Technology News and Progent Business Solutions

Microsoft unveiled the R2 version of Microsoft Communications Server, Microsoft's solution for unifying presence, instant messaging, video conferencing, and IP-based calling. The newest edition of Microsoft Communications Server 2007 features enhancements that offer IT organizations additional versatility for supporting their communications infrastructure efficiently while providing an extensible architecture for communications-enabled business activity.

To reduce costs, increase efficiency, and support teamwork, the latest edition of Microsoft Communications Server 2007 permits dial-in audioconferencing to replace expensive outside services with an in-house audioconferencing bridge that is maintained as part of an organization's overall communications environment. Microsoft Communications Server 2007 Release 2 also now permits desktop sharing, which allows workers to share their PC transparently and initiate calls and cooperate with colleagues outside the organization on Windows PC, Apple Mac, or Linux-powered computers via a web connection. The latest edition of Microsoft Communications Server also enables geographically scattered teams to work together by taking part in topic-based dialogues that extend indefinitely. This tool provides participants with a list of all active discussion rooms and themes, automatically archives chats in an XML format that addresses compliance requirements, provides tools to search the entire record of discussion on a specific theme, and provides triggers and alarms to notify people about recent posts.

the latest edition of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 also incorporates improved support for voice communications and mobility. The new attendant window allows receptionists or group secretaries to control phone calls and conferences on behalf of associates, set up processes to direct phone calls, and handle larger volumes of incoming communications through an intuitive software console. The Session Initiation Protocol trunking feature allows businesses to reduce expenses by setting up a direct Voice over IP connection between an Internet phone service supplier and Microsoft Communications Server 2007 without needing on-premises gateways. Also, Microsoft 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 Microsoft Communications Server 2007 Release 2
A Standard Edition Microsoft Office Communications Server hosts all necessary services on a single Front End Server. The minimal investment in computer hardware and simplicity of management make this version is optimal for small and medium-sized organization and for branch offices. Office Communications Server is powered by Windows Server and takes advantage of powerful Windows platforms such as Active Directory, SQL Server, System Center Operations Manager, and Microsoft Exchange Server. With Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, you can incorporate instant teamwork capabilities and presence to ubiquitous Office applications such as Outlook, Microsoft Office Excel, and Word. Presence information from the server can also be added to line-of-business software. Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 also acts as the presence mechanism for team web sites and web portals, delivering presence awareness and Instant Messaging access from within SharePoint sites.

Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers offer expert technical services for all these areas and can assist your company in planning and implementing a deployment of Office Communications Server 2007 in order to optimize the productivity value of this IM, presence, and VoIP platform. Progent can in addition assist your company to migrate from Microsoft Live Communications Server to the current edition of Microsoft Office Communications Server.

Progent's consulting experts can help your company to deploy Office Communications Server and integrate a wide of Microsoft platforms to benefit from the presence awareness, IM, and Voice over IP capabilities available with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007:

Windows Server 2008 Integration
Progent offers a variety of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 consulting and maintenance support that can help small businesses to benefit from Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can assist your company to understand the areas where Windows Server 2008 could enhance the productivity of your IT system in order to rationalize an upgrade. Progent can show you how to test Windows Server 2008 in order to determine its reliability, responsiveness, and compatibility running realistic applications. Progent can provide consulting for developing a deployment strategy, assess and improve your current network environment, document backup and recovery procedures, evaluate security mechanisms and policies, assist in setting up actual and virtual machines, design fault-tolerant solutions including failover server clustering with Hyper-V, educate your internal IT management staff, and set up proactive server monitoring processes to ensure your information system's protection and efficiency.

Exchange Server Design, Installation, and Troubleshooting Support
Progent's expert consultants can show you how to define and implement an efficient Exchange Server 2007 upgrade strategy that minimizes network disruption, reduces ongoing service requirements, and makes your Exchange 2007 Server easy to manage. Progent's Exchange Server 2007 support, troubleshooting, and consulting services include expertise with the configuration of outside vendor add-ons to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and the design of unified messaging implementations powered by Exchange Server 2007. Services feature integration with your network, access to handheld communication products, automated monitoring of performance and network security, spam filtering, patch and service pack management, Helpdesk services, per-day data backup, and full messaging management services.

Office SharePoint Server Consulting and Support
Progent can provide help for designing, deploying, and managing successful SharePoint Server solutions that will dramatically enhance key areas of your IT environment such as collaboration, web portal, company-wide search, forms-based business operations, delivery of management information, and document control. Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can assist your company to assess the business benefit for implementing SharePoint Server, provide setup and integration expertise, assist you to configure Microsoft SQL Server 2008 as a back-office database engine, enhance your network architecture, set up your standard and custom business software to work with Office SharePoint Server 2007, develop a comprehensive security plan that incorporates portal solutions, and provide remote and in-person repair and Help Desk services.

SQL Server 2008 Programming and Support
Progent's SQL Server experts can make sure your small business configures SQL Server 2008 properly, and that your SQL-based data management system is integrated thoroughly with your business applications. Progent offers continuous server tracking to ensure your corporate information system is healthy, and Progent's online Technical Response Center is ready to offer fast remediation for SQL-related problems. Progent's certified computer security experts can evaluate your company-wide security policies and technologies and recommend improvements for more complete protection. Progent's developers can assist you to create or customize line-of-business programs or eCommerce sites utilize information controlled by SQL Server 2008.

Windows Active Directory Consulting and Support Services
Microsoft Windows Active Directory requires extensive practical experience to integrate optimally across an enterprise. Progent's Microsoft certified Active Directory experts are experienced in planning, deploying, and troubleshooting complex Microsoft Enterprise Active Directory installations. Progent's fields of proven competence with Microsoft Windows 2003 and 2008 AD include replication problems, multi-domain partition design, correcting corrupted Active Directory objects, cleaning up legacy legacy version configuration objects in production Active Directory environments, and repair of failed installations of Active Directory and AD-integrated programs.

PC Desktop Support Services
Progent's certified desktop support consultants offer a wide range of cost-effective services to assist your company to deploy, integrate, troubleshoot, and administer workstations and laptops based on Windows. Progent can provide onsite or remote help for individual desktop computers and handheld devices or help your business to design and implement a large-scale migration to the newest version of Windows. Progent can also configure Microsoft Office or Microsoft Dynamics applications on your client PCs so they communicate productively with other Microsoft applications, products from third-party vendors, SQL databases, and line-of-business services throughout your network. Progent can also provide consultants and technicians to assist your company to prepare for and implement an office move or merger organized to cause minimal interruption to your productivity.

Wireless and Mobility Solutions Planning and Support
Progent's professionals provide expertise in multiple technologies relevant to mobile networking such as system topology, wireless data synchronization, wireless protection, mobile email, Windows Mobile, Research in Motion Blackberry, and wireless software programming. Progent's certified experts can save your organization work and expense by using their wireless background to show you how to choose and integrate wireless networking solutions that make sense for your business. Progent can also tune your IT architecture so that mobile data devices work more reliably.

Emergency Online Technical Support
Progent's National Support Center offers nationwide remote help for Windows and Cisco-based small business information networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Premier support experts offer telephone help and online secure computer access to isolate and repair network problems rapidly and economically. The breadth of IT experience available from Progent's staff of nationwide support engineers allows Progent to escalate even the toughest problems to competent specialists as needed.

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