IT Technology News and Progent Business Solutions

Cisco introduced new products intended specifically for small company IT networks and designed to provide outstanding security and connectivity for an affordable price. Products announced by Cisco were Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker, Cisco's Small Business series NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems, and the newest release of the SBCS.

The Cisco Spam Blocker appliance is a dedicated spam, virus, and phishing filter security device that virtually eradicates email-based attacks with no set up. Cisco's NSS2000 and NSS3000 Small Business Network Storage Systems are affordable small-footprint network-attached storage (NAS) devices that provide protection for valuable information and enable employees to exchange information effortlessly. The Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS) Release 1.4, a full collaboration and communications system that easily interconnects offices, workers, and customers anywhere. Cisco's latest version features the industry's first wireless small-footprint Internet Protocol (IP) handset with Bluetooth wireless capabilities. To read Cisco's news release, refer to Cisco Introduces Networking Products for Small Businesses.

Cisco Spam and Virus Blocker
The Spam and Virus Blocker safeguards small companies by providing powerful defense against junk mail, viruses and worms as well as other email attacks to guard your network and business data while at the same time improve efficiency. Because the appliance blocks spam right out of the box and updates automatically, it avoids the expense and hassle with setup and ongoing and administration. By eliminating unwanted email, Cisco's Spam Blocker increases the performance of network connections, application servers, and workstations. The Spam and Virus Blocker appliance is a comprehensive solution email-born attacks by including hardware, intelligent software, continuous patches, and technical assistance in a unified bundle.

Notable features of the Spam and Virus Blocker are:

• Accuracy: Assists to ensure that email-borne attacks and junk mail are caught while business messages are accepted.
• Ongoing self-installed patches: Constant interaction with SenderBase security, an online library of email safety risks, makes sure that your Spam & Virus Blocker appliance incorporates the most current updates to guard your corporate email.
• Easy installation and use: Easy-to-use browser-based setup tools allow you to configure the Spam Blocker appliance in almost any network in minutes, providing immediate protection for your company.
• Effortless management: From the moment your company deploys the Cisco's Spam Blocker appliance, you get spam and virus filtering with no extra effort required from your IT staff.

Small Business NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems
The Cisco Small Business NSS2000 and 3000 offer the robust security and comprehensive data backup capabilities that your company requires, at a price small companies can afford. The Small Business NSS3000 supports as much as to 4 terabytes of data and as many as 15 concurrent clients on each chassis, provides the ideal answer for holding, sharing, and archiving your mission-critical corporate information. Unlike entry-level network-attached storage alternatives, the Cisco Small Business NSS3000 delivers the advanced backup, encryption, client authentication, and high uptime your company needs.

The NSS3000 4-Bay Gigabit Storage enclosure handles any approved disk drive. The chassis offers a wealth of capabilities in a desktop-size footprint designed for small businesses. The Cisco Small Business NSS3000 Storage enclosure also provides your business the versatility to deploy the system without any attached disk drives, to reconfigure it at any time, and to link several NAS chassis with one another, offering a solution that can continually grow with your company.

You can use the Cisco Small Business NSS2000 or 3000 Network Storage Systems to:

• Automatically copy vital information from every desktop and application server on your network
• Offer centralized storage and distribution of important files
• Run Continuous Data Protection (CDP) to copy automatically every revision of each file archived by workers, allowing your company to recover data easily
• Store and archive digital video from your video security cameras

Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS)
The Smart Business Communications System Release 1.4 is a simple and comprehensive collaboration and communications solution that enables small businesses to connect telecommuters, on-the-road workers and office workers in disparate locations to enhance their ability to collaborate with customers and colleagues. In Release 1.4, the affordable system has enhanced wireless support such as the industry's first wireless desktop IP phone with built-in Bluetooth, the SPA525G IP phone, which allows businesses to grow easily by deploying handsets in places where conventional phone wires or network wiring is not present or cannot easily be added.

Additional new components of the Smart Business Communications System (SBCS) Release 1.4 are:

• Cisco's Model 520 Secure Router product to help protect the company's infrastructure and give employees safe connectivity to the Internet and important business information remotely or locally
• The Cisco Configuration Assistant Version 1.9 to permit partners to simplify the setup and installation of solutions created custom for individual businesses

How Progent's Consulting Experts Can Help Your Company to Incorporate Cisco Networking Technology
Progent's Cisco-qualified consultants and CCIE engineers can help you to assess new Cisco products to understand their business value for your IT system, deploy Cisco security and communication platforms to enhance the security and performance of your network, and maintain Cisco devices both onsite and online to keep your IT network running smoothly. Progent's IT professionals offer a range of affordable support services to enhance the availability, security, performance, and maintainability of a small business IT network:

Quick Access to Cisco CCIE Certified Engineers
Progent is the premier provider of convenient, quick, and economical support from CCIE support professionals. CCIEs are highly-qualified networking gurus who earn this prestigious certification only after comprehensive examination by Cisco. CCIEs are able to resolve the most complicated issues associated with network architecture, deployment, troubleshooting, and management. Progent’s CCIE experts work closely with Cisco engineers in identifying issues with Cisco's IOS platform and finding fixes or obtaining patches to correct anomalies. Progent gives you fast contact with a CCIE by phone so you are able to receive urgent assistance for complex network troubles that are impacting business efficiency but are beyond the scope of your local network support providers. Progent's CCIE consulting engineers can link to your environment using advanced remote support technology in order to deliver fast and cost-effective diagnosis and repair of urgent infrastructure problems.

Cisco Voice over IP Phone and IP Video Phone Solutions
Progent's Cisco-certified VoIP phone and video IP phone experts can assist your business to integrate, maintain, and debug Cisco IP phones, video IP phones and wireless IP handsets. Progent offers expertise for all models of Cisco's IP phones from legacy Voice over IP products to the latest media phones. Progent's IP telephony experts can also help you to integrate your VoIP phones and video IP phones with Cisco Unified CM, formerly known as CallManager, or with Cisco Unified CM Express to build a modern IP-PBX ecosystem for unified messaging and collaboration. Progent can deliver support with any facet of Cisco VoIP Phone integration including designing dial plans, resolving QoS, setting up SIP trunking, deploying ISR G2 routers with CUBE internetworking capability, and designing UCS server failover and Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony solutions for survivability. For more information on Progent's engineering help for Cisco's collaboration technology, read Cisco VoIP and Unified Communications Consulting Services.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco CallManager Collaboration
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM), originally named CallManager, functions as the core of Cisco's collaboration portfolio. CUCM and Unified Communications Manager Express (CME) offer a modern IP-PBX by integrating tightly with unified messaging applications such as Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service with Jabber support, Unity Connection for voicemail, Cisco Unified Mobility for Single Number Reach, and Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise for creating an advanced customer contact center. Progent's CCIE-certified CUCM experts can assist with any aspect of Unified Communications Manager setup and troubleshooting in areas such as integrating Cisco Voice over IP phones and video IP phones, designing dial plans, setting up SIP connections and PSTN calling, installing ISR routers with CUBE networking support, designing Cisco UCS server clustering systems for high availability, and integration with Exchange and Skype for Business.

Cisco ASA and PIX Firewall Consulting
Progent’s certified Cisco IT security consulting professionals offer expert PIX and ASA Firewall engineering support including infrastructure design, integration, and support of Cisco firewall and Cisco security technology. The PIX and ASA Series of Cisco firewalls delivers strong user and application policy enforcement, mutlivector attack protection, and secure access services. Ranging from compact, easy-to-install desktop devices for small and home businesses to modular gigabit appliances, Cisco PIX Firewall and ASA Firewalls offer a high level of security, high throughput, and high availability for network environments of any size. PIX and ASA Firewalls are based on a proven, purpose-built platform, eliminating common OS-specific security holes.

Security Inventory and Audit Packages
Progent's CISA, CISM and CISSP-certified security consultants can deliver a range of budget-friendly network security Inventory service packages and security assessment service packages created to give organizations of any size an opportunity to get an objective opinion about the quality of their security environment. These packages vary from low-cost external security scan and internal security scan options for small and midsize businesses up to a high-end security assessment package for institutions who have to meet security levels demanded by government regulators or by vendors. For each security assessment bundle, consultants with top security accreditations evaluate and report on scanned information and make recommendations for efficient remediation.

Cisco SIP Infrastructure Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Configuration Consulting
Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified SIP trunk consultants and CUBE configuration experts can assist your business to plan, deploy, maintain, debug and upgrade Cisco's SIP infrastructure solutions and Cisco's CUBE (Cisco Unified Border Element)-connected SIP trunks. Progent offers cost-effective remote or on-premises support to help companies to migrate efficiently to a modern unified communications ecosystem that offers fast ROI. Progent's Gold-certified Microsoft collaboration experts can assist you to configure connections between Cisco's CUBE Session Border Controller and Microsoft's rich media applications such as Skype for Business Server or Lync for access to a SIP PSTN trunk.

Consulting Consulting and Troubleshooting Services 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 strategy that incorporates a broad range of wireless devices and technologies and offers the identical protection, scalability, and ease of management you demand from your wired network. Progent can assist you to implement seamless interoperability between Cisco wireless technology and wireless devices and software from third-party vendors to give your business the features you require plus the most protected, reliable, and cost-effective wireless networking system possible. Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security specialists can advise you about how to design protection into your WLAN and your business operations.

Automated Management Tools for Cisco-based Small Business Networks
Progent's Cisco-Premier network management engineers offer assistance with Cisco's management technology alongside a selection of powerful third-party products to create a comprehensive network management solution in order to keep your network running smoothly, fully utilize expensive resources, guard your data, revive quickly from device breakdown or deliberate assaults, and enable you to add or reassign valuable resources intelligently and affordably as your business grows.

For more information concerning Progent's consulting expertise for Cisco connectivity and security solutions, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.