Technology News and Progent Solutions

Microsoft unveiled the 2008 release of Small Business Server and Windows Essential Business Server (EBS 2008). Microsoft's solutions bring the capabilities of Microsoft's enterprise-grade server platforms to smaller companies in an economical bundle. Intended for businesses with as many as 75 PC users, MS Windows SBS is a cohesive server platform engineered to enable businesses keep their data safer and make their organization more efficient.

MS SBS 2008 is available in basic and premier versions. The standard edition includes MS Windows Server 2008, Exchange 2007 Server, Microsoft SharePoint Services, and Windows Server Update Services 3.0. The premium edition adds Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

Windows EBS 2008 is designed for businesses with up to 75 desktops and offers network administrators easier manageability of their environment by reducing complexity and streamlining many tasks. With support for Windows Mobile phones, SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 can significantly help boost productivity by providing access to business messaging, calendars, contacts and information to users who are not at their desks. To see Microsoft's press release, refer to Microsoft Unveils SBS 2008 and EBS 2008.

How Progent's Consulting Engineers Can Help Your Business to Get the Most Out of MS Windows SBS
The optimal configuration of MS Windows SBS calls for a network consulting firm with real-world expertise and an extensive knowledge-base in designing and building data-driven strategic business technology applications. The experience of Progent's Microsoft-authorized consulting team, with an average of over 10 years of working in Microsoft products, ensures you success in planning, executing and administering Small Business Server applications that are well integrated with Microsoft's product family of servers.

Progent's consulting experts can assist your company to deploy the main pieces of the Microsoft Small Business Server and Essential Business Server 2008 bundles and can also provide a range of other affordable services to improve the productivity, dependability, protection, speed, and manageability of information networks based on Windows SBS 2008 or Essential Business Server 2008:

Windows Server 2008 Expertise
Progent provides a range of Windows Server 2008 planning and integration support that can help small companies to benefit from Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can assist you to evaluate the areas where Windows Server 2008 could enhance the business value of your information network in order to rationalize a migration. Progent can show you how to test Microsoft Windows Server 2008 in order to determine its stability, speed, and compatibility running realistic applications. Progent can assist with developing a deployment plan, assess and improve your current network infrastructure, develop archiving and recovery processes, evaluate security architecture and guidelines, assist in integrating actual and virtual servers, develop fault-tolerant strategies including server and storage clustering, train your internal IT management staff, and deploy automated server monitoring operations to track your information system's protection and performance.

Microsoft Exchange Server Planning, Installation, and Maintenance Services
Progent's expert support team can show you how to define and deploy a smooth Microsoft Exchange 2007 migration plan that minimizes productivity disruption, reduces ongoing service demands, and makes your Exchange 2007 Server easy to administer. Progent's Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 support, troubleshooting, and consulting offerings include assistance with the configuration of outside vendor add-ons to Exchange Server 2007 and the creation of unified messaging implementations powered by Microsoft Exchange 2007 Server. Services feature complete incorporation with your network, connectivity with handheld computing products, continual tracking of efficiency and security, spam filtering, security update and revision control, Contact Center services, daily backup, and comprehensive email management services.

Microsoft SharePoint Server Help
Progent can offer expertise for designing, configuring, and managing successful Microsoft SharePoint Server solutions that will significantly enhance key aspects of your IT network such as collaboration, web portal, company-wide search, forms-driven business processes, access to management information, and content management. Progent's Microsoft-qualified consultants can assist your company to evaluate the business benefit for deploying SharePoint Server 2007, provide configuration and installation support, help you to set up SQL Server 2008 as a back-office database, optimize your network architecture, set up your standard and specialized application software to work with Office SharePoint Server 2007, create a comprehensive security strategy that incorporates web portal solutions, and deliver online and on-site repair and Help Desk Call Center support.

Microsoft SQL Server Integration and Maintenance
Progent's SQL Server consultants can make sure your company configures SQL 2008 properly, and that your SQL Server RDBM system is integrated seamlessly with your application software. Progent offers 24x7 network tracking to make sure your corporate network is healthy, and Progent's remote Help Desk Call Center is ready to provide fast solutions for SQL database issues. Progent's certified computer security consultants can assess your business-wide security policies and mechanisms and recommend enhancements for more complete protection. Progent's developers can assist you to develop or customize business programs or eCommerce sites utilize databases managed by SQL Server.

Desktop Support Services
Progent's certified desktop support consultants can deliver a wide range of affordable services to help you business to deploy, integrate, troubleshoot, and administer desktop PCs and laptops based on Microsoft Windows. Progent can offer onsite or remote help for single machines or notebooks or work with your business to design and carry out a company-wide migration to the newest version of Microsoft Windows. Progent can also install Microsoft Office or Microsoft Dynamics business applications on your workstations so they integrate productively with all Microsoft applications, products from popular vendors, database servers, and key solutions network-wide. Progent can also supply engineers and technicians to help your company to plan for and implement a site move or merger organized to cause minimal interruption to your business.

Network Security Inventory Packages
Progent has put together two low-cost service packages intended to allow small companies to get an objective network security assessment from a CISA, CISM and CISSP-certified security engineer. With Progent's External Network Security Inventory Checkup, a security expert runs a comprehensive examination of your network from beyond your company firewall to determine possible risks in the security profile you expose to the public. With Progent's Internal Security Inventory Checkup, a certified security professional executes a system scan from an authorized machine inside your firewall to uncover your exposure to inside attacks. The two security inventory services are configured and run from a secured external location. The project is implemented by a consultant who has earned high-level security accreditations who produces a report that details and analyzes the data captured by the security scan and suggests practical remediation if appropriate.

Live Virtual Learning for Workstation Programs
Progent offers online virtual training for an array of client applications and operating systems including Excel, Word, Publisher, Project, Acrobat Writer, Photoshop, Crystal Reports, and Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7. Live online education offers all the advantages of conventional in-person seminars, including instant interaction between students and teachers, but avoids the expenses of transportation and the hassle of trying to synchronize the schedules of many trainees. Available to single students or classes of all sizes, virtual learning allows the teacher to conduct the class from an online facility and the clients can be spread throughout an office or across the the U.S. Live online education deploys proven learning aids like virtual white boards, electronic hand-raising, and shared desktops. Sessions can be brief and personalized for specific topics or longer in duration and broader in scope. Teachers and clients can go through examples individually or as a class.

Urgent Online Troubleshooting
Progent's Technical Response Center provides nationwide remote assistance for Windows and Cisco-based small business computer networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Premier service professionals offer telephone support and remote secure computer access to troubleshoot and repair technical problems rapidly and economically. The breadth of technical expertise available from Progent's team of country-wide support engineers makes it possible to escalate even the most difficult problems to competent experts as needed.

For additional details about Progent's consulting services for Windows SBS, call 1-800-993-9400 or see Contact Progent.