Expanding your remote workforce can have a significant effect on IT infrastructure, security, and company workflows. Progent has two decades of background helping businesses of all sizes to design, deploy, administer, tune, and debug IT environments that support work-from-home employees. Progent can help your Fresno organization to pick the appropriate tools and follow best practices in building and operating a safe virtual ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes teamwork and delivers maximum value. Progent can provide support services that go from on demand expertise for helping you past challenging technical bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you carry out mission-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can assist Fresno, California companies to with any facet of building a high-performing telecommuting ecosystem by providing network infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, helpdesk services, data security, backup/restore solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure needed for an at-home work environment can be especially complicated if you have to manage a combination of worker-owned equipment such as desktop computers and notebooks, routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from different manufacturers and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's background delivering remote support for both legacy as well as current technologies in remote office venues allows you to make efficient use of your existing network infrastructure and provides you with fast access to expertise for making essential updates. Services available from Progent to help your company to implement a productive telecommuting infrastructure include:

  • VPN technology makes it possible to create a secure connection for authorized at-home employees to use IT assets located at your corporate data center or in a public cloud. Progent can help you to deploy and maintain VPN access between your teleworkers and your key IT resources by providing online VPN configuration support. For organizations with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA experts can assist your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect software to provide secure VPN connections for a wide range of endpoint devices including Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms allow a teleworker to view and interact with a remote computer's desktop. This technology provides network managers more control over the computing environment of telecommuters and offers them a consistent and more productive work experience. Progent's VDI consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
  • Routers attach home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, home Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert online consulting for deploying home routers from a variety of manufacturers. See router integration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, typically shared by families and guests, are commonly used by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can cause throughput as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can assist you to mitigate these issues by delivering expertise that include Cisco Aironet integration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki WiFi installation expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi AP integration help.
  • Internet connectivity solutions affect the speed and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Business-critical applications might require redundant Internet access in case the primary connection fails. Progent offers expertise for identifying Internet service providers, selecting sensible bandwidth and data volume offerings, and configuring redundant Internet connections. Refer to Internet access solutions.

VoIP Solutions for Telecommuters
Expanding the business PBX environment to accommodate remote users is vital to supporting an effective at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-centric digital PBX platforms are used by small and mid-size businesses to support teleworkers. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's current or legacy products for IP voice solutions. Progent can assist organizations of all sizes to design or maintain a telecommuter VoIP service that delivers the versatility, convenience and security needed for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer advanced support to help businesses tune their current Cisco IP voice systems to support an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) delivers enterprise telephony features to devices such as IP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia software deployed across the network. CUCM supports other combined media services like messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Unified Communications Manager support, refer to Cisco Unified Communications Manager expertise.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent's consultants can help your company to maintain your existing CallManager environment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other early IP voice platforms, see CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with public telephony networks and with users operating beyond the corporate firewall such as at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series and for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
  • Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to enhance your WAN infrastructure to support these solutions and deliver online integration and debugging expertise.

Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A wide selection of video conferencing platforms from leading technology companies enable online meetings, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both local workers and at-home workers. Many organizations use a mix of products to accommodate their various partners and clients. Progent can help your organization to manage your existing conferencing ecosystem and optimize the productivity of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular unified communications product that supports real-time presence, instant messaging, audio and video conferencing as well as the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help you to deploy and manage Skype for Business client software to accommodate your remote employees. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling app for compatible iOS and macOS devices. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current editions of FaceTime allow up to 32 concurrent users for video calls. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Apple FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Delivered via Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session capture, plus editing and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex and for other IP video products from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a hub for conversations, contacts, and information with capabilities that include IP voice and video calling, persistent chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 apps, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and troubleshooting services for these conferencing platforms and help you to optimize your network infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a powerful ecosystem of applications that create a cohesive user interface for sharing data and ideas across a corporate network and on a wide selection of endpoints. Progent has provided online consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their original releases and can help businesses to deploy these flagship collaboration products to maximize the productivity of your remote workforce.

SharePoint Server Deployment Experts for Remote WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to facilitate collaboration and information delivery by providing policy-based delivery of content, workflow, and tools for searching through company-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to build secure web portals that allows remote workforce to view and update aggregated business intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. To learn about Progent's SharePoint support services, refer to SharePoint integration and development consulting.

Exchange Configuration Experts for Remote 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. For details about Progent's Exchange support services, refer to deployment consulting services for Exchange Server.

Onedrive Integration Consultants for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's collaborative cloud-based storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can retrieve them securely via a web browser. Provided with Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables home employees to jointly author files. Edits created offline are automatically uploaded when you go back online. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, visit Microsoft Onedrive integration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration Services for Telecommuters
Progent can provide affordable online assistance for enabling organizations to create, manage and optimize cohesive hybrid network models that include internal data centers, teleworkers, branches, plus cloud resources. Progent can provide expertise for all modes of public 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 public cloud connectivity, identity, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft Azure is a leading platform for public cloud software and services that allows you to use IT infrastructure, servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure offers more than 100 cloud-based services such as hosting for Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity management with Azure AD, and design data backup and recovery systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to create secure access to Azure for at-home workers by configuring and debugging firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. To learn about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Azure, go to Microsoft Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of client productivity software and cloud-based services available by subscription. Microsoft applications and cloud services are marketed in a selection of bundles designed for customers ranging from students and small offices to large corporations. Progent can provide fast and easy online contact with consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible client devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can assist you to assess the numerous subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your telecommuters to achieve maximum business value. To learn about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting expertise.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for TeleworkersExchange Online is one of the most popular cloud-based applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and additional advantages inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with local Exchange environments, allowing you to build hybrid information systems. Progent's Exchange experts can provide as-needed help to guide you past challenging technical roadblocks and can also provide end-to-end project management services to make sure your telecommuters have convenient and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's consulting expertise for Exchange Online, visit Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and support consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration for Remote WorkersAmazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud computing market and is the world's leading source of cloud-based services. Progent can provide rapid and economical online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can help your business to design, deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with local resources and with other popular cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help your company to create a high-availability network model so your users have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the move. To learn about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, refer to Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Platform Integration Services for Remote WorkersGoogle Cloud (GCP) is a popular set of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help your organization to extend your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's DBA consultants can help you make your key applications cloud ready so your teleworkers can benefit fully from Google Cloud services. Progent can help your organization to set up virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage system with Google Cloud Storage services, and streamline access control for telecommuters with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also assist your organization to utilize GCP's management tools to administer and monitor your GCP ecosystem. To find out, visit Google Cloud Platform integration support.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Teleworkers
A fast, organization-wide changeover to a teleworker workforce, which might be the result of a pandemic or as an element of a disaster recovery plan, can overstretch even a high-performing in-house Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk services allow businesses to outsource or supplement their Support Desk by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk services leverage Progent's extensive team of online technical support specialists along with world-class ticketing and follow-up technology to offer an economical, modern Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide an end-to-end solution that handles all aspects of online Level 1 desktop support from initial help requests to ticket generation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal allows teleworkers to check or revise the status of their active trouble tickets, add details, and upload screenshots or attachments. Support services are provided at a substantial price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent offers the option of rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to resolve advanced problems. For more information, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
  • Progent's Call Center Augmentation Service allows your business to expand your existing Call Center team by sharing responsibilities for Call Center support services transparently between your regular support organization and Progent's extensive roster of PC support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service uses a collective support model utilizing the number one professional services automation (PSA) platform for handling help requests and ticketing, assigning responsibility, tracking progress, and generating reports. To learn how Progent's Help Desk Supplementation Services can enable your business to provide world-class desktop support to your telecommuters, refer to Progent's Help Desk augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home workers typically utilize their own devices and often operate in an unsecured physical area. This multiplies their vulnerability to cyber attacks and calls for careful deployment of firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, thorough end-user education, and the development of security policies built on best practices. Progent's veteran group of cybersecurity solutions consultants can help you to plan, configure and manage a compliant cybersecurity solution that protects critical IT resources in environments that include telecommuters.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to create a network environment that can be securely accessed by local users as well as by at-home workers, mobile users, suppliers, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall appliances allow you to configure and control different permissions to different classes of users and to scale your network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks grow increasingly complex. Progent works with both new and legacy firewall devices from all major vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall integration services, refer to firewall support services.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management Services for TeleworkersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the various devices utilized by an at-home workforce and either reject or identify and respond to modern cyber attacks such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint software agent is put on every protected endpoint device, monitoring all activity and using advanced machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify new threats at inception. When an attack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately disconnects the impacted endpoint from the corporate network to contain the threat. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoint devices remain protected even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, refer to remote endpoint security monitoring for teleworkers.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo authentication service plans incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo supports single-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured application and give your password you are requested to verify your identity on a device that only you have and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be utilized for this added means of ID validation including a smartphone or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate multiple verification devices. To learn more about Duo identity validation services, go to Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your network to all types of external and internal security threats for an environment that includes remote workers. Progent can run remote, automated security analysis scanning for rapidly and affordably detecting a broad range of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit experts, which can be provided by network security experts with advanced certifications including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can help you to audit your processes and governance policies and review your IT infrastructure to enable you to implement top-level security for your an at-home workforce.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network
To view or download a white paper describing key areas to focus on for protecting a network that incorporates telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection involves saving and recovering vital information in order to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time in case of storage problems due to equipment breakdowns, software glitches, human error, malware, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially difficult to design and maintain in hybrid networks that incorporate local data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Recovery strategies for teleworkers must address diverse types of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent offers quick online help from experts familiar with a broad range of platforms for protection Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and handhelds. Leading backup/recovery products supported by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud storage and includes fine-grained recovery and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) strategies commonly anticipate circumstances that call for a rapid changeover to an at-home workforce. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity planning specialists can help your business to produce, document and test a DR/BC strategy that includes the logistics of switching to telecommuting.

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-based management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager offers a centralized solution for protecting critical information by managing local, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and securing mobile computers and software. Remote endpoint computers can be personally owned or company owned. IT admins managing the enrolled endpoint computers of telecommuters can use Intune to provision and validate apps on devices, push patches and certificates, set up rules for accessing data and resources, set passwords, establish VPN tunnels, control how teleworkers share data, establish threat defense, ensure compliance, and wipe sensitive information from lost, stolen or decommissioned devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS endpoints. For details about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to administer the endpoint computers of your telecommuters, visit Intune telecommuter endpoint management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified Mobile Device Management platform that allows network managers to keep off-premises endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint administration along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery platform for identity control, application management, and configuration management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-site product through a one-time purchase. Key features of VMware Workspace ONE include fast remote provisioning of out-of-the-box laptops, quick onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, aggregated reporting and analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud services. For details about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Expertise
To contact Progent about creating and maintaining a productive telecommuter solution for your Fresno, California company, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.