your remote employees.
Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Software for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a rich ecosystem of productivity apps that create a cohesive user experience for exchanging information across a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoint devices. Progent has delivered online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial publication and can help businesses to tune these critical collaboration platforms to optimize the productivity 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 works with Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration. Designed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can enable chat, video meetings with screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and application sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (formerly branded Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of features. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, see solution design and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams.
SharePoint utilizes web sites to allow collaboration and knowledge sharing by providing policy-driven delivery of content, business processes, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint enables you to create secure portals that permits remote workforce to see and edit aggregated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts. For details about Progent's SharePoint expertise, refer to SharePoint configuration and application development expertise.
Exchange 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 information about Progent's Exchange expertise, visit integration consulting for Exchange Server.
OneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home users can store files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues anywhere can retrieve them securely via a web browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables at-home workers to co-author files. Edits created offline are automatically uploaded when you go back online. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft OneDrive, refer to Microsoft Onedrive configuration experts.
Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent offers affordable online support for helping businesses to build, maintain and optimize cohesive network models that incorporate physical data centers, at-home workers, branches, and public cloud services. Progent can provide expertise for all types of cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help teleworkers resolve issues with public cloud connectivity, identity, and security.
Microsoft Azure is a popular family of public cloud software and services that enables you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure features more than 100 services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can help you to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and design backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to establish secure access to Azure services for telecommuters by configuring and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's consulting services for Azure, refer to Microsoft Azure expertise.
Microsoft 365, formerly called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of client productivity software and cloud services offered by subscription. Microsoft apps and services are marketed in a selection of bundles designed for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to major enterprises. Progent can provide fast and easy remote contact with consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible clients running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can assist you to evaluate the numerous subscription bundles offered with Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your at-home workers to achieve maximum business value. To learn about Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting expertise.
Exchange Online is among the most popular cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online provides the advantages of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high reliability, and other benefits inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate transparently with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing you to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's certified Exchange experts are available for occasional help to get you past tough IT bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to make sure your teleworkers have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's expertise for Exchange Online, see Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and support consulting.
Amazon AWS is a trailblazer in the public cloud arena and is the world's biggest source of cloud services. Progent can provide fast and affordable online contact with cloud integration consultants who can assist your business to design, implement, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to build a high-availability network architecture to make sure your users have a productive computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your headquarters, a remote branch, at home, or on the move. To find out about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS integration expertise.
Google Cloud (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 experts can help your organization to expand your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA experts can show you how to make your key applications cloud friendly so your at-home workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can assist your organization to set up virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage system with Google Cloud Storage services, and streamline access control for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent's consultants can also help you to utilize GCP's management technology to control and track your GCP ecosystem. To learn, go to Google Cloud Platform consulting services.
Help Desk Support for Remote Workers
A fast, enterprise-wide transition to a telecommuter business model, which could be motivated by a pandemic or as an element of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overwhelm even the most efficient internal Call Center. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services make it possible for businesses to outsource or augment their Call Desk with Progent's remote Technical Response Center (TRC) team.
Security for Teleworkers
At-home staff members typically use their own computing devices and usually work in a poorly secured physical space. This situation multiplies their vulnerability to cyber attacks and requires judicious deployment of corporate firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, extensive user education, and the creation of policies based on best practices. Progent's veteran group of IT security solutions experts can assist you to design, deploy and maintain a compliant security solution that guards critical information resources in networks that include telecommuters.
Firewalls enable you to build a network that can be securely accessed by local users as well as by at-home workers, mobile workers, vendors, clients, and the public. Modern firewall appliances permit you to configure and manage different permissions to various classes of users and to scale your IT network and adjust your security as your company evolves and as cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated. Progent works with both new and older firewall appliances from all leading vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall integration expertise, see firewall configuration and support services.
Remote Endpoint Monitoring makes it possible to track the various computers utilized by remote workers and either block or identify and respond to the latest threats like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint agent is installed on every protected endpoint, watching all activity and utilizing advanced machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to detect new threats on arrival. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight ASM instantly disconnects the impacted endpoint device from the network to contain the threat. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoint devices remain protected even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For more information about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, visit remote endpoint security monitoring for telecommuters.
Progent's Duo authentication Managed Services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to protect against password theft by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports one-tap identity confirmation on iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With Duo 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected application and enter your password you are asked to verify who you are via a unit that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A broad selection of out-of-band devices can be used as this second form of authentication including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline telephone, etc. You may register multiple validation devices. For more information about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for telecommuters.
Security Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all classes of outside and internal security attacks for an environment that includes at-home workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated security analysis software for quickly and affordably detecting a broad range of security holes that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit consulting services, which can be provided by data security experts with advanced certifications including CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist you to evaluate your procedures and governance policies and assess your IT architecture to allow you to design the highest level of protection for your remote workers.
Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports autonomous threat assessment of your work-from-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks to help you find, prioritize, remediate, and verify security vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent can help you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can evaluate your present security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also help you to strengthen your existing network security and can help you to design and implement a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and delivers maximum cyber defense for on-premises, cloud-based, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To find out additional details about Progent's vulnerability analysis services based on on NodeZero's pentest products, visit Consulting Support for NodeZero's Penetration Test Platform.
Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network
To read or download a white paper about key areas to focus on for securing a network that includes work-from-home staff, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)
Data Protection for Remote Workers
Data Protection involves saving and restoring critical data so as to prevent data loss and minimize recovery time in case of storage failures due to equipment issues, programming hiccups, operator mistakes, cyber attack, or any other reason. Reliable data protection solutions can be especially challenging to architect and maintain in hybrid networks that incorporate in-house data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.
Unified Management for Remote Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud-based management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Endpoint Manager features a centralized environment for safeguarding critical data by managing local, mobile, and home-based endpoints.
Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and securing remote devices and applications. Managed endpoint devices can be personally owned or company owned. IT admins managing the endpoint devices of teleworkers can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for permission to access data and resources, manage passwords, establish VPN tunnels, control how telecommuters share data, set up threat protection, ensure compliance, and wipe corporate information from missing, stolen or deactivated devices. Intune works with Apple iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS computers. To find out about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to manage the devices of your teleworkers, visit Intune remote endpoint management consultants.
VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management product that helps network administrators to keep remote endpoints current and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for authorization control, application management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment via a one-time purchase. Top capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air deployment of out-of-the-box laptops, quick onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of devices, aggregated management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud products. For information about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, go to VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management expertise.
Contact Progent for Telecommuter Expertise
To contact Progent about building and managing a productive telecommuter solution for your Chattanooga, Tennessee business, call