Expanding your telecommuter workforce can have a significant effect on IT infrastructure, security/compliance, and corporate workflows. Progent has 20 years of background helping SMBs to design, configure, administer, optimize, and debug IT networks that support a remote workforce. Progent can assist your Cleveland company to pick the right tools and follow leading practices in building and operating a safe virtual office solution for telecommuters that facilitates teamwork and delivers maximum business value. Progent can provide support services that go from as-needed guidance for getting you past occasional IT roadblocks to full project management to help you successfully complete mission-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Cleveland, Ohio companies to succeed with any facet of building a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem by providing infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud connectivity, Help Desk augmentation, security and compliance, backup/restore solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Integrating the network infrastructure required to support a remote workforce can be particularly complicated if you must manage a combination of worker-owned equipment like PCs and notebooks, routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from different manufacturers and with a mix of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's experience providing remote help for both outdated as well as modern IT products in remote office venues allows you to make cost-effective use of your available network infrastructure and provides you with fast access to expertise for implement necessary upgrades. Services offered by Progent to help you to implement a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology allows you to establish a secure tunnel for authenticated remote workers to access IT resources situated at your company data center or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can help you to configure and maintain VPN access between your teleworkers and your various IT resources by providing online VPN configuration consulting. For organizations using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA experts can help your remote workers to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect software to provide safe VPN connections for a broad selection of endpoint devices such as Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products allow a teleworker to see and interact with a data center PC's desktop. This technology gives IT managers more control over the digital ecosystem of telecommuters and offers remote users a familiar experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
  • Routers connect home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, local Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert remote support for integrating home routers from all major vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, often shared by the whole family and visitors, are commonly utilized by at-home employees to connect to their Internet router for work. This can cause throughput as well as cybersecurity issues. Progent can assist you to resolve these issues by providing services that include Cisco Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless installation expertise, and Ubiquiti wireless access point integration help.
  • Internet access methods affect the speed and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company data center. Business-critical processes might require redundant Internet connections in case the primary connection fails. Progent can provide guidance for selecting Internet service providers, picking sensible service offerings, and integrating high-availability Internet connections. Refer to Internet connectivity solutions.

VoIP Integration for At-Home Workers
Extending the business PBX system to include telecommuters is vital to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based IP voice products are used by SMBs to server telecommuters. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's current or older platforms for VoIP management. Progent can assist businesses of any size to design or tune a telecommuter VoIP service that provides the flexibility, transparency and protection required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts offer advanced support to help businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP systems to support a growing at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends high-end IP telephony capabilities to devices such as IP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and multimedia software deployed throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other combined media services such as unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, visit CUCM expertise.
  • CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been replaced by CUCM. Progent's consultants can help you to maintain your current CallManager deployment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony products. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older VoIP products, visit CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with public telephony networks and with clients operating outside the corporate perimeter like at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration expertise.
  • Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can help you to update your WAN infrastructure to work with these VoIP solutions and deliver online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A wide selection of video conferencing platforms from leading technology companies enable virtual discussions, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen/content sharing for both local users and at-home workers. Many organizations use a mix of conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist you to maintain your current conferencing environment and optimize the engagement of your remote employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications product that supports real-time presence, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist your company to set up and maintain Skype for Business clients to support your at-home workforce. For details about Progent's support expertise for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling app for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime works over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer editions of FaceTime allow up to 32 concurrent users for video sessions. For details about Progent's support services for FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for most computing devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex capabilities include sharing specific content or computer screens, presentations that embed rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex and for additional IP video products from Cisco, see Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams provides a hub for conversations, contacts, and content with features such as voice/video calling, persistent chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's support expertise for Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 products, see Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide configuration and debugging expertise for these conferencing platforms and help you to tune your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Software for At-Home Workers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office suites, providing a rich ecosystem of productivity apps that deliver a cohesive user experience for sharing data and ideas throughout multiple sites and on a broad selection of endpoints. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their first releases and can help your company to tune these critical collaboration products to optimize the productivity of your at-home 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 and Teams Premium Solutions Experts for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Teams works on top of 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, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and application sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (previously called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of capabilities. For additional information about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams, visit solution design and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Server Integration Experts for Remote WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to enable collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-based delivery of data, workflow, and utilities for searching through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to build secure web portals that permits remote workers to see and update consolidated business intelligence by means of Wikis, Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To learn about Progent's SharePoint support services, refer to SharePoint integration and development consulting.

Exchange Configuration Experts for At-Home WorkersExchange 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. To find out about Progent's Exchange support services, see integration consulting for Microsoft Exchange.

Microsoft Onedrive Configuration Experts for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can store files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues anywhere can share them safely through a browser. Provided with Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows home employees to co-author files. Edits made offline are synced when you go back online. To find out about Progent's expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, refer to Onedrive integration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration for At-Home Workers
Progent can provide advanced remote assistance for helping businesses to build, manage and repair integrated hybrid network architectures that incorporate internal data centers, remote workers, branch offices, plus cloud resources. Progent can provide expertise for all types of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help remote workers resolve problems with cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration Services for TeleworkersAzure is a leading family of public cloud services that enables you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical apps hosted on Microsoft's massive cloud. Azure includes more than one hundred services services including hosting for Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure Active Directory, and design backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you create protected connections to Azure for teleworkers by configuring and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. For details about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Azure, go to Microsoft Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of business productivity software and cloud services available on a subscription basis. Office applications and cloud services are provided in a selection of plans intended for users ranging from students and small offices to major corporations. Progent offers quick and affordable remote access to consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible endpoint devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can help you to assess the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your telecommuters in a way that delivers top business value. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, see Microsoft 365 consulting expertise.

Exchange Online Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most popular applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of lower spending for physical infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run transparently with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing you to create hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's certified Exchange consultants can provide occasional help to guide you through tough technical roadblocks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to make sure your teleworkers have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. For information Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, go to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for TeleworkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud market and is the industry's top source of cloud services. Progent offers quick and economical online contact with cloud integration consultants who can assist your organization to plan, deploy, maintain, and debug hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help you to create a high-uptime network model so your employees have a consistent computing environment whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the road. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting expertise.

Google Cloud Integration Services for Remote WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform is a leading suite of public cloud services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can help you to scale your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database consultants can show you how to make your mission-critical apps cloud ready so your teleworkers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist your business to set up VMs on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design an efficient storage system with GCP Storage services, and streamline access management for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also assist your organization to use GCP's unified management technology to administer and monitor your GCP environment. For information, refer to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration support.

Help Desk Call Center Support for Telecommuters
A sudden, organization-wide switchover to a from-home business model, which could be the result of a pandemic or as an element of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Help Desk. Progent's Help Desk services allow organizations to outsource or supplement their Help Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center services.

  • Progent's Standard Support Desk support services leverage Progent's extensive team of online technical support specialists combined with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking technology to offer an affordable, modern Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that addresses all facets of remote Level 1 PC technical support from initial service requests through trouble ticket creation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows telecommuters to monitor or update their active tickets, enter information, and append screen captures or attachments. Support services are provided at a significant price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service charges, and Progent makes available optional rapid escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT specialists to resolve complex issues. For more information, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small businesses.
  • Progent's Help Desk Call Center Augmentation Service enables your business to expand your existing Call Center staff by splitting responsibilities for Help Desk support services seamlessly between your in-house IT support staff and Progent's extensive team of desktop support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Call Center service is based on a collective support model utilizing the leading PSA tool for managing help requests and ticketing, assigning ownership, monitoring progress, and generating reports. To find out how Progent's Call Desk Supplementation Services can help your business to deliver best-in-class technical support to your at-home employees, go to Progent's Help Desk supplementation Services.

Cybersecurity for Telecommuters
At-home staff members commonly utilize their own computers and often work in a poorly secured physical space. This situation multiplies their susceptibility to malware threats and calls for careful configuration of corporate firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote endpoint monitoring, thorough user training, and the development of policies based on leading practices. Progent's seasoned roster of data security support consultants can assist your business to plan, configure and maintain a compliant cybersecurity solution that protects critical information assets in environments that incorporate telecommuters.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow you to create a network that can be securely utilized by local users and by an at-home workforce, mobile users, suppliers, clients, and the public. Modern firewall devices permit you to assign and control different permissions to various groups of users and to scale your IT network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your company evolves and as network attacks become increasingly sophisticated. Progent supports both new and older firewall devices from all major vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall support expertise, go to firewall configuration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring for At-Home WorkersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to track the disparate computers utilized by at-home workers and either block or identify and respond to modern cyber attacks like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint agent is put on every secured endpoint device, watching all activity and utilizing advanced machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify new threats at inception. When an attack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly disconnects the infected endpoint device from the network to quarantine the malware. Because the ProSight ASM agent is self-contained, endpoint devices remain protected even when they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight ASM, see remote endpoint monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for TelecommutersProgent's Duo authentication Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports one-tap identity verification on iOS, Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you sign into a secured application and give your password you are requested to confirm who you are on a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad range of devices can be utilized as this added form of authentication such as an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You may register multiple validation devices. To find out more about Duo identity validation services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all types of outside and local security threats for a network that incorporates an at-home workforce. Progent can deploy online, automated cybersecurity analysis scanning for quickly and affordably detecting a broad range of security holes that can be found over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be managed by security experts with top credentials such as CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist your business to audit your operations and governance policies and review your network architecture to allow you to design the highest level of protection for your at-home workers.

NodeZero Pen Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated threat assessment of your at-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks to help you find, rank, fix, and confirm cybersecurity weaknesses before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent can help you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your perimeter and your internal network so you can determine your present security profile. Progent's NodeZero experts can also assist you to strengthen your network security and can assist you to plan and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and provides maximum protection for on-prem, cloud-based, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To find out additional details about Progent's vulnerability assessment solutions powered by on NodeZero's PEN test platform, see Consulting Services for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Network
To read or download a white paper about key areas to concentrate on for securing an IT environment that incorporates telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for Teleworkers
The field of Data Protection covers backing up and recovering vital information in order to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time and effort in the event of storage system problems due to hardware breakdowns, programming glitches, human error, cyber attack, or any other reason. Reliable data protection solutions can be especially challenging to architect and maintain in hybrid networks that incorporate private data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Recovery solutions for remote workers must cover multiple kinds of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent offers fast remote help from consultants knowledgeable about a broad array of products for backing up Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, tablets and smartphones. Popular backup/recovery solutions maintained by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data spread throughout a hybrid network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained restore and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans typically envision circumstances that require a quick switch to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity planning specialists can assist you to produce, document and test a DR/BC strategy that includes the process of moving to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the name Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Endpoint Manager offers a unified environment for protecting corporate information by controlling on-premises, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting remote devices and applications. Managed endpoint computers can be personally owned or company owned. Network admins managing the endpoint computers of telecommuters can utilize Intune to provision and validate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up rules for accessing data and resources, set passwords, create VPN connections, control how telecommuters share data, set up threat protection, ensure compliance, and wipe corporate data from lost, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune runs with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS computers. For information about Intune and how Progent can help your company to use this platform to manage the devices of your at-home workforce, visit Intune telecommuter device management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management product that helps network administrators to keep off-premises endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for access control, app management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-site deployment through a one-time purchase. Key capabilities of Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air deployment of new laptops, immediate onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of devices, aggregated management reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud services. To find out about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote device management expertise.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about creating and maintaining an efficient work-from-home environment for your Cleveland, Ohio company, phone 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.