Expanding your remote workforce can have a major impact on IT architecture, security/compliance, and corporate processes. Progent has 20 years of experience helping small and mid-size businesses to plan, deploy, administer, optimize, and troubleshoot IT networks that incorporate at-home workers. Progent can help your Colorado Springs company to pick the appropriate technologies and follow best practices in building and maintaining a secure virtual ecosystem for teleworkers that facilitates teamwork and returns top business value. Progent can provide services that go from on demand guidance for getting you past challenging technical bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you successfully complete mission-critical initiatives.

Progent's consultants can help Colorado Springs, Colorado companies to succeed with any facet of building a high-performing work-from-home ecosystem by delivering network infrastructure configuration services, IP voice expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud connectivity, Help Desk services, endpoint security, backup/restore solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Integrating the network infrastructure required for a remote work environment can be particularly complex if you must accommodate a combination of personal equipment like PCs and laptops, routers, and wireless appliances from an assortment of vendors and with a mix of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's background delivering remote help for both legacy and current technologies in virtual office solutions allows you to make cost-effective use of your existing infrastructure and provides you with fast access to expertise for implement necessary updates. Support services available from Progent to help you to implement a high-functioning work-at-home ecosystem include:

  • VPN connectivity makes it possible to create a safe tunnel for authorized remote workers to access IT resources located at your company data center or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist you to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your various IT resources by providing online VPN integration consulting. For businesses using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA consultants can assist your at-home workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software to provide secure VPN connections for a broad range of devices such as Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms allow an at-home worker to see and use a remote computer's desktop. This technology provides network managers more control over the digital environment of at-home employees and ensures them a familiar work experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers attach at-home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, home wireless connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier online support for setting up routers from a range of manufacturers. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wireless networks, often shared by the whole family and visitors, are commonly utilized by telecommuters to access their router for work. This can cause throughput and security problems. Progent can help businesses to resolve these problems by delivering services that include Cisco Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi access point integration assistance.
  • Internet access methods impact the speed and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Vital processes might require redundant Internet connections in the event the normal connection breaks. Progent offers expertise for identifying Internet service providers, choosing sensible bandwidth and data volume offerings, and integrating high-availability Internet connections. Refer to Internet connectivity integration services.

VoIP Solutions for Telecommuters
Expanding the business phone system to include teleworkers is critical to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based VoIP products are used by small and mid-size businesses to support remote users. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's modern or older platforms for IP voice management. Progent can assist organizations of any size to plan or tune a remote VoIP service that delivers the flexibility, transparency and security needed for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer advanced support to assist organizations tune their existing Cisco IP voice systems to support an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) delivers high-end IP telephony capabilities to devices like IP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and mixed media apps used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager manages additional combined media services like unified messaging, video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager support, visit CUCM consulting services.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent's consultants can help your company to maintain your existing CallManager deployment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older VoIP products, see CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with public telephony networks and with users operating outside the corporate perimeter such as at-home workers. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series as well as for current Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration consulting.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your WAN architecture to support these VoIP solutions and deliver on-demand configuration and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for an At-Home Workforce
A wide range of video conferencing platforms from major technology companies enable online meetings, video conferencing, chat sessions, and content sharing for both local users and telecommuters. Many organizations use multiple products to accommodate their different partners and clients. Progent can assist you to maintain your existing conferencing environment and optimize the engagement of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications product that enables real-time presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist you to deploy and manage Skype for Business client software to support your at-home workforce. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business consulting experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video phone app for compatible iOS and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime support as many as 32 simultaneous users for video sessions. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Offered via Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing granular content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based recording, plus editing and playback for training. For details about Progent's consulting services for Webex as well as 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 portal for conversations, contacts, and information with capabilities such as voice/video conferencing, threaded chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 products, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver integration and debugging services for these products and assist you to optimize your network architecture to run them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of applications that create a consistent user interface for exchanging information throughout a corporate network and on a broad range of endpoint devices. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their initial releases and can help businesses to deploy these critical 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 Integration Experts for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works with Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can enable chat, audio/video meetings that include screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and app sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (previously called Azure Active Directory) for delivering its full range of features. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit planning and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint Server Integration Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint uses web entities to promote collaboration and information delivery by offering policy-driven delivery of content, business processes, and tools for searching through company-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to create protected web portals that allows remote workers to see and edit aggregated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To learn about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, go to SharePoint integration and application development consulting.

Exchange Integration Consultants for At-Home WorkersExchange 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. To find out about Progent's Exchange support services, refer to deployment expertise for Exchange.

Onedrive Configuration Consultants for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home users can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers can retrieve them safely via a browser. Provided with Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows at-home employees to jointly author files. Revisions created offline are uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. For details about Progent's support services for OneDrive, see Onedrive configuration consulting.

Cloud Integration for Telecommuters
Progent offers fast and affordable online support for helping businesses to create, maintain and repair integrated hybrid network architectures that include physical data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, and cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help telecommuters fix issues with cloud access, identity, and security.

Azure Integration for TelecommutersMicrosoft Azure is a popular platform for public cloud software and services that enables you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and key apps running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure offers more than one hundred services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered VMs, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can assist you to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and design backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you create secure access to Azure for teleworkers by setting up and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting services for Azure, see Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of client productivity software and cloud services offered on a subscription basis. Microsoft applications and services are provided in a variety of bundles intended for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to large enterprises. Progent offers quick and easy remote contact with experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoints based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can help your business to evaluate the numerous subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your at-home workers to achieve maximum business value. For details about Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration services.

Exchange Online Integration Services for TeleworkersExchange Online is one of the most popular cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of reduced spending for data center infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high reliability, and additional advantages inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Exchange Online to run transparently with local Exchange environments, allowing customers to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's certified Exchange consultants can provide as-needed assistance to guide you past tough technical bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to make sure your remote workers have convenient and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. To learn Progent's support services for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Exchange Online configuration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for At-Home WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud market and is the world's leading provider of cloud services. Progent offers rapid and affordable online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can assist your business to plan, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises data centers and with other public clouds such as Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help your company to build a high-uptime network model so your employees have a consistent computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, from home, or on the road. To learn about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for TelecommutersGoogle Cloud Platform is a popular suite of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist your business to extend your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database experts can show you how to make your key apps cloud ready so your telecommuters can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can assist you to set up virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design an efficient storage solution with GCP Storage services, and simplify access management for remote workers with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also help you to utilize GCP's unified management tools to administer and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. For details, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting expertise.

Help Desk Support for Remote Workers
A rapid, company-wide switchover to a teleworker business model, which could be motivated by a pandemic or as part of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Call Desk. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for organizations to outsource or augment their Call Desk by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center team.

  • Progent's Standard Call Center services leverage Progent's nationwide network of online technical support experts along with world-class trouble ticketing and follow-up technology to provide an affordable, state-of-the-art Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide an end-to-end solution that handles all aspects of remote Level 1 desktop technical support from initial help requests to trouble ticket generation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables from-home workers to track or revise their current trouble tickets, enter information, and append screenshots or relevant files. Desktop support services are provided at a substantial price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 technical service rates, and Progent makes available optional rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to resolve complex issues. For details, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Call Desk Supplemental Service allows your business to expand your existing Call Desk organization by splitting delivery of Call Desk services transparently between your regular support organization and Progent's nationwide team of desktop support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service uses a co-sourcing support model utilizing the leading professional services automation tool for managing service requests and trouble tickets, assigning ownership, monitoring progress, and generating reports. To learn how Progent's Support Desk Supplementation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class desktop support to your at-home workforce, go to Progent's Help Desk Call Center supplementation Services.

Security and Compliance for Remote Workers
Work-from-Home staff members typically use their own computing devices and usually operate in an unsecured physical space. This increases their vulnerability to malware threats and calls for careful configuration of firewalls, AV tools, multi-factor authentication, remote endpoint monitoring, extensive user training, and the creation of security policies built on leading practices. Progent's veteran group of IT security support experts can help your business to design, deploy and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that protects vital information assets in networks that incorporate at-home workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable companies to build a network that can be securely accessed by local users as well as by at-home workers, mobile users, vendors, clients, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall appliances allow you to configure and control appropriate access rights to various groups of users and to scale your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your company evolves and as network attacks become increasingly sophisticated. Progent works with both new and older firewall appliances from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall configuration services, go to firewall configuration and support services.

Remote Security Monitoring and Management for At-Home WorkersOnline Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the various devices utilized by at-home workers and either block or spot and mitigate modern cyber attacks such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight software agent is put on every protected endpoint device, watching all activity and using advanced AI technology from SentinelOne to identify new threats at inception. When an attack is discovered, ProSight ASM immediately isolates the infected endpoint device from the network to quarantine the malware. Since the ProSight ASM agent is self-contained, endpoint devices remain secure even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To learn more about ProSight ASM, go to remote endpoint monitoring for remote workers.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo authentication Services incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation with Apple iOS, Android, and other personal devices. With Duo 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected application and enter your password you are asked to verify who you are on a unit that only you have and that is accessed using a different network channel. A wide selection of devices can be utilized as this second form of authentication including a smartphone or wearable, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may register several validation devices. For details about ProSight Duo identity validation services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for at-home workers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your network to all types of outside and local security threats for a network that incorporates telecommuters. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity inventory scanning for rapidly and economically uncovering a broad range of security gaps that can be found over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment experts, which can be managed by network security experts with advanced credentials such as CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist your business to audit your procedures and policies and assess your network infrastructure to enable you to design the highest level of protection for your remote workers.

NodeZero Pen Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports automated threat assessment of your at-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can uncover, prioritize, remediate, and confirm security weaknesses before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent's pentest experts can assist you to use NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your current security profile. Progent can also assist you to strengthen your existing network security and can assist you to design and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and delivers maximum protection for on-premises, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To learn more details about Progent's vulnerability analysis services based on on NodeZero's penetration test platform, see Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Environment
To view or download a white paper about key things to focus on for protecting an IT environment that supports telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Teleworkers
The field of Data Protection covers backing up and restoring critical data so as to avoid data loss and minimize recovery time and effort in the event of storage system failures due to equipment issues, software hiccups, human mistakes, cyber attack, or other causes. Dependable data protection solutions can be especially difficult to design and manage in hybrid environments that combine local data centers, public clouds, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Recovery solutions for at-home workers must cover multiple types of user-owned endpoints. Progent offers quick online access to experts familiar with a broad array of products for backing up Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iOS and Android tablets and handhelds. Leading backup/restore solutions supported by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect resources distributed across a hybrid network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery service that uses cloud-based storage and includes granular restore and unified management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies typically envision scenarios that call for a rapid switch to an at-home workforce. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity consultants can assist you to develop, document and test a DR/BC plan that includes the process of moving to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management products under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager offers a unified platform for protecting corporate data by controlling on-premises, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing mobile computers and software. Remote endpoint computers can be user owned or business owned. Network admins managing the endpoint devices of teleworkers can use Intune to deploy and authenticate applications on devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for permission to access information and resources, set passwords, establish VPN connections, determine how teleworkers share data, establish threat protection, ensure compliance, and erase corporate data from missing, stolen or deactivated devices. Microsoft Intune works with iOS/iPadOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. To learn about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use this platform to manage the endpoint computers of your telecommuters, see Intune telecommuter endpoint management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified MDM product that helps network managers to keep off-premises endpoint devices up to date and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for access control, application management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment via a perpetual license. Key features of Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air provisioning of new notebooks, quick onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, aggregated reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. For information about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE mobile device management expertise.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To contact Progent about creating and maintaining a productive telecommuter environment for your Colorado Springs, Colorado company, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.