IT Technology News and Progent Solutions

Microsoft introduced the next version of Small Business Server (SBS 2008) and Windows Essential Business Server (EBS 2008). These software platforms deliver the power of Microsoft's high-end server platforms to small businesses in an economical package. Targeted for companies with up to 75 users, Microsoft Windows SBS is an integrated server platform created to help companies make their information more secure and their network more productive.

Microsoft SBS 2008 is available in basic and premium editions. The basic package includes MS Windows Server 2008, Exchange 2007 Server, SharePoint Services, and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). The premium edition also includes Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

Microsoft Essential Business Server is designed for businesses with as many as 75 PCs and offers network staff greater control over their environment by reducing complications and automating common tasks. With support for Windows Mobile phones, SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 can significantly help boost productivity by facilitating connectivity to corporate messaging, scheduling, addresses and information to users when they are not at their desks. To view Microsoft's news release, refer to Microsoft Announces SBS 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008.

How Progent's Consulting Experts Can Help Your Company to Take Advantage of Windows Small Business Server
The most productive installation of MS Windows Small Business Server requires a network consulting company with real-world expertise and a broad background in designing and implementing data-driven end-to-end business technology solutions. The background of Progent's Microsoft-certified consulting team, with an average of over 10 years of working in Microsoft technology, assures you success in designing, executing and administering Small Business Server 2008 solutions that are thoroughly integrated with the Microsoft line of servers.

Progent's IT professionals can help your company to integrate the major components of the Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Microsoft Windows EBS 2008 packages and can also provide a variety of other affordable services to improve the efficiency, reliability, protection, speed, and maintainability of IT systems based on Windows SBS 2008 or Windows Essential Business Server 2008:

Windows Server 2008 Integration
Progent offers a variety of Windows Server 2008 planning and integration services that can assist small organizations to take advantage of Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can assist you to understand the areas where Microsoft Windows Server 2008 could improve the business value of your information network so that you can cost-justify an upgrade. Progent can show you how to pilot Windows Server 2008 so that you can assess its stability, responsiveness, and compatibility handling realistic workloads. Progent can provide consulting for developing a rollout strategy, assess and improve existing network environment, develop archiving and restoration processes, evaluate security architecture and policies, help in integrating physical and virtual servers, design fault-tolerant solutions such as server clustering with Hyper-V, train your internal network management team, and set up automated server and network monitoring processes to track system security and efficiency.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Design, Installation, and Troubleshooting Services
Progent's expert consultants can show you how to design and implement an efficient Microsoft Exchange 2007 upgrade plan that minimizes productivity downtime, reduces ongoing service demands, and makes your Exchange Server 2007 easy to manage. Progent's Exchange 2007 support, repair, and consulting offerings include expertise with the configuration of third-party add-ons to Microsoft Exchange 2007 Server and the design of unified messaging implementations powered by Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Progent's services feature integration with your network, connectivity with mobile communication products, continual tracking of efficiency and security, spam filtering, patch and revision management, Help Desk Call Center support, daily data backup, and comprehensive messaging administration support.

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 Help
Progent can offer help for designing, configuring, and maintaining successful Microsoft Office SharePoint Server solutions that will dramatically improve key aspects of your company's information network including teamwork, web portal, company-wide search, forms-driven business operations, access to actionable information, and document management. Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you to assess the business benefit for adopting SharePoint Server, provide configuration and installation expertise, assist your business to set up Microsoft SQL Server as a back-end database, enhance your network infrastructure, set up your standard and specialized business programs to work with Microsoft SharePoint Server, create a comprehensive security plan that includes web portal technology, and provide online and in-person repair and Help Desk services.

SQL Server Consulting Services
Progent's SQL Server consultants can make sure your organization configures SQL 2008 properly, and that your SQL Server data management system is incorporated seamlessly with your applications. Progent offers automated server monitoring to make sure your business network is healthy, and Progent's remote Help Desk Call Center is available to offer fast remediation for SQL-related issues. Progent's certified computer security engineers can assess your company-wide security processes and technologies and recommend enhancements for more complete regulatory compliance. Progent's programmers can help you to develop or personalize line-of-business programs or eCommerce sites rely on databases controlled by SQL Server 2008.

PC Desktop Consulting and Support Services
Progent's Microsoft-certified desktop support consultants offer a wide array of cost-effective consulting and support services to assist you company to install, integrate, repair, and manage desktop PCs and laptops based on Microsoft Windows. Progent can provide onsite or remote assistance for single machines or laptops or help you to plan and implement a large-scale migration to the newest release of Windows. Progent can also configure Office or Microsoft Dynamics business applications on your workstations so they communicate productively with other Microsoft programs, products from third-party publishers, database servers, and line-of-business solutions network-wide. Progent can also provide consultants and technical workers to assist your company to plan for and implement an office move or consolidation designed to produce minimal disruption of your business.

Security Inventory Bundles
Progent has put together two ultra-affordable service packages intended to allow small businesses to receive an impartial network security evaluation from a GIAC and CISA-certified security consultant. With Progent's External Security Inventory Scan, a security expert administers a comprehensive test of your network from outside your company firewall to determine possible weaknesses in the security profile you expose to the public. With Progent's Internal Security Inventory Checkup, a certified security professional runs a network scan from an authorized computer within your company firewall to uncover the risk to internal threats. The two security inventory services are set up and executed from a protected remote site. The process is implemented by an engineer with high-level security credentials who produces a document that summarizes and interprets the information collected by the scan and proposes cost-effective improvements where appropriate.

Virtual Training for Desktop Applications
Progent offers live virtual training for a range of client applications and operating systems such as Office Excel, Word, Publisher, Visio, Acrobat Writer, Adobe Photoshop CS, Crystal Reports, and Windows XP and Vista. Live online instruction provides the benefits of conventional in-person seminars, such as immediate communication between clients and trainers, but eliminates the costs of transportation and the hassle of attempting to accommodate the schedules of many workers. Available to single students or groups of any size, live online learning allows the instructor to run the seminar from a remote facility and the clients can be spread across a campus or all over the country. Virtual education utilizes powerful teaching mechanisms like virtual white boards, electronic hand-raising, and collaborative applications. Classes can be short and personalized for specific subjects or extended in duration and broader in coverage. Teachers and clients can work through examples one-on-one or as a class.

Emergency Online Troubleshooting
Progent's Technical Response Center offers national remote help for Windows and Cisco-based small office information networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Premier support experts provide phone help and remote direct network access to isolate and repair network problems quickly and affordably. The scope of technical experience available from Progent's staff of country-wide support engineers allows Progent to escalate even the toughest problems to qualified experts as needed.

To find out more information concerning Progent's support for Microsoft Small Business Server, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.