Network Support for Medium-size Businesses

Enlarging your at-home workforce may have a significant effect on IT infrastructure, security, and company processes. Progent has 20 years of background assisting businesses of all sizes to plan, deploy, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot IT networks that incorporate work-from-home employees. Progent can assist your organization to select the appropriate tools and adhere to leading practices in creating and maintaining a secure virtual ecosystem for telecommuters that promotes teamwork and returns top value. Progent offers services ranging from as-needed expertise for helping you past challenging technical roadblocks to full project management or co-management to help you successfully complete mission-critical tasks.

Progent can help you to succeed with any facet of building a high-performing work-at-home ecosystem by providing infrastructure configuration services, IP voice expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, helpdesk services, data security, backup/restore solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Configuring the physical and software infrastructure needed for a remote work environment can be especially complicated if you have to manage a combination of worker-owned hardware like PCs and notebooks, Internet routers, and wireless APs from various manufacturers and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's experience providing remote support for both outdated as well as modern IT products in virtual office solutions allows you to make efficient use of your available infrastructure and offers ready access to top-tire consultants for implement essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to assist you to create a productive work-at-home ecosystem include:

• VPN technology allows you to establish a safe tunnel for authorized remote employees to use IT assets situated at your company datacenter or in the cloud. Progent can assist you to configure and maintain VPN access between your at-home workforce and your key IT resources by providing online VPN integration consulting. For businesses using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA consultants can assist your remote workers to set up Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software to provide secure VPN tunneling for a wide range of endpoint devices including Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products enable a teleworker to see and use a remote PC's desktop. This gives IT managers significant control over the digital ecosystem of telecommuters and offers remote users a familiar experience. Progent's VDI consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
• Routers connect home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, home wireless connectivity, and firewall services. Progent offers top-tier remote support for integrating home routers from all major vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wireless networks, often shared by an entire household and visitors, are commonly used by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can create performance and security problems. Progent can assist you to resolve these problems by delivering services like Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless installation consulting, and Ubiquiti wireless access point setup help.
• Internet connectivity solutions impact the performance and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the company data center. Business-critical processes may require backup Internet access in the event the normal connection breaks. Progent offers guidance for picking Internet service providers, picking sensible service bundles, and integrating fault-tolerant Internet connections. Refer to Internet access solutions.

VoIP Solutions for Remote Workers
Extending the business phone environment to include teleworkers is critical to maintaining a productive at-home workforce. A broad range of cloud-based IP voice platforms are used by small and mid-size businesses to server remote users. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's modern or legacy platforms for VoIP solutions. Progent can assist businesses of any size to design or tune a telecommuter VoIP environment that provides the flexibility, transparency and protection required for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts can provide advanced support to help businesses optimize their current Cisco VoIP environments to support an expanding remote workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) delivers enterprise IP telephony features to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia apps used across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports additional combined media services such as messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, refer to Cisco Unified CM consulting services.
• CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent can assist your company to maintain your current CallManager environment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. To learn about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other early VoIP platforms, visit CallManager consulting.
• Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with public telephony networks and with users operating beyond the corporate firewall like telecommuters. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines as well as for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration consulting.
• Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your wide area network architecture to work with these VoIP solutions and provide online deployment and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A wide range of video conferencing products from leading technology companies support online meetings, video conferencing, chat sessions, and content sharing for both onsite workers and teleworkers. Many companies utilize multiple conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can help you to manage your existing voice/video conferencing environment and enhance the engagement of your at-home employees.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications product that enables real-time presence, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent offers the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help your company to set up and maintain Skype for Business client software to accommodate your at-home employees. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration experts.
• FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone platform for compatible iOS and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime works over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer editions of FaceTime support as many as 32 simultaneous users for video calls. To learn more about Progent's support services for FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing granular content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus revision and playback for training. To learn more about Progent's support services for Webex and for other video conferencing products from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
• Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a hub for conversations, contacts, and content with capabilities that include voice/video conferencing, threaded chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Teams as well as for other Microsoft 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Other Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and debugging expertise for these products and assist you to optimize your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 families, providing a rich environment of productivity apps that create a consistent user experience for sharing data and ideas throughout a corporate network and on a wide selection of endpoint devices. Progent has provided online consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their first releases and can help your company to configure these flagship collaboration platforms to optimize the productivity of your remote workforce.

Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office suite, providing a rich ecosystem of applications that deliver a consistent user experience for sharing information across multiple sites and on a wide variety of endpoint devices. Progent has provided remote consulting services for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial releases and can help at-home workers set up and use these flagship collaboration platforms to maximize productivity.

Microsoft Teams works on top of Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration. Designed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can enable chat, video meetings that include screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (formerly branded Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of features. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams, visit solution design and configuration expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint utilizes web sites to allow collaboration and information delivery by providing policy-driven access to content, business processes, and tools for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to create secure web portals that allows remote workers to see and edit consolidated corporate intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To learn about Progent's SharePoint consulting services, see SharePoint configuration and development expertise.

Exchange and Exchange Online offer secure collaboration features including public folders, shared mailboxes, and shared calendars and contacts. Progent's Microsoft certified Exchange experts can show you how to activate and utilize these features for your at-home workers. For details about Progent's Exchange consulting services, visit integration consulting services for Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can store files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers anywhere can access them safely via a web browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive enables home employees to co-edit documents. Edits made offline are automatically synced when you go back online. For details about Progent's support services for OneDrive, refer to Onedrive configuration experts.

Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent offers affordable online assistance for enabling organizations to build, manage and optimize integrated hybrid network architectures that include internal data centers, remote workers, branch offices, plus cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of public cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with cloud access, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Azure is a popular family of cloud software and services that allows you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and key apps running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure features over one hundred cloud-based services including hosting for Windows and Linux-powered VMs, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure Active Directory, and plan data backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish protected access to Azure services for remote workers by configuring and debugging firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Azure, go to Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of client productivity applications and cloud-based services offered by subscription. Office applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of bundles designed for users ranging from individuals and households to major corporations. Progent offers quick and affordable online contact with consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible clients running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can help you to evaluate the numerous subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your telecommuters in a way that delivers top business value. To learn about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, see Microsoft 365 integration expertise.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most popular cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Exchange Online offers the advantages of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and additional benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to run smoothly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing you to create hybrid information systems. Progent's Exchange experts are available for as-needed help to get you through challenging IT roadblocks and also offer comprehensive project management services to ensure your teleworkers have easy and secure access to your Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's consulting expertise for Exchange Online, visit Exchange Online configuration and support consulting.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud computing market and is the world's biggest source of cloud services. Progent can provide quick and affordable online access to cloud connectivity experts who can help your business to design, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local data centers and with other popular cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to build a high-availability network architecture to make sure your users have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the road. For information about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, refer to Amazon AWS integration expertise.

Google Cloud Platform is a popular set of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist your organization to extend your current IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA consultants can show you how to make your mission-critical applications cloud friendly so your remote workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist you to set up virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage system with GCP Storage, and simplify identity management for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also assist your business to utilize GCP's unified management technology to control and track your GCP ecosystem. To find out, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration support.

Help Desk Services for Teleworkers
A rapid, enterprise-wide switchover to a telecommuter workforce, which might be driven by an epidemic or as an element of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Call Desk. Progent's Help Desk services allow organizations to outsource or augment their Help Desk Call Center with Progent's remote Technical Response Center services.

• Progent's Standard Help Desk support services leverage Progent's extensive team of remote IT support specialists combined with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking software to offer an affordable, advanced Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that handles all aspects of online Level 1 PC technical support from initial help requests through ticket generation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables from-home workers to track or update their current trouble tickets, enter information, and upload screen captures or attachments. Technical support services are provided at a substantial discount off Progent's ordinary Level 1 desktop support rates, and Progent offers optional fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to resolve advanced problems. For details, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small businesses.
• Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Service enables your business to supplement your existing Call Center team by splitting responsibilities for Call Desk services seamlessly between your regular IT support organization and Progent's extensive roster of desktop support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Help Desk service uses a collaborative support model based on the number one professional services automation tool for handling help requests and ticketing, establishing responsibility, monitoring progress, and producing reports. To learn how Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Services can help your business to provide world-class desktop support to your teleworkers, see Progent's Call Center augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home workers commonly use their personal computers and usually operate in a poorly secured physical area. This situation multiplies their susceptibility to malware attacks and requires judicious deployment of corporate firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, intensive end-user education, and the creation of policies based on best practices. Progent's seasoned group of cybersecurity solutions consultants can help your business to plan, implement and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that protects critical information assets in networks that include at-home workers.

Firewalls allow companies to create a network environment that can be securely utilized by local users as well as by teleworkers, mobile users, vendors, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall devices allow you to configure and control different access rights to different groups of users and to scale your network and adjust your security as your business evolves and as cyber threats grow more complex. Progent works with both current and legacy security devices from all major vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall integration expertise, refer to firewall integration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the various computers used by at-home workers and either block or spot and mitigate modern cyber attacks such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint agent is put on each protected endpoint device, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify new attacks before they can spread. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight ASM instantly isolates the targeted endpoint from the network to quarantine the threat. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoints remain secure even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight ASM, see remote endpoint security monitoring for remote workers.

Progent's Duo MFA Managed Services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo enables one-tap identity verification on iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. With Duo 2FA, when you log into a secured online account and give your password you are requested to verify who you are on a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be used for this added means of authentication such as a smartphone or watch, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You can register several verification devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, refer to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for teleworkers.

Security Audits can evaluate the vulnerability of your network to all types of external and local security attacks for a network that includes teleworkers. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity inventory software for quickly and affordably uncovering a wide variety of security gaps that can be found via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit experts, which can be managed by data security professionals with advanced certifications such as CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help your company to audit your processes and governance policies and assess your IT infrastructure to allow you to implement the highest level of protection for your remote workers.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a breakthrough penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver autonomous testing of your work-from-home connectivity solution and your internal and perimeter networks so you can identify, rank, fix, and verify security vulnerabilities before threat actors can take advantage of them. Progent's pentest experts can help you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your present security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also help you to harden your network security and can help you to plan and implement a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and delivers maximum protection for on-prem, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT resources. To learn additional information about Progent's vulnerability analysis solutions powered by on NodeZero's penetration test products, refer to Consulting Support for NodeZero's Pentest Products.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Environment
To view or download a white paper describing critical areas to concentrate on for securing a network that includes telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for Telecommuters
Data Protection covers saving and recovering critical information in order to avoid data loss and reduce restoration time and effort in the event of storage problems resulting from hardware breakdowns, software glitches, operator error, cyber attack, or any other reason. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially difficult to architect and maintain in hybrid environments that incorporate local data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

• Backup/Recovery solutions for an at-home workforce must cover diverse types of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent offers quick online access to experts knowledgeable about a broad range of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktops as well as laptops, tablets and smartphones. Popular backup/recovery products supported by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect resources distributed throughout a hybrid network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a managed backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud-based storage and features fine-grained restore and unified management capabilities.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) strategies often envision circumstances that call for a temporary changeover to an at-home workforce. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity planning consultants can assist your business to develop, document and validate a DR/BC plan that addresses the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Telecommuters
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing local endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a unified solution for safeguarding critical data by managing onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing mobile computers and applications. Managed endpoint computers can be user owned or business owned. IT admins managing the endpoint devices of teleworkers can use Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for permission to access data and resources, manage passwords, create VPN connections, control how telecommuters share data, establish threat protection, verify compliance, and erase corporate data from lost, stolen or deactivated devices. Intune can be used with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS computers. For details about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to administer the endpoint devices of your at-home workforce, see Intune mobile endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified Mobile Device Management platform that allows network managers to keep offsite endpoint devices up to date and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint management plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery platform for access control, app management, and setup management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE operates with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-site deployment through a perpetual license. Top capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include fast remote deployment of new notebooks, quick onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of devices, aggregated management reporting and analytics, email encryption, and integration with Microsoft applications and cloud products. To learn about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To contact Progent about building and maintaining an efficient work-from-home environment, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.