IT Technology News and Progent Solutions

Microsoft made available the R2 version of Microsoft Office Communications Server, Microsoft's platform for managing presence awareness, IM infrastructure, teleconferencing, and IP-based calling. The latest edition of Microsoft Communications Server 2007 features improvements that give IT managers additional flexibility for managing their communications infrastructure efficiently while representing an extensible platform for communications-enabled business activity.

To lower costs, increase productivity, and promote teamwork, the new version of Office Communications Server permits phone audioconferencing to eliminate expensive outside services with an on-premises audioconferencing software bridge that can be administered along with an organization's current communications environment. Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 also now features desktop sharing, which allows workers to share their PC transparently and launch audio communications and cooperate with others outside the organization on PC, Mac, or Linux platforms through a web connection. The latest release of Microsoft Communications Server also allows geographically scattered groups to collaborate by participating in theme-based discussions that persist over time. This application provides users with an index of all active discussion sessions and topics, periodically archives discussions in a file format that addresses auditing requirements, delivers tools to look through the entire record of discussion on a given topic, and offers triggers and alerts to notify people of new updates.

the latest version of Microsoft Communications Server 2007 also includes improved support for voice and mobility. The innovative attendant console allows support personnel or team secretaries to control phone calls and conferences for associates, establish workflows to route calls, and manage larger numbers of incoming communications via a user-friendly interface. The Session Initiation Protocol trunking capability allows companies to cut expenses by establishing up a direct Voice over IP connection between an IP phone service provider and Microsoft Office Communications Server without needing in-house VoIP gateways. Also, Office Communicator Mobile support now includes more platforms such as the Nokia S40, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile.

How Progent's Microsoft-certified Engineers Can Assist Your Company to Benefit from Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2
A Standard Edition Office Communications Server manages all necessary services on a single Front End Server. The minimal expense in hardware and simplicity of administration make this configuration is ideal for small and mid-sized businesses and for branch offices. Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 is based on Microsoft Windows Server and taps into core Windows platforms like as Active Directory, SQL Server, Microsoft System Center Operations Manager, and Exchange Server. With Office Communications Server, you can add real-time teamwork features and presence to ubiquitous MS Office applications such as Outlook, Excel, and Word. Presence awareness from the server can also be integrated into line-of-business software. Microsoft Communications Server 2007 also acts as the presence mechanism for team web sites and portals, delivering presence and IM support from within SharePoint sites.

Progent's Microsoft-certified professionals offer professional technical support for all these areas and can help you in designing and implementing a rollout of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 in order to maximize the business value of this IM, presence, and VoIP platform. Progent can in addition assist your company to migrate from Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005 to the Release 2 edition of Office Communications Server.

Progent's consultants can assist your company to deploy Microsoft Communications Server and integrate a range of Microsoft platforms to take advantage of the presence awareness, IM, and Voice over IP capabilities available with Microsoft Communications Server:

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Expertise
Progent offers a variety of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 consulting and integration support that can assist small businesses to benefit from Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can assist your company to understand the areas where Windows Server 2008 could improve the business value of your information network so that you can rationalize a migration. Progent can show you how to test Microsoft Windows Server 2008 in order to assess its reliability, throughput, and operability running realistic workloads. Progent can provide consulting for developing a deployment plan, evaluate and improve your current network environment, document backup and restoration procedures, evaluate security mechanisms and guidelines, help in setting up actual and virtualized machines, develop high-availability strategies including failover server clustering with Hyper-V, educate your internal IT administration staff, and deploy automated 24x7 monitoring processes to track your information system's protection and performance.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Planning, Configuration, and Troubleshooting Support
Progent's Microsoft certified consultants can help you design and deploy an efficient Exchange Server 2007 upgrade strategy that avoids productivity disruption, reduces ongoing service demands, and makes your Exchange Server 2007 easy to manage. Progent's Exchange 2007 support, troubleshooting, and design services include expertise with the configuration of third-party enhancements of Exchange Server 2007 and the design of unified messaging solutions powered by Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Services include integration with your business network, connectivity with mobile computing devices, continual monitoring of performance and network security, spam filtering, security update and revision management, Helpdesk support, per-day data backup, and comprehensive messaging management support.

SharePoint Server Consulting and Support
Progent can offer assistance for designing, configuring, and maintaining productive Microsoft SharePoint Server solutions that can dramatically improve key aspects of your company's IT system such as teamwork, intranet portal, corporate-wide search, forms-driven business processes, delivery of business intelligence, and content control. Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can assist you to assess the business case for adopting SharePoint Server 2007, deliver setup and installation expertise, assist your business to set up SQL Server as a back-end database, optimize your network infrastructure, set up your standard and custom business software to work with Microsoft SharePoint Server, develop a company-wide protection strategy that incorporates portal technology, and provide online and in-person troubleshooting and Help Desk Call Center support.

SQL Server Design and Support
Progent's SQL Server consultants can help your business installs SQL Server 2008 properly, and that your SQL Server database system is integrated seamlessly with your business applications. Progent offers automated server monitoring to ensure your corporate information system is always available, and Progent's remote Technical Response Center is ready to offer quick solutions for SQL-related problems. Progent's certified data security experts can evaluate your business-wide security policies and mechanisms and recommend improvements for better protection. Progent's developers can help you to create or customize business applications or eCommerce sites rely on information managed by SQL Server 2008.

Windows Active Directory Consulting and Support Services
Microsoft Windows Active Directory demands significant field experience to integrate optimally across an enterprise. Progent's Microsoft certified Active Directory consultants are skilled in planning, deploying, and troubleshooting complex Enterprise AD installations. Progent's fields of expertise with Windows 2003 and 2008 AD include replication issues, multi-domain partition configurations, correcting corrupted Active Directory objects, dealing with residual legacy version configuration objects in online AD environments, and repair of failed installations of AD and Active Directory-associated programs.

PC Desktop Consulting and Support Services
Progent's certified desktop support consultants can deliver a broad range of affordable support services to assist you business to deploy, configure, repair, and administer workstations and notebooks based on Windows. Progent can provide onsite or online help for individual PCs and moble devices or work with you to plan and implement a large-scale migration to the most current release of Windows. Progent can also install Office or Microsoft Dynamics applications on your client PCs so they integrate efficiently with other Microsoft programs, software from third-party publishers, database servers, and line-of-business services throughout your network. Progent can also provide consultants and technicians to assist your company to prepare for and implement a company relocation or merger organized to produce minimal interruption to your productivity.

Wireless Technologies Integration
Progent's consultants offer expertise in multiple disciplines relevant to mobile connectivity such as network infrastructure, Activesync, wireless security, mobile e-mail, Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry, and wireless application development. Progent's Microsoft certified experts can save your company time and expense by using their wireless background to help you choose and configure mobile access technologies that make sense for your business. Progent can also tune your IT architecture so that wireless handhelds work better.

Urgent Online Technical Support
Progent's National Support Center provides nationwide remote assistance for Windows and Cisco-based small office information networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Premier support engineers offer phone support and online secure network access to troubleshoot and repair technical problems rapidly and affordably. The breadth of IT expertise represented by Progent's staff of nationwide service engineers allows Progent to escalate even the most difficult network issues to competent specialists as required.

For additional information about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Communications Server 2007, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.