Expanding your remote workforce may have a major impact on IT architecture, security/compliance, and company workflows. Progent has two decades of experience assisting small and mid-size businesses to design, deploy, manage, tune, and debug IT environments that support work-from-home employees. Progent can assist your Newark organization to select the appropriate technologies and follow best practices in building and maintaining a secure virtual solution for telecommuters that facilitates teamwork and returns top value. Progent can provide services ranging from as-needed guidance for helping you over occasional IT roadblocks to comprehensive project management to help you successfully complete mission-critical initiatives.

Progent can help Newark, New Jersey businesses to with any facet of creating a high-functioning work-from-home ecosystem by delivering infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud integration, helpdesk augmentation, security monitoring, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure required to support a remote work environment can be especially complex if you must manage a mix of personal equipment like PCs and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi APs from different manufacturers and with a mix of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's experience delivering online help for both legacy as well as modern technologies in remote office venues enables you to make cost-effective use of your available infrastructure and provides you with ready access to top-tire consultants for making necessary updates. Support services offered by Progent to help your company to implement a productive work-at-home infrastructure include:

  • VPN connectivity allows you to create a safe connection for authorized remote workers to use IT assets situated at your corporate data center or in the cloud. Progent can help your company to configure and maintain VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your key network resources by providing remote VPN integration consulting. For businesses with Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall consultants can assist your at-home workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software to provide secure VPN tunneling for a broad selection of endpoint devices such as Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms enable a telecommuter to see and interact with a data center computer's desktop. This technology gives IT managers more control over the computing environment of telecommuters and ensures them a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's VDI consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers attach home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, home Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier remote consulting for configuring routers from a variety of vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically supporting the whole family and guests, are commonly used by at-home employees to connect to their Internet router for work. This can create performance as well as cybersecurity issues. Progent can help you to mitigate these issues by delivering expertise that include Cisco Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless installation consulting, and Ubiquiti wireless access point integration help.
  • Internet connectivity solutions impact the speed and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the corporate network. Mission-critical applications may demand redundant Internet access in case the primary connection breaks. Progent offers expertise for picking Internet service providers, choosing appropriate bandwidth and data volume packages, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet connections. Refer to Internet access solutions.

VoIP Solutions for At-Home Workers
Extending the company phone environment to include telecommuters is critical to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based VoIP platforms are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support remote users. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's modern or older products for IP voice solutions. Progent can assist organizations of all sizes to plan or tune a telecommuter IP voice environment that provides the flexibility, convenience and protection required for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer advanced support to assist businesses optimize their current Cisco IP voice systems to handle a growing at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) delivers high-end IP telephony capabilities to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and mixed media software deployed across the network. CUCM supports additional combined media services such as unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For more information about Progent's CUCM expertise, see CUCM consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing software and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM. Progent's consultants can assist you to maintain your current CallManager environment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. To find out about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other early VoIP platforms, visit Cisco CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with PSTN networks and with users operating beyond the corporate firewall such as at-home workers. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines as well as for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration expertise.
  • Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your WAN infrastructure to support these solutions and provide on-demand configuration and debugging expertise.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A broad range of voice/video conferencing platforms from leading technology companies support virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen sharing for both local users and teleworkers. Many companies utilize a mix of products to meet the needs of their various partners and clients. Progent's communications experts can help your organization to manage your existing voice/video conferencing environment and optimize the productivity of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications product that enables presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help you to set up and manage Skype for Business clients to accommodate your remote employees. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone app for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer editions of FaceTime support as many as 32 concurrent users for video calls. For details about Progent's support expertise for FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing granular content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session recording, plus editing and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Webex as well as for additional IP video products from Cisco, refer to Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conversations, contacts, and information with capabilities such as voice/video conferencing, persistent threaded chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Teams as well as for other Microsoft 365 apps, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and debugging services for these conferencing platforms and help you to tune your network architecture to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Platforms for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 families, offering a powerful ecosystem of applications that create a cohesive user interface for exchanging information across a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoints. Progent has provided online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange Server since their original publication and can assist your company to configure these flagship collaboration platforms to optimize the effectiveness of your at-home workforce.

SharePoint Deployment Consultants for Remote WorkersSharePoint utilizes web entities to promote collaboration and knowledge delivery by offering policy-driven access to content, workflow, and utilities for searching through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint enables you to build protected web portals that permits at-home workforce to view and edit consolidated corporate intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To find out about Progent's SharePoint expertise, refer to SharePoint integration and application development consulting.

Exchange Deployment Consultants 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. To find out about Progent's Exchange consulting expertise, go to planning and configuration consulting services for Exchange Server.

Microsoft Onedrive Integration Consultants for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's collaborative cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can save files to the OneDrive service, and colleagues can access them safely through a browser. Provided with Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables at-home employees to co-author documents. Revisions created offline are uploaded when you go back online. To find out about Progent's support services for OneDrive, see Microsoft Onedrive integration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent offers fast and affordable online support for helping businesses to create, manage and troubleshoot integrated hybrid network models that include internal data centers, at-home workers, branch offices, plus public cloud services. Progent offers expertise for all types of public cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help telecommuters resolve issues with public cloud connectivity, identity, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration Services for TeleworkersMicrosoft Azure is a popular platform for public cloud services that enables you to utilize IT infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's massive cloud. Azure features more than one hundred cloud-based services such as the ability to host Windows and Linux-based VMs, scalable cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help you to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure Active Directory, and design backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish secure access to Azure for at-home workers by setting up and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Azure, see Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of client productivity software and cloud services offered by subscription. Microsoft applications and services are provided in a variety of plans intended for users ranging from students and small offices to major corporations. Progent offers quick and affordable remote access to experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible endpoints running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can help your business to evaluate the various subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your telecommuters in a way that delivers maximum business value. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most widely used applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Exchange Online offers the benefits of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and additional benefits associated with public clouds. Microsoft has engineered Exchange Online to run smoothly with local Exchange environments, allowing you to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's certified Exchange experts are available for as-needed help to guide you past challenging technical bottlenecks and also offer comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your at-home workers have easy and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. To learn Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for TelecommutersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud computing market and is the world's leading source of cloud services. Progent offers rapid and economical online contact with cloud integration consultants who can assist your organization to design, implement, maintain, and debug hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with local resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to build a high-availability network architecture so your users have a productive computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, from home, or on the road. For details about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting services.

Google Cloud Integration Services for TeleworkersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a popular collection of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can help your organization to expand your current IT assets with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database consultants can show you how to make your mission-critical apps cloud ready so your telecommuters can benefit fully from Google Cloud services. Progent's consultants can assist your organization to set up VMs on GCP Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage system with GCP Storage services, and simplify identity control for telecommuters with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also assist your organization to utilize GCP's unified management tools to control and track your Google Cloud environment. To learn, visit Google Cloud Platform integration services.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Telecommuters
A rapid, organization-wide transition to a teleworker business model, which could be motivated by an epidemic or as an element of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Help Desk. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services make it possible for organizations of any size to outsource or expand their Call Desk with Progent's remote Technical Response Center services.

  • Progent's Standard Support Desk services utilize Progent's nationwide team of online IT support specialists combined with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking technology to offer an affordable, advanced Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that handles all aspects of remote Level 1 PC support from help requests through trouble ticket creation, screen sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables teleworkers to monitor or revise their current tickets, enter details, and upload screenshots or attachments. Support services are provided at a substantial price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent makes available optional fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to resolve complex issues. For more information, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size businesses.
  • Progent's Help Desk Call Center Augmentation Service allows you to expand your existing Help Desk organization by splitting responsibilities for Call Center support services transparently between your in-house support personnel and Progent's extensive team of desktop support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Help Desk Call Center service is based on a collaborative support solution based on the leading professional services automation tool for managing service requests and ticketing, assigning responsibility, monitoring progress, and producing reports. To learn how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplementation Services can help your company to deliver best-in-class desktop support to your from-home workers, visit Progent's Help Desk augmentation Services.

Security for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home (WFH) staff members typically utilize their own computing devices and usually work in a poorly secured physical space. This situation multiplies their susceptibility to cyber threats and calls for careful deployment of firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, intensive end-user training, and the development of security policies based on leading practices. Progent's seasoned group of cybersecurity support experts can help your business to plan, implement and maintain an effective security solution that protects vital IT resources in environments that include telecommuters.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow you to create a network that can be securely accessed by on-premises users as well as by at-home workers, mobile employees, vendors, clients, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall devices allow you to configure and manage appropriate access rights to various groups of users and to expand your network and adjust your security profile as your company evolves and as network attacks become more sophisticated. Progent supports both new and older security appliances from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall configuration expertise, refer to firewall integration and support services.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management Services for TeleworkersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to track the various computers used by at-home workers and either reject or identify and mitigate the latest threats such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint software agent is installed on every secured endpoint device, watching all activity and utilizing advanced machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify new attacks before they can spread. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly disconnects the infected device from the network to contain the threat. Since the ProSight ASM agent is autonomous, endpoints stay secure even when they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight ASM, refer to remote endpoint monitoring for remote workers.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo authentication service plans incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity verification on Apple iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, whenever you log into a secured online account and enter your password you are requested to verify who you are via a device that only you have and that is accessed using a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be used as this added means of ID validation such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You may register several verification devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, see Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for at-home workers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the vulnerability of your information system to all classes of outside and internal security attacks for an environment that includes an at-home workforce. Progent can deploy online, automated security inventory scanning for rapidly and affordably detecting a broad range of security weaknesses that can be found via the Internet. Progent's security assessment experts, which can be provided by security professionals with advanced credentials including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your business to evaluate your workflows and governance policies and review your WAN infrastructure to allow you to design the highest level of protection for your an at-home workforce.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Network
To view or download a white paper describing critical areas to focus on for securing a network that incorporates work-from-home staff, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection involves saving and restoring critical information in order to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time and effort in the event of storage problems due to hardware issues, programming glitches, user mistakes, cyber attack, or other causes. Reliable data protection strategies can be particularly challenging to design and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate private data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Recovery strategies for teleworkers must address multiple types of personally owned endpoints. Progent can provide fast online access to experts knowledgeable about a broad array of products for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iPads and smartphones. Leading backup/restore products maintained by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To back up data distributed throughout a hybrid network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud-based storage and features granular restore and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans typically envision scenarios that require a rapid switch to an at-home workforce. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity consultants can help your business to produce, document and test a DR/BC strategy that includes the process of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Teleworkers
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management products under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides a unified environment for safeguarding critical information by managing on-premises, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing mobile devices and software. Remote endpoint devices can be personally owned or company owned. Network admins managing the enrolled endpoint computers of teleworkers can use Intune to deploy and authenticate apps on managed devices, push updates and certificates, configure policies for permission to access data and networks, set passwords, create VPN connections, control how home-based workers share data, set up threat protection, verify compliance, and wipe corporate data from missing, stolen or decommissioned devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with iOS/iPadOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X endpoints. For information about Intune and how Progent can help you to use this platform to manage the endpoint devices of your at-home workers, refer to Intune teleworker device management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that allows network managers to keep off-premises endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint management plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for authorization control, application management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-site product via a perpetual license. Key features of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid remote deployment of new laptops, quick onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, unifies management reporting and analytics, email encryption, and integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based products. To learn about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, go to VMware Workspace ONE mobile device management expertise.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about creating and managing an efficient telecommuter environment for your Newark, New Jersey organization, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.