IT Technology News and Progent IT Solutions

Microsoft debuted the next version of Office Communications Server, Microsoft's solution for streamlining presence, IM infrastructure, teleconferencing, and IP-based calling. The newest edition of Office Communications Server 2007 features enhancements that give network administrators additional control for managing their communications system effectively while representing an extensible architecture for communications-enabled work processes.

To lower costs, improve efficiency, and enhance collaboration, the latest release of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 allows dial-in audioconferencing to eliminate costly third-part services with an in-house audioconferencing software bridge that can be managed as part of a company's overall communications environment. Microsoft Communications Server also now permits desktop sharing, which allows users to share their desktop transparently and launch calls and collaborate with others outside the company on Windows PC, Macintosh, or Linux platforms through a web interface. The latest edition of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 also allows geographically scattered teams to collaborate by participating in topic-based dialogues that persist over time. This tool supplies participants with a list of all active discussion rooms and themes, automatically archives discussions in a format that meets compliance regulations, delivers tools to look through the entire record of chat on a given theme, and provides triggers and alarms to notify people about recent updates.

the new edition of Microsoft Communications Server 2007 also incorporates improved support for voice and mobility. The new attendant console allows receptionists or group secretaries to manage phone calls and conferences on behalf of other users, set up workflows to route phone calls, and manage higher numbers of incoming communications through a user-friendly interface. A new SIP trunking feature enables businesses to reduce costs by setting up a straight-through Voice over IP interface between an IP phone service supplier and Microsoft Communications Server 2007 without requiring on-premises VoIP gateways. Also, Office Communicator Mobile functionality now includes new platforms such as the Motorola RAZR, RIM Blackberry, and Windows Mobile.

How Progent's Microsoft-certified Engineers Can Help Your Company to Deploy Microsoft Communications Server 2007 Release 2
A Standard Edition Office Communications Server 2007 hosts all required services on one physical Front End Server. The small investment in hardware and ease of administration make this configuration is optimal for small and medium-sized organization and for branch offices. Microsoft Communications Server is powered by Windows Server and taps into powerful Windows Server platforms like as Active Directory, Microsoft SQL Server, Operations Manager, and Microsoft Exchange Server. With Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, you can add instant teamwork features and presence awareness to ubiquitous MS Office applications such as Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Excel, and Microsoft Office Word. Presence information from your server can also be added to productivity applications. Microsoft Office Communications Server also serves as the presence mechanism for collaborative web sites and web portals, delivering presence and IM access from within SharePoint sites.

Progent's Microsoft-Gold certified professionals can provide professional consulting support for all these technologies and can help your company in designing and implementing a rollout of Office Communications Server so as to optimize the productivity impact of this IM, presence, and VoIP solution. Progent can also help you to migrate from Live Communications Server to the current edition of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007.

Progent's consulting experts can help you to deploy Office Communications Server and integrate a wide of Microsoft technologies to benefit from the presence, IM, and VoIP capabilities enabled by Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007:

Windows Server 2008 Planning and Support
Progent provides a variety of Windows Server 2008 planning and maintenance services that can help small companies to get the most from Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can help you to understand the areas where Windows Server 2008 could improve the business value of your network in order to cost-justify a migration. Progent can help you pilot Microsoft Windows Server 2008 in order to assess its reliability, throughput, and compatibility handling realistic applications. Progent can help with creating a deployment plan, assess and improve existing network environment, develop backup and restoration processes, analyze security mechanisms and guidelines, assist in setting up physical and virtualized machines, design high-availability solutions including failover server clustering, train your internal IT administration staff, and deploy automated round-the-clock monitoring operations to track your information system's security and efficiency.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Design, Installation, and Maintenance Support
Progent's Microsoft certified consultants can show you how to define and deploy an efficient Microsoft Exchange 2007 upgrade strategy that minimizes network downtime, simplifies long-term support requirements, and makes your Exchange Server 2007 easy to administer. Progent's Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 support, repair, and consulting offerings include expertise with the integration of outside vendor enhancements of Exchange 2007 Server and the creation of unified messaging solutions based on Exchange Server 2007. Services feature integration with your network, connectivity with mobile communication products, continual tracking of efficiency and network security, spam protection, security update and revision management, Help Desk support, daily data backup, and full messaging administration services.

Microsoft SharePoint Server Help
Progent can provide assistance for designing, deploying, and managing productive SharePoint Server solutions that will dramatically improve important areas of your company's information network such as collaboration, intranet portal, enterprise search, forms-based business processes, delivery of management intelligence, and document management. Progent's Microsoft Gold certified consultants can assist you to evaluate the business case for deploying SharePoint Server 2007, provide configuration and installation support, help you to set up SQL Server as a back-office database engine, optimize your network architecture, set up your off-the-shelf and custom business programs to work with Office SharePoint Server, create a company-wide security plan that incorporates portal solutions, and deliver online and in-person troubleshooting and Help Desk support.

SQL Server 2008 Design and Support
Progent's SQL Server engineers can make sure your small business configures Microsoft SQL Server 2008 efficiently, and that your SQL-powered RDBM solution is incorporated effectively with your business applications. Progent offers automated server monitoring to ensure your corporate network is working efficiently, and Progent's remote Help Desk is ready to offer quick remediation for SQL database issues. Progent's certified network protection engineers can assess your business-wide security policies and technologies and recommend improvements for more complete regulatory compliance. Progent's application developers can assist you to create or personalize line-of-business applications or eCommerce sites rely on information managed by Microsoft SQL Server.

Active Directory Support Services
Microsoft Windows Active Directory requires significant practical experience to configure efficiently across an enterprise. Progent's Microsoft qualified Active Directory consultants are skilled in planning, integrating, and supporting sophisticated Microsoft Enterprise Active Directory projects. Progent's fields of proven competence with Windows 2003 and 2008 AD include replication problems, multi-domain partition configurations, correcting corrupted Active Directory objects, dealing with residual legacy software configuration objects in online AD systems, and fixing unsuccessful configurations of Active Directory and AD-integrated programs.

Desktop Consulting and Support Services
Progent's Microsoft Gold certified desktop support experts offer a broad array of affordable services to help you business to deploy, integrate, troubleshoot, and administer desktop PCs and notebooks powered by Microsoft Windows. Progent can provide onsite or remote technical support for individual desktop computers and handheld devices or help your business to plan and carry out a large-scale rollout of the latest release of Windows. Progent can also install Microsoft Office or Microsoft Dynamics applications on your client PCs so they communicate productively with all Microsoft programs, products from third-party publishers, SQL databases, and key solutions network-wide. Progent can also provide consultants and technical workers to help your company to plan for and complete an office relocation or merger designed to cause minimal disruption of your business.

Wireless and Mobility Technologies Planning and Support
Progent's professionals provide experience in multiple technologies relevant to mobile connectivity including network topology, wireless data synchronization, wireless protection, wireless e-mail, Microsoft Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry, and mobile application programming. Progent's certified experts can save your organization time and money by applying their wireless expertise to help you choose and integrate wireless access technologies that fit the needs of your business. Progent can also optimize your IT infrastructure so that mobile PDAs perform more reliably.

Emergency Online Technical Support
Progent's Technical Response Center offers national remote assistance for Windows and Cisco-based small office IT networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Premier support experts offer telephone support and online direct network access to isolate and repair network problems quickly and economically. The scope of technical experience available from Progent's staff of country-wide service professionals allows Progent to escalate even the most difficult problems to appropriate experts as required.

To learn additional information concerning Progent's support services for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.