IT Technology News and Progent IT Solutions

Cisco unveiled new solutions targeted specifically for small business networks and engineered to provide high levels of protection and connectivity for an affordable cost. Products unveiled by Cisco were Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker, Cisco's NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems, and the 1.4 release of Cisco's SBCS.

The Cisco Spam and Virus Blocker is a purpose-built email security product that essentially eliminates email-based threats right out of the box. Cisco's NSS2000 and NSS3000 Small Business Network Storage Systems are affordable small-footprint network-attached storage appliances that provide protection for valuable information and enable workers to access shared information easily. Cisco's Smart Business Communications System Release 1.4, a full collaboration and communications solution that easily interconnects sites, workers, and customers anywhere. Cisco's latest version incorporates the industry's debut of a cordless desktop Internet Protocol (IP) phone with Bluetooth support. To read Cisco's news release, visit Cisco Announces Networking and Security Solutions for Small Companies.

Cisco Spam Blocker Appliance
The Spam and Virus Blocker appliance safeguards small organizations by offering powerful defense against spam, malware and other email-borne threats to guard your system and corporate data and simultaneously enhance productivity. Since the product blocks spam and viruses with minimal set up and stays current automatically, it avoids the cost and hassle required for initial configuration and continuing and administration. By eliminating spam, Cisco's Spam Blocker appliance increases the performance of network connections, application servers, and computers. The Spam and Virus Blocker is a comprehensive defense against email-born attacks by featuring a physical appliance, intelligent software, ongoing updates, and product support in a single bundle.

Notable benefits of the Spam and Virus Blocker appliance are:

• Efficiency: Assists to make sure that email threats and junk mail are caught and legitimate messages are delivered.
• Continuous self-installed patches: Non-stop interaction with SenderBase services, a network database of email security risks, makes sure that your Cisco Spam Blocker appliance incorporates the latest updates to safequard your business email.
• Easy installation and operation: Easy-to-use web-based setup tools permit you to configure Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker appliance in practically any network within minutes, delivering immediate security for your company.
• Streamlined administration: As soon as you deploys the the Spam and Virus Blocker appliance, you get junk mail and malware filtering with no extra effort demanded of your network support staff.

NSS2000 and NSS3000
The Cisco Small Business NSS2000 and NSS3000 offer the robust protection and comprehensive backup capabilities that your company requires, at a price small businesses can afford. The Cisco NSS3000 supports as much as to 4 TB of data and up to 15 simultaneous clients on each enclosure, provides the optimal solution for holding, accessing, and archiving your mission-critical corporate data. As distinct from less advanced NAS systems, the Cisco NSS3000 delivers the state-of-the-art archiving, cryptography, user validation, and service continuity your company requires.

The NSS3000 4-Bay Gigabit Storage Chassis supports any certified hard disk. The enclosure provides a wealth of capabilities in a desktop system engineered for small companies. The Cisco NSS3000 Storage enclosure also provides your business the versatility to configure the system without any connected hard disk drives, to modify the product at any time, and to link several chassis with one another, providing a solution that can continually grow with your business.

Your business can utilize the Cisco Small Business NSS2000 or NSS3000 Network Storage Systems to:

• Automatically copy vital data from every PC and application server in your company
• Provide centralized preservation and distribution of important files
• Employ Continuous Data Protection to back up automatically every revision of every file saved by employees, allowing your business to recover information with ease
• Record and save video from your video surveillance system

Smart Business Communications System (SBCS)
The Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS) Release 1.4 is a simple and comprehensive collaboration and communications solution that permits small companies to connect telecommuters, on-the-road workers and employees in separate sites to enhance their options to interact with customers and teammates. In Release 1.4, the affordable solution has enhanced wireless support including the first wireless desktop IP phone with Bluetooth, the Cisco SPA525G VoIP device, which allows companies to grow easily by installing phones in places where traditional phone lines or Ethernet cables are not present or cannot easily be added.

Additional innovative components of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS) 1.4 version are:

• Cisco's Model 520 Secure Router to help protect the company's network and give workers secure connectivity to the Internet and important corporate information remotely or locally
• The Cisco Configuration Assistant Release 1.9 to allow partners to streamline the setup and installation of solutions designed custom for certain companies

How Progent's Cisco-certified Experts Can Help Your Company to Incorporate Cisco Networking Solutions
Progent's Cisco certified support professionals and Cisco CCIE engineers can help your company to assess new Cisco technologies to determine their business value for your IT system, deploy Cisco security and communication platforms to enhance the protection and performance of your information network, and troubleshoot Cisco products both onsite and online to keep your network running smoothly. Progent's IT professionals can provide a variety of low-cost support services to improve the dependability, protection, performance, and manageability of your information system:

Immediate Access to Cisco CCIE Engineers
Progent offers easy, immediate, and cost-effective assistance from CCIE consultants. CCIEs are recognized network gurus who are awarded this prestigious certification only after comprehensive examination by Cisco. CCIEs are able to tackle the most challenging issues encountered with network infrastructure design, integration, repair, and support. Progent’s CCIE professionals interact closely with Cisco engineers in identifying issues with Cisco's IOS platform and developing fixes or obtaining patches to resolve anomalies. Progent offers fast contact with a CCIE by telephone so that you are able to receive emergency help for complex network problems that are impacting business productivity but are beyond the expertise of your ordinary IT service resources. Progent's CCIE support professionals can access your network via advanced off-site connectivity technology 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-certified VoIP phone and video IP phone experts can help your business to configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Cisco VoIP phones, desktop video IP phones and wireless IP phones. Progent offers support for all models of Cisco's IP phones from discontinued Voice over IP devices to the latest media phones. Progent's IP telephony experts can also help your organization to integrate your IP phones with Unified CM, formerly known as CallManager, or with Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express (CME) to build a state-of-the-art IP-PBX environment for unified messaging and company-wide collaboration. Progent's consultants can deliver support with any facet of Cisco VoIP Phone integration including designing dial plans, solving IP phone registration issues, configuring SIP trunking, deploying Cisco ISR routers with CUBE VoIP networking support, and creating UCS server failover and Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony solutions for survivability. For more details about Progent's technical support for Cisco's collaboration technology, read Cisco IP Telephony and Unified Communications Consulting Expertise.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco CallManager Collaboration
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM), formerly branded CallManager, is the heart of Cisco's communications and collaboration platform. Unified Communications Manager and Unified CM Express provide a modern IP-PBX by integrating tightly with apps such as Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Service, Unity Express (CUE) for voicemail management, Mobile Connect for Single Number Reach (SNR), and Cisco Contact Center Express (Unified CCX or CCX) for creating an advanced customer contact solution. Progent's Cisco-certified CUCM experts can assist with any aspect of CUCM setup and troubleshooting in areas that include integrating Cisco Voice over IP phones and desktop video IP phones, designing dial plans, configuring SIP connections and PSTN support, installing ISR routers with CUBE networking support, designing Cisco UCS server clustering solutions for survivability, and integration with Microsoft Exchange Server.

Cisco ASA Firewall and PIX Firewall Support
Progent’s certified Cisco network security consultants offer expert PIX and ASA Firewall engineering services covering infrastructure design, integration, and management of Cisco firewall and Cisco security solutions. The PIX and ASA Security Appliance Series of Cisco firewall products delivers strong user and software policy enforcement, mutlivector attack defense, and safe connectivity services. Ranging from compact, easy-to-install desktop appliances for small and home offices to modular gigabit products, Cisco PIX and ASA Firewalls provide a high level of protection, high throughput, and excellent availability for network environments of any size. PIX and ASA Firewalls are based on a hardened, specially designed platform, eliminating possible OS-specific security gaps.

Network Security Inventory and Audit Packages
Progent's CISA, CISM and CISSP-certified security engineers can provide a range of budget-friendly network security Inventory service bundles and network security evaluation service bundles designed to give businesses of any size an opportunity to get an independent opinion about the effectiveness of their protection environment. These packages vary from low-cost external security scan and internal security scan options for small businesses up to a high-end network security assessment package for enterprises who have to meet security levels required by state agencies or by customers. For each security inventory or evaluation package, consultants with top security accreditations evaluate and report on collected information and provide suggestions for efficient remediation.

Cisco SIP Connectivity Solutions: SIP Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Expertise
Progent's Cisco-certified SIP infrastructure consultants and CUBE integration consultants can help your business to design, deploy, manage, troubleshoot and enhance Cisco's SIP connectivity technology and Cisco's CUBE (Cisco Unified Border Element)-based SIP trunks. Progent can provide affordable remote or on-premises expertise to assist businesses to migrate efficiently to a modern unified communications network that offers accelerated return on investment. Progent's Gold-certified Microsoft collaboration consultants can help you to configure connections between Cisco's CUBE SBC and Microsoft's rich media applications such as Skype for Business or Lync for connectivity to a SIP-based IP PSTN trunk.

Consulting and Support Consulting and Troubleshooting Expertise for Cisco Wireless Solutions
Progent can give you access to a certified CCIE or certified CCNP to assist you to develop a comprehensive wireless network design and implementation plan that incorporates a broad range of wireless products and technologies and provides the identical security, scalability, and ease of management you expect from a wired environment. Progent can assist you to implement seamless integration between Cisco wireless products and wireless devices and software from third-party suppliers to give your business the features you require plus the most secure, dependable, and cost-effective WLAN system possible. Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security consultants can show you how to build protection into your wireless network and into your company's operations.

Automated Administration Tools for Cisco-powered Small Business Networks
Progent's Cisco-Certified network management consultants can provide help with Cisco's network management technology along with a selection of specialized third-party products to create a complete network management solution in order to keep your network running smoothly, fully utilize limited resources, guard your information, recover quickly from device breakdown or deliberate attacks, and allow you to expand or repurpose network components intelligently and affordably as your business grows.

To find out more information about Progent's consulting and support services for Cisco connectivity and communications products, phone 1-800-993-9400 or see Contact Progent.