IT Technology News and Progent IT Solutions

Cisco announced new products intended especially for small business networks and designed to deliver a high degree of security and connectivity for an affordable price. Products introduced by Cisco were Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker, the Cisco Small Business series NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems, and the newest version of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System.

The Cisco Spam Blocker appliance is a purpose-built email security device that virtually eradicates email attacks with no set up. The Cisco NSS2000 and NSS3000 Small Business Network Storage Systems are economical desktop NAS appliances that offer protection for important information and enable workers to exchange files easily. Cisco's SBCS Version 1.4, a complete sharing and communications solution that easily interconnects sites, workers, and customers however dispersed. Cisco's current version incorporates the industry's first cordless small-footprint IP phone with Bluetooth wireless capabilities. To see Cisco's news release, refer to Cisco Announces Connectivity and Collaboration Solutions for Small Businesses.

Cisco Spam and Virus Blocker
The Spam Blocker protects small organizations by providing extensive protection against spam, viruses and worms as well as other email attacks to guard your network and corporate data while improve efficiency. Because the device stops spam and viruses right out of the box and stays current on its own, it avoids the expense and time required for initial configuration and ongoing and management. By eliminating unwanted email, Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker increases the throughput of network connections, servers, and workstations. The Spam Blocker represents an end-to-end defense against email threats by featuring a physical appliance, software, continuous patches, and technical support in a unified package.

Notable benefits of the Spam Blocker include:

• Efficiency: Assists to ensure that email-borne attacks and junk mail are intercepted while legitimate messages are allowed through.
• Continuous automatic updates: Non-stop communication with SenderBase services, an online library of email security risks, ensures that your Cisco Spam Blocker incorporates the most current updates to safequard your corporate email.
• Simple setup and use: User-friendly web-based installation tools allow you to install Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker appliance in practically any environment in minutes, delivering instant protection for your company.
• Effortless management: As soon as you deploys the the Spam and Virus Blocker, you benefit from spam and malware protection with no extra hassle required from your network support group.

Cisco NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems
The Cisco NSS2000 and 3000 Network Storage Systems provide the robust protection and advanced data backup features that your business requires, at a price small organizations can handle. The Cisco NSS3000 supports up to four terabytes of data and as many as 15 simultaneous clients on each enclosure, offering the ideal answer for storing, accessing, and archiving your vital corporate information. As distinct from less sophisticated network-attached storage alternatives, the Small Business NSS3000 provides the state-of-the-art backup, encryption, client authentication, and high uptime your business requires.

The Small Business NSS3000 4-Bay Gigabit Storage Chassis supports any approved disk drive. It offers a wealth of capabilities in a desktop system engineered specifically for small companies. The Cisco NSS3000 Storage System enclosure also provides your business the flexibility to deploy the product without any connected hard disk drives, to reconfigure it at any time, and to link several Cisco NAS chassis with one another, providing a solution that can continually grow with your company.

Your company can utilize the Small Business NSS2000 or 3000 Network Storage Systems to:

• Intelligently copy vital information from each PC and application server in your organization
• Provide unified preservation and distribution of important information
• Run Continuous Data Protection to back up unattended every revision of each file archived by employees, permitting your business to restore data easily
• Store and save video from your video security system

Smart Business Communications System
The Cisco Smart Business Communications System Version 1.4 is a simple and comprehensive collaboration and communications solution that permits small organizations to connect at-home workers, on-the-road workers and office workers in separate locations to enhance their options to collaborate with clients and teammates. In Release 1.4, the aggressively priced solution offers improved wireless features including the first wireless desktop IP phone with built-in Bluetooth technology, the SPA525G wireless IP phone, which allows companies to expand cost-effectively by deploying phones in places where conventional telephone lines or network cables are missing or cannot easily be run.

Other innovative pieces of the Smart Business Communications System 1.4 version are:

• Cisco's Model 520 Secure Router product to help protect the company's infrastructure and provide workers secure connectivity to the Internet and key business data from inside or outside the office
• The Cisco Configuration Assistant v. 1.9 to permit partners to streamline the configuration and deployment of solutions designed specifically for individual businesses

How Progent's Cisco-certified Professionals Can Help Your Company to Benefit from Cisco Networking Solutions
Progent's Cisco consultants and CCIE accredited networking experts can help you to evaluate new Cisco products to determine their value for your IT system, set up Cisco solutions to improve the security and efficiency of your network, and provide tech support for Cisco products both in person and online to keep your IT network operating dependably. Progent's consultants can provide a variety of affordable services to enhance the availability, protection, performance, and manageability of your IT system:

Quick Access to Cisco CCIE Certified Engineers
Progent is the leading source of convenient, immediate, and affordable assistance from CCIE support professionals. Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts are highly-qualified networking gurus who are awarded this top-level accreditation only as a result of comprehensive examination by Cisco. CCIEs are able to handle the most sophisticated problems associated with network infrastructure design, setup, troubleshooting, and administration. Progent’s CCIE consultants work intimately with Cisco engineers in identifying problems with Cisco's IOS software and finding workarounds or obtaining patches to correct anomalies. Progent can provide immediate contact with a CCIE by phone so you can get emergency assistance for complex network troubles that are affecting worker productivity but are outside the scope of your usual IT service providers. Progent's CCIE support professionals can access your environment via advanced off-site connectivity tools to deliver fast and cost-effective analysis and repair of critical network difficulties.

Cisco Voice over IP Phone and IP Video Phone Integration
Progent's Cisco IP phone and video IP phone consultants can assist you to integrate, manage, and debug Cisco IP phones, video IP phones and wireless IP phones. Progent can provide expertise for all models of Cisco's IP phones from legacy Voice over IP devices to the latest media phones. Progent's consultants can also help you to integrate your VoIP phones and video IP phones with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, previously known as CallManager, or with Unified CM Express (CME) to build a state-of-the-art IP-PBX environment for unified messaging and company-wide collaboration. Progent can provide expertise with any facet of Cisco IP Phone integration including designing dial plans, solving IP phone registration issues, setting up SIP gateways, installing ISR routers with CUBE VoIP networking support, and designing Cisco UCS server clustering and Cisco SRST solutions for survivability. For additional details about Progent's support for Cisco's IP voice and video solutions, read Cisco Voice over IP and Unified Communications Professional Services.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager and CallManager Unified Messaging
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM), originally known as CallManager, is the foundation of Cisco's collaboration solution. CUCM and Cisco Unified CM Express (CME) offer a borderless IP-PBX solution by integrating tightly with unified messaging applications such as Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Service, Unity Express for voicemail, Mobile Connect for Single Number Reach (SNR), and Unified Contact Center Enterprise (UCCE) for building an advanced customer contact center. Progent's CCIE-certified CUCM consultants can assist with any facet of Unified Communications Manager configuration and debugging in areas such as integrating Cisco VoIP phones and video IP phones, designing dial plans, setting up SIP connections and PSTN support, installing Cisco ISR routers with CUBE networking support, creating Cisco UCS server failover solutions for survivability, and integration with Microsoft Exchange and Skype for Business.

Cisco ASA Firewall and PIX Firewall Support
Progent’s certified Cisco IT security consulting professionals provide high-level PIX Firewall and ASA Firewall consulting support covering architecture, configuration, and support of Cisco firewall and Cisco security solutions. The PIX and ASA Security Appliance Series of Cisco firewalls delivers robust user and software policy enforcement, sophisticated attack protection, and secure connectivity services. Ranging from compact, plug-and-play desktop devices for small and home businesses to modular enterprise-level products, Cisco PIX Firewall and ASA Firewalls provide a high level of security, high throughput, and excellent reliability for IT systems of any size. PIX and ASA Firewalls are based on a proven, specially designed platform, eliminating possible OS-specific security gaps.

Network Security Inventory and Audit Packages
Progent's GIAC and CISA-certified security consultants can provide a variety of budget-friendly security Inventory service bundles and security assessment service bundles designed to give organizations of any size a chance to get an objective opinion about the strength of their protection profile. The packages range from low-cost external network security scan and internal security scan packages for small and midsize businesses up to a high-level network security assessment solution for corporations who have to meet security levels required by government agencies or by customers. For each security assessment package, consultants with top security credentials evaluate and report on scanned data and make suggestions for efficient remediation.

SIP Infrastructure Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified SIP infrastructure consultants and CUBE configuration consultants can help you to plan, integrate, manage, troubleshoot and upgrade Cisco's SIP infrastructure solutions and Cisco's CUBE (Cisco Unified Border Element)-based SIP trunks. Progent can provide affordable remote or on-premises expertise to help businesses to move smoothly to an advanced communications network that delivers fast ROI. Progent's Gold-certified Microsoft collaboration experts can assist you to set up connections between Cisco's CUBE Session Border Controller and Microsoft's VoIP and IP video platforms such as Skype for Business or Lync Server for connectivity to a SIP PSTN trunk.

Consulting Consulting and Troubleshooting Services for Cisco Wireless Technology
Progent can provide a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) to help you to develop a comprehensive wireless network design and implementation strategy that integrates a broad range of wireless products and technologies and offers the identical protection, expandability, and ease of management you expect from a wired environment. Progent can help you to implement transparent integration between Cisco wireless products and wireless technology from other vendors to offer your company the features you require plus the most secure, reliable, and cost-effective wireless networking solution available. Progent's CISA and ISSAP security professionals can show you how to build protection into your WLAN and into your company's processes.

Automated Administration Solutions for Cisco-powered Small Business Network Infrastructure
Progent's Cisco-Premier network management consultants can provide help with Cisco's network management tools alongside a selection of powerful third-party applications to create a complete management automation strategy in order to keep your environment running reliably, fully utilize limited resources, protect your data, revive rapidly from hardware failure or deliberate assaults, and allow you to add or reassign network components intelligently and economically as your company grows.

For more details about Progent's support for Cisco networking and security technology, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.