Expanding your remote workforce can have a major impact on network infrastructure, cybersecurity, and corporate culture. Progent has 20 years of experience helping businesses of all sizes to design, deploy, administer, optimize, and troubleshoot IT environments that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can assist your Newark company to select the appropriate tools and follow best practices in building and operating a safe virtual office ecosystem for telecommuters that promotes collaboration and delivers maximum business value. Progent offers services that go from as-needed guidance for helping you past occasional technical bottlenecks to comprehensive project management to help you carry out mission-critical tasks.

Progent can help Newark, New Jersey organizations to succeed with any aspect of building a high-functioning telecommuting environment by delivering infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud integration, Help Desk outsourcing, cybersecurity, backup/restore solutions, and unified management.

Network Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Integrating the network infrastructure required to support an at-home work environment can be particularly complicated if you must accommodate a combination of worker-owned hardware such as PCs and notebooks, Internet routers, and wireless APs from different vendors and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's background providing remote support for both legacy and current IT products in virtual office venues allows you to make efficient use of your available network infrastructure and offers fast access to top-tire consultants for making essential upgrades. Support services available from Progent to assist you to implement a productive work-at-home ecosystem include:

  • VPN connectivity makes it possible to create a safe connection for authorized remote workers to use IT assets situated at your corporate data center or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist you to deploy and manage VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your key network resources by providing remote VPN configuration consulting. For businesses using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA experts can help your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software for safe VPN connections for a wide selection of endpoint devices such as Microsoft Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms enable a telecommuter to see and use a remote computer's desktop. This gives network managers more control over the computing environment of telecommuters and ensures remote users a familiar work experience. Progent's VDI consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
  • Routers attach home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, local wireless networks, and firewalls. Progent offers expert remote support for configuring routers from all major vendors. See router integration support from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wireless networks, often supporting families and guests, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to connect to their router for work. This can create throughput as well as cybersecurity issues. Progent can help businesses to resolve these problems by providing services like Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless deployment consulting, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi access point setup assistance.
  • Internet access solutions affect the performance and availability of connections between at-home workers and the corporate data center. Line-of-business processes may demand backup Internet access in case the primary connection breaks. Progent can provide expertise for picking Internet service providers, selecting appropriate service bundles, and integrating fault-tolerant Internet connections. See Internet connectivity integration services.

IP Voice Solutions for At-Home Workers
Expanding the corporate PBX environment to accommodate teleworkers is vital to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based VoIP platforms are popular with SMBs to support teleworkers. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's modern or older platforms for VoIP management. Progent can help businesses of any size to design or tune a remote VoIP environment that delivers the versatility, transparency and security required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts offer high-level support to help businesses optimize their current Cisco VoIP systems to handle a growing remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) extends high-end IP telephony features to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia apps used across the network. CUCM supports additional combined media services such as messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For details about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM support, visit CUCM expertise.
  • CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can help you to support your current CallManager environment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. To learn about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older VoIP products, see CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with clients working outside the corporate firewall like at-home workers. Progent offers consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series and for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway integration expertise.
  • Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can help you to enhance your WAN architecture to work with these VoIP solutions and deliver online configuration and debugging expertise.

Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A broad range of voice/video conferencing platforms from major technology companies support virtual discussions, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both onsite workers and at-home workers. Many organizations utilize multiple conferencing products to accommodate their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can help you to maintain your current voice/video conferencing ecosystem and enhance the experience of your remote employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular unified communications platform that supports real-time presence, IM, audio and video conferencing plus the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help you to configure and maintain Skype for Business client software to accommodate your at-home employees. For details about Progent's support expertise for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video phone app for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac devices. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime allow as many as 32 simultaneous users for video calls. For details about Progent's support services for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing granular content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, session capture, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex and for additional video conferencing solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams provides a hub for conferencing, contacts, and content with capabilities such as IP voice and video conferencing, persistent chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and debugging expertise for these products and help you to tune your network infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a rich environment of productivity apps that create a cohesive user interface for exchanging information throughout multiple sites and on a wide range of endpoints. Progent has provided online consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their initial publication and can help your company to deploy these flagship collaboration platforms to optimize the productivity of your at-home workers.

SharePoint Server Configuration Experts for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to facilitate collaboration and knowledge delivery by offering policy-driven access to content, workflow, and tools for searching through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to create protected portals that enables remote workers to view and update aggregated corporate intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For details about Progent's SharePoint support services, refer to SharePoint configuration and application development consulting.

Exchange Integration Consultants 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 learn about Progent's Exchange expertise, see integration consulting for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Microsoft Onedrive Deployment Experts for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft's collaborative cloud file hosting and synchronization service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers can share them securely through a web browser. Included with Office and Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables at-home workers to jointly author files. Revisions made offline are automatically synced when you reconnect to the Internet. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft OneDrive, go to Microsoft Onedrive integration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Teleworkers
Progent offers advanced online assistance for helping businesses to build, manage and troubleshoot integrated hybrid network models that incorporate internal data centers, at-home workers, branches, plus public cloud services. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all modes of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with cloud connectivity, identity, and security.

Microsoft Azure Integration Services for TeleworkersAzure is a popular family of public cloud software and services that allows you to use IT infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Azure includes over 100 services services such as hosting for Windows and Linux-based VMs, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can assist your organization to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based 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 help you establish protected access to Azure for remote workers by configuring and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. To find out about Progent's support services for Azure, see Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of client productivity applications and cloud-based services offered by subscription. Microsoft applications and services are marketed in a variety of plans intended for customers ranging from students and small offices to large enterprises. Progent can provide quick and affordable remote contact with experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible clients 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 teleworkers in a way that delivers maximum business value. To find out about Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365, see Microsoft 365 consulting services.

Exchange Online Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most widely used cloud-based applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online offers the advantages of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and other benefits associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run smoothly with local deployments of Exchange, allowing customers to create hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's Exchange experts can provide occasional assistance to get you past challenging IT bottlenecks and also offer comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your telecommuters have easy and safe access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. To learn Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, refer to Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for At-Home WorkersAmazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud computing market and is the industry's leading provider of cloud services. Progent offers fast and affordable online contact with cloud connectivity consultants who can help your business to design, deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises data centers and with other public clouds like Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help your company to create a high-uptime network model so your users have a productive computing experience whether they are working from your headquarters, a remote branch, from home, or on the road. To find out about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting expertise.

Google Cloud Platform Integration Services for Remote WorkersGoogle Cloud is a leading suite of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can help your business to extend your current IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database experts can show you how to make your mission-critical applications cloud ready so your teleworkers can take full advantage of 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, and streamline identity control for teleworkers with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent's experts can also help your business to use GCP's management technology to control and track your Google Cloud environment. For details, refer to Google Cloud Platform consulting services.

Help Desk Services for Remote Workers
A sudden, company-wide changeover to a teleworker workforce, which could be motivated by an epidemic or as a component of a business continuity plan, can overwhelm 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 supplement their Call Center by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk services leverage Progent's extensive team of online IT support experts along with world-class ticketing and follow-up technology to provide an economical, advanced Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide an end-to-end solution that addresses all facets of online Level 1 PC technical support from help requests to ticket creation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables telecommuters to monitor or edit their current tickets, enter information, and append screen captures or attachments. Technical support services are provided at a substantial price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 desktop support charges, and Progent makes available the option of rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to deal with advanced issues. For details, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service enables your company to supplement your existing Call Center organization by sharing responsibilities for Help Desk Call Center support services transparently between your regular support organization and Progent's extensive team of PC support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Call Desk service uses a co-sourcing support solution based on the number one PSA tool for handling help requests and ticketing, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and generating reports. For information about how Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class desktop support to your from-home workers, go to Progent's Help Desk augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for Remote Workers
Work-from-Home employees commonly use their own computers and often work in an unsecured physical area. This situation increases their susceptibility to malware attacks and calls for judicious configuration of corporate firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote endpoint monitoring, intensive end-user training, and the creation of policies based on leading practices. Progent's seasoned team of data security support experts can assist you to design, deploy and maintain an effective cybersecurity solution that guards critical IT assets in environments that incorporate an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable companies to create a network environment that can be securely utilized by local users and by at-home workers, mobile employees, suppliers, clients, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall devices allow you to assign and control different access rights to different classes of users and to expand your IT network and modify your security as your company evolves and as cyber threats grow more complex. Progent works with both current and older firewall appliances from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall integration expertise, refer to firewall support expertise.

Remote Security Monitoring and Management for TeleworkersRemote Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to track the various computers used by remote workers and either block or identify and respond to modern threats like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint software agent is put on each protected endpoint device, watching all activity and utilizing advanced machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to detect zero-day threats on arrival. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight ASM instantly isolates the targeted endpoint from the network to contain the threat. Because the ProSight ASM agent is autonomous, endpoints stay protected even if they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. For more information about ProSight ASM, see remote endpoint security monitoring for teleworkers.

Two-factor Authentication Services for Remote WorkersProgent's Duo authentication managed services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity verification on Apple iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are requested to verify your identity via a device that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this added means of authentication including an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate multiple validation devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity validation services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for an at-home workforce.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the vulnerability of your network to all classes of outside and local security threats for a network that incorporates at-home workers. Progent can deploy online, automated security analysis scanning for quickly and affordably uncovering a broad range of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment experts, which can be provided by network security professionals with top certifications such as CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your business to audit your procedures and governance policies and assess your network infrastructure to enable you to design the highest level of protection for your an at-home workforce.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Environment
To read or download a white paper about critical things to focus on for securing a network that includes telecommuters, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
Data Protection covers saving and restoring vital data in order to prevent data loss and reduce restoration time in case of storage failures due to equipment breakdowns, programming glitches, operator error, malware, or other causes. Dependable data protection solutions can be especially difficult to design and manage in hybrid environments that combine local data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Recovery solutions for remote workers must address diverse kinds of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent can provide quick remote help from consultants knowledgeable about a wide range of platforms for backing up Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery products maintained by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect resources distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a managed backup/recovery service that uses cloud storage and includes granular recovery and unified management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans typically envision circumstances that call for a rapid switch to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity specialists can help your business to create, document and test a DR/BC plan that includes the logistics of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management products under the name Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud-based management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises endpoints. Endpoint Manager features a unified platform for safeguarding critical information by managing on-premises, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

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 protecting mobile computers and applications. Managed endpoint devices can be personally owned or business owned. IT administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of telecommuters can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for permission to access data and networks, set passwords, establish VPN connections, control how teleworkers share information, establish threat protection, ensure security compliance, and delete sensitive data from missing, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with Apple iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X endpoints. To learn about Intune and to find out how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to administer the endpoint devices of your telecommuters, see Intune remote endpoint management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified MDM product that helps network administrators to keep off-premises endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for centralized endpoint management plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery platform for identity control, app management, and setup management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment through a one-time purchase. Key features of Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air deployment of new laptops, immediate onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, unifies management reporting and analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based services. For information about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote device management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Support Services
To contact Progent about building and maintaining an efficient telecommuter environment for your Newark, New Jersey organization, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.