Expanding your at-home workforce can have a significant impact on network infrastructure, security, and company processes. Progent has 20 years of background assisting small and mid-size businesses to plan, deploy, manage, tune, and debug IT environments that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can help your Glendale organization to pick the appropriate tools and follow best practices in creating and maintaining a secure virtual office solution for teleworkers that facilitates teamwork and delivers top business value. Progent can provide support services ranging from as-needed expertise for getting you past occasional technical bottlenecks to comprehensive project management to help you successfully complete mission-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Glendale, Arizona businesses to with any facet of creating a high-functioning work-from-home ecosystem by providing network infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud integration, Help Desk outsourcing, endpoint security, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure required to support an at-home workforce can be particularly complex if you have to accommodate a combination of worker-owned hardware like PCs and notebooks, routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from different vendors and with a variety of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's experience delivering online support for both legacy and current technologies in remote office venues allows you to make efficient use of your existing infrastructure and offers ready access to top-tire consultants for making essential upgrades. Services offered by Progent to assist you to implement a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network connectivity allows you to create a secure tunnel for authenticated remote employees to use IT resources situated at your corporate datacenter or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can help you to deploy and manage VPN connections between your teleworkers and your various network resources by providing remote VPN integration support. For businesses using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall experts can help your telecommuters to set up Cisco's AnyConnect software to provide safe VPN connections for a broad range of endpoint devices such as Microsoft Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms allow a teleworker to view and interact with a data center computer's desktop. This technology provides network managers more control over the digital environment of telecommuters and offers them a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
  • Routers attach at-home computer networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home Wi-Fi networks, and firewall services. Progent can provide top-tier remote consulting for integrating home routers from a range of vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically shared by families and visitors, are commonly utilized by telecommuters to connect to their router for work. This can create performance as well as cybersecurity issues. Progent can assist businesses to resolve these problems by providing services like Cisco Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki WiFi deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti wireless AP integration assistance.
  • Internet access methods affect the speed and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Vital processes may demand backup Internet connections in the event the normal connection fails. Progent can provide expertise for selecting Internet service providers, choosing appropriate service offerings, and setting up redundant Internet connections. See Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Solutions for Teleworkers
Extending the corporate phone environment to include teleworkers is critical to supporting a productive at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-centric digital PBX products are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support teleworkers. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's modern or legacy platforms for IP voice management. Progent can assist organizations of all sizes to design or maintain a remote IP voice environment that provides the flexibility, transparency and security needed for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer high-level support to help businesses optimize their existing Cisco IP voice environments to support an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) extends advanced telephony capabilities to devices like IP phones, media processing products, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia applications deployed across the network. Unified Communications Manager manages additional mixed media services like messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, refer to Cisco Unified CM consulting services.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing software and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can help you to maintain your current CallManager deployment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy IP voice platforms, visit Cisco CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with users operating beyond the corporate firewall such as telecommuters. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series as well as for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
  • Other VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to enhance your WAN infrastructure to work with these solutions and provide on-demand configuration and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A broad range of voice/video conferencing platforms from major vendors support virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and content sharing for both onsite workers and at-home workers. Many companies utilize a mix of conferencing products to meet the needs of their different partners and customers. Progent can help your organization to manage your existing voice/video conferencing environment and enhance the productivity of your at-home workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications product that enables real-time presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can assist you to configure and maintain Skype for Business clients to accommodate your remote employees. For details about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video phone platform for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current versions of FaceTime support up to 32 concurrent users for video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that embed rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based recording, plus revision and playback for training. For details about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex and for additional IP video products from Cisco, refer to 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 features that include video calling, persistent threaded chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's support services for Teams and for other Microsoft 365 products, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Conferencing Apps supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide configuration and troubleshooting services for these conferencing platforms and help you to optimize your network infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a powerful environment of productivity apps that create a cohesive user interface for exchanging information throughout a corporate network and on a broad range of endpoint computers. Progent has provided online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their original releases and can assist businesses to deploy these flagship collaboration products to maximize the productivity of your remote workers.

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 deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can support chat, audio/video meetings with screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and application sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (previously branded Azure Active Directory) for delivering its full range of capabilities. For additional information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, see solution design and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Integration Consultants for Remote WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to allow collaboration and knowledge sharing by providing policy-based access to data, business processes, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint permits you to build secure portals that permits remote workforce to view and update aggregated business intelligence by means of Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To find out about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, see SharePoint configuration and development expertise.

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 learn about Progent's Exchange support services, go to planning and configuration expertise for Exchange.

Microsoft Onedrive Deployment Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home users can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers can share them safely through a browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows remote employees to jointly author documents. Edits made offline are synced when you go back online. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft OneDrive, refer to Microsoft Onedrive integration experts.

Cloud Integration for Telecommuters
Progent offers affordable remote support for enabling businesses to build, maintain and troubleshoot integrated network models that combine internal data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, and cloud services. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of cloud service such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with cloud access, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration for TeleworkersAzure is a leading platform for public cloud services that allows you to utilize infrastructure, servers, and critical applications running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure features more than 100 cloud-based services including hosting for Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can assist your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure AD, and plan backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish protected access to Azure for teleworkers by setting up and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN tunnels. For information about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Azure, visit Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of client productivity applications and cloud services offered by subscription. Microsoft apps and services are marketed in a variety of bundles intended for customers ranging from students and households to major corporations. Progent offers quick and easy remote contact with consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible endpoints based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can assist your business to assess the numerous subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your at-home workers to achieve maximum business value. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration expertise.

Exchange Online Integration Services for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most popular applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the advantages of lower spending for data center infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and additional advantages associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run smoothly with local deployments of Exchange, allowing you to create hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange experts are available for as-needed assistance to get you past tough technical roadblocks and also offer comprehensive project management services to ensure your at-home workers have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, go to Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for At-Home WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud arena and is the industry's top source of cloud services. Progent offers fast and affordable online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can help your organization to plan, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local resources and with other popular cloud platforms like Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist you to create a high-uptime network model so your employees have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, from home, or on the move. For details about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Integration Services for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a popular set of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist your business to expand your current IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA consultants can help you make your mission-critical apps cloud ready so your teleworkers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can help your business to deploy virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, design an efficient storage system with Google Cloud Storage services, and streamline access control for telecommuters with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent's experts can also assist you to use GCP's management technology to control and monitor your GCP environment. To find out, visit Google Cloud Platform consulting support.

Help Desk Call Center Support for Remote Workers
A rapid, enterprise-wide changeover to a teleworker workforce, which could be driven by an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery/business continuity preparedness plan, can overwhelm even the most efficient internal Call Desk. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for organizations to outsource or expand their Call Desk by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk services leverage Progent's extensive network of remote technical support experts along with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and tracking software to offer an affordable, modern Call Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that addresses all facets of remote Level 1 desktop support from service requests through ticket generation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows telecommuters to monitor or revise the status of their active trouble tickets, add details, and upload screen captures and attachments. Technical support services are provided at a significant discount off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent offers the option of fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to resolve advanced problems. To find out more, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service enables your business to augment your current Help Desk Call Center organization by sharing responsibilities for Help Desk services seamlessly between your in-house IT support organization and Progent's extensive roster of desktop support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Call Center service is based on a collective support solution based on the leading professional services automation platform for handling service requests and ticketing, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and producing management reports. For details about how Progent's Call Desk Supplementation Services can help your company to provide world-class desktop support to your at-home employees, visit Progent's Help Desk supplementation Services.

Security for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home workers typically use their own computers and usually work in an unsecured physical space. This multiplies their vulnerability to cyber attacks and calls for careful deployment of firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, intensive user training, and the development of security policies based on leading practices. Progent's veteran roster of cybersecurity support consultants can help your business to plan, implement and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that protects vital IT resources in environments that incorporate at-home workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to create a network that can be securely utilized by on-premises users and by at-home workers, mobile users, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall appliances permit you to configure and manage appropriate access rights to different groups of users and to scale your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as cyber threats become more complex. Progent supports both current and older firewall appliances from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall integration services, see firewall support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring Services for TelecommutersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the various devices used by telecommuters and either block or spot and respond to modern threats like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight software agent is installed on every secured endpoint, monitoring all activity and utilizing advanced machine learning from SentinelOne to detect zero-day threats before they can spread. When an attack is spotted, ProSight ASM instantly isolates the targeted endpoint device from the network to contain the threat. Because the ProSight ASM software agent is self-contained, endpoints remain secure even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint monitoring for teleworkers.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TelecommutersProgent's Duo authentication Managed Services incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to defend against password theft by using two-factor authentication. Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With Duo 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected application and enter your password you are requested to confirm your identity via a unit that only you have and that uses a different network channel. A broad selection of out-of-band devices can be used as this second means of authentication such as a smartphone or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You can designate multiple validation devices. For more information about Duo two-factor identity authentication services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for telecommuters.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the vulnerability of your information system to all types of external and local security threats for an environment that includes teleworkers. Progent can run remote, automated cybersecurity analysis software for rapidly and affordably uncovering a wide variety of security weaknesses that can be surfaced via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment experts, which can be managed by network security professionals with advanced credentials such as CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist you to evaluate your processes and governance policies and assess your network architecture to enable you to design the highest level of security for your telecommuters.

NodeZero Pen Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing 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 so you can expose, rank, fix, and verify security vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can assist you to use NodeZero to carry out comprehensive penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your present security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also assist you to harden your network security and can assist you to plan and implement a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and delivers maximum cyber defense for on-premises, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To find out more details about Progent's threat analysis services powered by on NodeZero's PEN test products, refer to Consulting Services for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment
To view or download a white paper describing key areas to concentrate on for securing an IT environment that includes work-from-home staff, 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 data in order to prevent data loss and minimize restoration time and effort in case of storage system problems resulting from equipment issues, programming hiccups, operator mistakes, malware, or other causes. Reliable data protection solutions can be particularly challenging to design and manage in hybrid environments that combine private data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore solutions for an at-home workforce must cover multiple types of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent offers fast online access to consultants knowledgeable about a broad range of products for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, tablets and handhelds. Popular backup/recovery products maintained by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data spread across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery service that uses cloud-based storage and includes granular recovery and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) strategies commonly anticipate circumstances that require a quick changeover to a work-at-home environment. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity planning consultants can assist you to develop, document and test a DR/BC strategy that includes the logistics of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Teleworkers
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud-based management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager offers a centralized environment for protecting critical data by managing on-premises, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and securing remote devices and software. Remote endpoint devices can be personally owned or business owned. IT admins managing the endpoint devices of at-home workers can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate apps on devices, push patches and certificates, set up policies for accessing information and resources, manage passwords, establish VPN connections, determine how telecommuters share data, set up threat defense, verify compliance, and delete sensitive information from lost, stolen or deactivated endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with iOS/iPadOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS computers. To find out about Intune and how Progent can assist you to use this platform to administer the endpoint computers of your at-home workforce, go to Intune remote endpoint management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform that helps network managers to keep remote endpoint devices up to date and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint management plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for authorization control, application management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment via a perpetual license. Top capabilities of Workspace ONE include rapid remote provisioning of out-of-the-box notebooks, quick onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, unifies management reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and tight integration with Microsoft applications and cloud products. For details about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Expertise
To contact Progent about building and maintaining an efficient work-from-home solution for your Glendale, Arizona organization, phone 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.