IT Technology News and Progent Solutions

Cisco announced new solutions intended especially for small company networks and designed to deliver exceptional levels of protection and connectivity for an affordable price. Products announced by Cisco included Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker, the NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems, and the latest version of the SBCS.

The Cisco Spam and Virus Blocker is a purpose-built email security product that virtually eliminates email threats with no set up. Cisco's NSS2000 and NSS3000 Small Business Network Storage Systems are economical small-footprint NAS devices that provide protection for important data and enable workers to share information easily. The Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS) Version 1.4, a full sharing and communications system that seamlessly interconnects offices, employees, and clients however dispersed. Cisco's current version incorporates the industry's first wireless small-footprint Internet Protocol (IP) handset with Bluetooth wireless capabilities. To read Cisco's news release, refer to Cisco Announces Networking Solutions for Small Companies.

Cisco Spam Blocker
The Spam and Virus Blocker appliance safeguards small businesses by providing powerful defense against junk mail, viruses and worms as well as other email threats to secure your system and corporate information and simultaneously enhance efficiency. Because the device stops spam with minimal set up and updates automatically, it avoids the cost and hassle associated initial configuration and continuing and administration. By filtering out spam, Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker increases the throughput of networks, application servers, and computers. The Spam Blocker appliance represents a comprehensive defense against email attacks by including hardware, software, continuous updates, and product support in a single bundle.

Notable features of the Spam Blocker include:

• Precision: Assists to make sure that email attacks and spam are intercepted and legitimate messages are allowed through.
• Ongoing automatic updates: Non-stop interaction with SenderBase security, a network library of email safety threats, ensures that your Spam & Virus Blocker incorporates the most current patches to guard your business email.
• Simple setup and operation: User-friendly browser-based installation tools permit you to configure Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker in practically any environment within 15 minutes, delivering instant security for your company.
• Streamlined management: As soon as your company deploys the Cisco's Spam Blocker appliance, you benefit from junk mail and malware protection with no extra hassle required from your network support staff.

Cisco Small Business NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems
The Cisco Small Business NSS2000 and 3000 Network Storage Systems provide the robust security and comprehensive backup capabilities that your business requires, at a price small companies can afford. The Cisco Small Business NSS3000 accommodates up to four terabytes of data and as many as 15 concurrent users per chassis, provides the ideal answer for holding, sharing, and archiving your vital business information. Unlike less sophisticated NAS alternatives, the Cisco Small Business NSS3000 provides the state-of-the-art backup, encryption, client validation, and high uptime your company requires.

The Cisco Small Business NSS3000 four-Bay Gigabit Storage Chassis supports any certified disk drive. The chassis provides a range of features in a desktop form factor designed specifically for small businesses. The Cisco NSS3000 Storage enclosure also gives your company the versatility to configure the system without any connected disks, to reconfigure it at any time, and to link multiple NAS chassis together, providing a platform that can smoothly grow with your business.

You can use the Cisco Small Business NSS2000 or NSS3000 Network Storage Systems to:

• Intelligently back up important data from each workstation and server in your organization
• Provide centralized preservation and distribution of important files
• Employ Continuous Data Protection to back up automatically each revision of each file saved by workers, permitting you to recover data with ease
• Record and save digital video from your video surveillance cameras

Smart Business Communications System (SBCS)
The Cisco Smart Business Communications System Version 1.4 is an easy-to-manage and complete collaboration and communications solution that enables small businesses to connect telecommuters, on-the-road workers and employees in disparate locations to improve their ability to interact with clients and colleagues. In Release 1.4, the aggressively priced system offers improved wireless features including the first wireless desktop IP phone with Bluetooth technology, the SPA525G IP phone, which enables companies to grow cost-effectively by adding phones in places where conventional phone lines or network cables are not present or cannot conveniently be run.

Additional innovative pieces of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS) 1.4 version include:

• The Cisco 520 Secure Router to help protect a small business network and give workers safe connectivity to the Internet and important corporate information remotely or locally
• Cisco's Configuration Assistant Release 1.9 to enable stakeholders to streamline the configuration and installation of solutions designed specifically for certain companies

How Progent's Cisco-certified Professionals Can Help Your Business to Get the Most Out of Cisco Networking Technology
Progent's Cisco consultants and CCIE engineers can assist your company to assess new Cisco products to understand their value for your IT system, configure Cisco security and communication platforms to enhance the security and performance of your information network, and troubleshoot Cisco products both in person and online to keep your network operating dependably. Progent's IT professionals can provide a variety of affordable services to enhance the dependability, protection, speed, and manageability of your information network:

Immediate Access to Cisco CCIE Engineers
Progent is the premier provider of convenient, quick, and affordable help from CCIE support professionals. CCIEs are elite network experts who earn this prestigious certification only through thorough testing by Cisco. CCIEs can resolve the most sophisticated issues surrounding network architecture, implementation, troubleshooting, and maintenance. Progent’s CCIE consultants cooperate closely with Cisco in-house staff in identifying problems with Cisco's IOS platform and developing fixes or acquiring patches to resolve anomalies. Progent your company quick contact with a CCIE by phone so you can get instant assistance for tough network problems that are impacting business efficiency but are beyond the scope of your usual IT service resources. Progent's CCIE consulting engineers can access your network via state-of-the-art remote support technology to provide timely and cost-effective diagnosis and repair of critical network problems.

Cisco VoIP Phone and IP Video Phone Integration
Progent's Cisco IP phone and video IP phone experts can assist you to integrate, manage, and debug Cisco VoIP phones, desktop video IP phones and wireless IP handsets. Progent can provide support for all versions of Cisco's IP phones from legacy VoIP products to the newest HD media phones. Progent's IP telephony experts can also help your organization to integrate your IP phones with Cisco Unified CM, formerly named CallManager, or with Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express to create a state-of-the-art IP-PBX ecosystem for unified messaging and collaboration. Progent can provide expertise with all aspects of Cisco VoIP Phone integration including designing dial plans, resolving IP phone registration issues, setting up SIP gateways, deploying ISR G2 routers with CUBE VoIP networking capability, and designing Cisco UCS server clustering and Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony solutions for high availability. For additional details about Progent's engineering help for Cisco's IP voice and video technology, read Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) and Unified Communications Engineering Services.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager and CallManager Collaboration
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM), previously branded CallManager, functions as the heart of Cisco's collaboration platform. Cisco Unified CM and Unified Communications Manager Express (CME) provide an advanced IP-PBX solution by integrating with unified messaging applications like Cisco Unified Communications Manager IM and Presence Service with Jabber support, Cisco Unity Connection for voicemail, Cisco Unified Mobility for Single Number Reach, and Cisco Contact Center Express (Unified CCX or CCX) for building an advanced customer contact center. Progent's CCIE-certified CUCM experts can assist with any aspect of CUCM support and debugging in areas such as integrating Cisco Voice over IP phones and desktop video phones, designing dial plans, configuring SIP connections and PSTN calling, installing ISR routers with CUBE networking support, creating UCS server failover solutions for high availability, and integration with Microsoft Exchange Server.

Cisco ASA and PIX Firewall Consulting Expertise
Progent’s experienced Cisco network security consulting professionals offer high-level PIX and ASA Firewall engineering support including architecture, integration, and management of Cisco firewall and Cisco security solutions. The PIX and ASA Series of Cisco firewalls delivers robust user and application policy enforcement, sophisticated attack protection, and safe connectivity services. Ranging from compact, plug-and-play desktop devices for small and home businesses to scalable gigabit products, Cisco PIX and ASA Firewalls provide advanced protection, performance, and excellent availability for network environments of any size. PIX Firewalls and ASA Firewalls are based on a proven, purpose-built platform, eliminating common OS-specific security holes.

Network Security Inventory and Assessment Packages
Progent's CISA, CISM and CISSP-premier security engineers can deliver a variety of budget-friendly network security Inventory service bundles and network security assessment bundles designed to offer organizations of all sizes an opportunity to get an independent opinion about the effectiveness of their security profile. The packages vary from ultra-affordable external security scan and internal network security scan packages for small and midsize businesses up to a high-level security assessment package for institutions who have to comply with security standards required by state agencies or by vendors. For each security inventory or evaluation bundle, engineers with high-level security accreditations analyze and summarize collected data and provide recommendations for effective improvements.

Cisco SIP Infrastructure Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Consulting
Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified SIP trunk experts and CUBE integration consultants can assist you to design, integrate, manage, debug and enhance Cisco's SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) connectivity technology and Cisco's CUBE-connected IP PSTN trunks. Progent can provide affordable remote or on-premises expertise to assist companies to migrate smoothly to an advanced communications environment that delivers fast ROI. Progent's Gold-certified Microsoft collaboration experts can assist you to set up connections between Cisco's CUBE SBC and Microsoft's VoIP and IP video applications such as Skype for Business or Lync Server for access to a SIP-based IP PSTN trunk.

Consulting Consulting and Troubleshooting Services for Cisco Wireless Products
Progent can give you access to a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or Cisco Certified Network Professional to assist you to develop a comprehensive wireless network design and implementation plan that incorporates a broad array of wireless appliances and technologies and provides the identical security, scalability, and ease of management you expect from a wired network. Progent can assist you to implement transparent integration between Cisco wireless technology and wireless technology from third-party vendors to give your business the features you require as well as the most secure, reliable, and cost-effective WLAN system available. Progent's CISM and CISSP security professionals can advise you about how to design protection into your WLAN and into your company's operations.

Simplified Management Tools for Cisco-powered Small Business Networks
Progent's Cisco-Certified network engineers can provide assistance with Cisco's management technology along with a selection of powerful third-party products to create a comprehensive network management solution to keep your network operating reliably, conserve expensive resources, guard your data, revive rapidly from device breakdown or malicious attacks, and enable you to add or reassign network components sensibly and affordably as your company evolves.

To learn additional information about Progent's consulting expertise for Cisco connectivity and communications solutions, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.