Technology News and Progent IT Solutions

Microsoft unveiled the next release of Windows Small Business Server (SBS 2008) and Windows Essential Business Server. Microsoft's products bring the power of Windows high-end server platforms to small and midsize businesses in an economical bundle. Intended for businesses with up to 75 PC users, MS Windows Small Business Server 2008 is a cohesive server solution engineered to enable businesses make their data safer and make their workers more efficient.

MS Small Business Server 2008 is available in standard and premier editions. The basic edition features MS Windows 2008 Server, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft SharePoint Services, and Windows Server Update Services 3.0. The premier edition also includes MS SQL Server 2008.

Microsoft EBS 2008 is targeted for companies with as many as 75 users and offers IT administrators more control over their information system by eliminating complexity and automating many processes. With support for Windows Mobile phones, SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 can significantly help boost productivity by providing connectivity to corporate messaging, scheduling, addresses and information to users who are not at their desks. To see Microsoft's press release, visit Microsoft Introduces Windows SBS 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008.

How Progent's Certified Engineers Can Help You to Take Advantage of Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008
The optimal configuration of MS Windows SBS 2008 calls for a network support company with hands-on experience and a broad knowledge-base in designing and implementing data-driven end-to-end business IT applications. The background of Progent's Microsoft-certified technical group, with more than 10 years of working in Microsoft products, assures you results in designing, deploying and managing Small Business Server solutions that are thoroughly integrated with Microsoft's line of system and application servers.

Progent's consulting experts can assist you to deploy the major pieces of the Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 and Windows EBS 2008 bundles and can also offer a range of other low-cost support options to enhance the productivity, reliability, protection, speed, and maintainability of IT networks built around SBS 2008 or Windows EBS 2008:

Windows Server 2008 Planning and Support
Progent provides a variety of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 planning and maintenance support that can assist small organizations to get the most from Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft Gold certified consultants can assist your company to evaluate the ways Windows Server 2008 could enhance the business value of your network so that you can rationalize a migration. Progent can help you pilot Microsoft Windows Server 2008 so that you can assess its reliability, throughput, and operability running realistic workloads. Progent can provide consulting for developing a rollout plan, evaluate and enhance existing network infrastructure, document archiving and restoration procedures, analyze security mechanisms and guidelines, help in setting up actual and virtual machines, design fault-tolerant solutions including failover server clustering with Hyper-V, train your in-house network management team, and deploy automated round-the-clock monitoring processes to ensure your information system's security and efficiency.

Exchange Server Design, Configuration, and Maintenance Support
Progent's expert support team can help you define and deploy a smooth Microsoft Exchange 2007 migration plan that avoids productivity disruption, reduces ongoing support demands, and makes your Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 easy to manage. Progent's Exchange Server 2007 support, troubleshooting, and consulting offerings include assistance with the integration of outside vendor add-ons to Exchange 2007 Server and the creation of unified messaging solutions powered by Microsoft Exchange 2007 Server. Progent's services include integration with your business network, connectivity with handheld communication devices, automated tracking of performance and security, spam protection, security update and service pack management, Contact Center services, per-day backup, and full messaging administration services.

SharePoint Server Help
Progent can offer expertise for planning, deploying, and managing successful Microsoft SharePoint Server solutions that can dramatically improve key aspects of your organization's IT environment such as collaboration, intranet portal, enterprise search, forms-based business processes, access to actionable intelligence, and content management. Progent's Microsoft Gold certified engineers can assist your company to evaluate the business case for implementing Office SharePoint, provide setup and installation support, assist you to configure SQL Server 2008 as a back-end database, optimize your network architecture, set up your standard and custom business programs to work with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, create a company-wide protection plan that incorporates portal solutions, and provide online and on-site repair and Help Desk Call Center services.

SQL Server Design and Support
Progent's SQL Server experts can make sure your organization installs SQL Server 2008 efficiently, and that your SQL-based data management solution is integrated seamlessly with your applications. Progent can provide automated server tracking to make sure your corporate information system is healthy, and Progent's remote Help Desk Call Center is ready to offer quick remediation for SQL-related issues. Progent's certified network protection engineers can evaluate your business-wide security processes and technologies and suggest enhancements for better regulatory compliance. Progent's programmers can help your company to create or personalize business programs or eCommerce sites utilize information controlled by Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

PC Desktop Consulting and Support Services
Progent's Microsoft-certified desktop support experts offer a broad range of affordable services to help your business to install, integrate, troubleshoot, and manage workstations and laptops powered by Microsoft Windows. Progent can offer onsite or online technical support for individual computers or laptops or help your business to plan and carry out a company-wide migration to the newest version of Microsoft Windows. Progent can also configure Microsoft Office or Microsoft Dynamics programs on your client PCs so they integrate productively with all Microsoft programs, products from popular vendors, SQL databases, and key solutions throughout your network. Progent can also supply engineers and technicians to help your company to prepare for and implement an office relocation or consolidation organized to produce the least possible disruption of your business.

Security Inventory Bundles
Progent offers two low-cost service packages intended to enable small businesses to get a professional security assessment from a CISA, CISM and CISSP-certified security consultant. With Progent's External Security Inventory Scan, a security engineer runs a comprehensive test of your IT infrastructure from beyond your firewalled perimeter to determine possible weaknesses in the security posture you expose to the public. With Progent's Internal Network Security Inventory Checkup, a security expert runs a system scan from a secure machine within your company firewall to evaluate your exposure to internal threats. The two security inventory services are configured and run from a secured external location. The process is managed by a consultant with top security accreditations who generates a document that details and interprets the data collected by the security scan and proposes practical improvements where call for.

Virtual Instruction for Desktop Applications
Progent provides online virtual training for a range of desktop programs and environments including Office Excel, Word, Publisher, Project, Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Crystal Reports, and Windows Vista and Windows 7. Virtual training provides the advantages of conventional classroom sessions, including instant communication between clients and trainers, but eliminates the costs of travel and the challenge of attempting to synchronize the availability of multiple workers. Available to single students or groups of all sizes, live online instruction allows the instructor to run the class from a remote facility while the clients can be spread throughout an office or all over the country. Live online education supports powerful learning aids like virtual white boards, electronic hand-raising, and shared applications. Classes can be brief and targeted for specialized topics or longer in duration and wider in scope. Instructors and students can work through problems individually or as a class.

Urgent Remote Troubleshooting
Progent’s National Support Center offers national remote troubleshooting for Windows and Cisco-based small office IT networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Certified support engineers offer telephone support and remote secure computer connection to troubleshoot and repair network problems quickly and economically. The scope of IT expertise available from Progent's team of country-wide service engineers makes it possible to escalate even the most difficult problems to appropriate specialists as required.

To find out more information about Progent's consulting support for Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, phone 1-800-993-9400 or see Contact Progent.