Expanding your telecommuter workforce may have a significant effect on IT infrastructure, security, and company processes. Progent has two decades of background helping small and mid-size businesses to design, configure, manage, optimize, and debug IT networks that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can assist your Garland company to pick the appropriate tools and adhere to leading practices in creating and operating a safe virtual ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes teamwork and returns maximum business value. Progent can provide support services ranging from on demand guidance for helping you past occasional technical roadblocks to comprehensive project management to help you carry out mission-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Garland, Texas organizations to succeed with any facet of creating a high-functioning work-from-home ecosystem by providing network infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud integration, helpdesk augmentation, endpoint security, data protection solutions, and unified management.

Network Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the network infrastructure needed to support a remote workforce can be especially complicated if you have to manage a combination of personal hardware such as PCs and notebooks, routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from various manufacturers and with a mix of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's experience delivering online help for both legacy and current technologies in virtual office venues allows you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and offers fast access to expertise for implement essential updates. Support services available from Progent to help your company to implement a productive telecommuting infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network connectivity makes it possible to create a safe tunnel for authenticated at-home workers to use IT assets located at your corporate datacenter or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist you to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your key network resources by providing remote VPN configuration consulting. For organizations with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall consultants can help your at-home workers to set up Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software for secure VPN connections for a wide selection of devices such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms enable a teleworker to view and use a remote computer's desktop. This technology provides IT managers substantial control over the digital ecosystem of at-home employees and ensures remote users a familiar experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
  • Routers attach at-home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home wireless connectivity, and firewalls. Progent offers expert online consulting for setting up routers from all major vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically shared by families and guests, are commonly used by at-home employees to access their router for work. This can create performance as well as cybersecurity issues. Progent can assist businesses to mitigate these problems by providing services that include Cisco Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless deployment consulting, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi access point integration help.
  • Internet connectivity solutions impact the performance and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate network. Vital processes may demand backup Internet access in case the normal connection fails. Progent offers expertise for selecting ISPs, picking sensible bandwidth and data volume packages, and integrating high-availability Internet connections. See Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Solutions for Remote Workers
Expanding the corporate phone system to accommodate telecommuters is critical to supporting a productive work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based IP voice products are used by SMBs to server remote users. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's current or legacy platforms for IP voice management. Progent can help organizations of any size to design or maintain a telecommuter VoIP service that provides the versatility, transparency and protection required for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer high-level support to help organizations tune their current Cisco VoIP systems to support a growing at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) extends high-end telephony capabilities to devices like IP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia software used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager manages other mixed media services such as messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, see Cisco Unified CM consulting services.
  • CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing software and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent's consultants can assist your company to maintain your existing CallManager environment or migrate smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony products. To find out about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other legacy IP voice products, visit Cisco CallManager consulting services.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with users working beyond the corporate firewall like telecommuters. Progent offers consulting expertise for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products and for modern Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration expertise.
  • Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your WAN architecture to work with these VoIP solutions and deliver online integration and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for Remote Workers
A wide range of video conferencing products from major technology companies enable online discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both onsite workers and telecommuters. Many companies use a mix of products to accommodate their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist your organization to manage your current conferencing environment and optimize the experience of your at-home workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular unified communications platform that enables real-time presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the skills of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help you to set up and manage Skype for Business clients to support your at-home workforce. To learn more about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling app for iOS and macOS devices. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later editions of FaceTime support as many as 32 concurrent users for video sessions. For details about Progent's consulting services for FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for most computing devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex capabilities include sharing specific content or computer screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session capture, plus editing and playback for future reference. For details about Progent's support expertise for Webex as well as for other video conferencing solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conversations, contacts, and content with features that include video conferencing, persistent threaded chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver configuration and debugging expertise for these products and help you to optimize your network infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Platforms for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of applications that create a consistent user interface for exchanging data and ideas across multiple sites and on a broad selection of endpoints. Progent has provided online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange Server since their original publication and can assist businesses to tune these flagship collaboration platforms to optimize the effectiveness 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 and Teams Premium Solutions Experts for TelecommutersMicrosoft 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, audio/video meetings that include screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and application sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (previously called Azure Active Directory) for delivering its complete range of features. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams, visit solution design and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Integration Experts for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to allow collaboration and information sharing by providing policy-driven delivery of data, business processes, and utilities for searching through company-wide business data. SharePoint enables you to build secure web portals that allows remote workers to see and edit consolidated business intelligence by means of Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. For information about Progent's SharePoint consulting services, see SharePoint integration and application development expertise.

Exchange Integration Consultants for Remote 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. For details about Progent's Exchange support services, go to planning and configuration consulting for Microsoft Exchange.

Onedrive Configuration Consultants for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud file hosting and synchronization service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home users can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can retrieve them securely via a web browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive allows home workers to jointly author files. Revisions made offline are synced when you reconnect to the Internet. For information about Progent's expertise for OneDrive, refer to Microsoft Onedrive integration consulting.

Cloud Integration for Telecommuters
Progent can provide affordable remote assistance for helping organizations to create, maintain and optimize cohesive network architectures that incorporate internal data centers, remote workers, branches, plus cloud resources. Progent offers expertise for all modes of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help teleworkers resolve problems with cloud access, identity, and security.

Azure Integration Services for TelecommutersAzure is a popular platform for cloud services that enables you to use IT infrastructure, servers, and key applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure includes over one hundred cloud-based services such as hosting for Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure Active Directory, and plan data backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you create secure access to Azure services for at-home workers by setting up and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Azure, see Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of client productivity software and cloud services offered by subscription. Microsoft applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of bundles designed for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to major enterprises. Progent offers quick and easy online access to consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible clients running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can assist you to evaluate the numerous subscription plans offered with Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your telecommuters in a way that delivers top business value. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration expertise.

Exchange Online Integration for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most popular cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the advantages of reduced costs for physical infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high reliability, and other benefits inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with local deployments of Exchange, allowing customers to create hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide as-needed help to get you past tough technical bottlenecks and also offer end-to-end project management services to make sure your remote workers have convenient and secure access to your Exchange Online deployment. For information Progent's support services for Exchange Online, go to Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and support consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration for At-Home WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud market and is the industry's leading source of cloud-based services. Progent can provide rapid and affordable online access to cloud integration experts who can assist your organization to plan, implement, manage, and debug hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with local resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to create a high-uptime network architecture to make sure your employees have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your headquarters, a remote branch, at home, or on the move. To learn about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS consulting services.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform is a leading set of public cloud services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist your organization to scale your current IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA consultants can help you make your critical apps cloud ready so your at-home workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud services. Progent's consultants can help your organization to deploy VMs on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design an efficient storage system with GCP Storage, and simplify identity control for telecommuters with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also help you to use GCP's unified management technology to control and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. To learn, go to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting services.

Help Desk Support for Telecommuters
An emergency, organization-wide switchover to a telecommuter workforce, which could be driven by an epidemic or as an element of a business continuity plan, can overstretch even a high-performing internal Help Desk. Progent's Call Center services make it possible for organizations to outsource or augment their Call Center by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) services.

  • Progent's Standard Call Center services leverage Progent's extensive network of online technical support experts along with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking technology to provide an economical, modern Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that addresses all facets of remote Level 1 desktop support from service requests through ticket generation, screen sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables telecommuters to track or edit their active tickets, add details, and append screen captures and relevant files. Desktop support services are provided at a substantial discount off Progent's normal Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent makes available the option of rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to deal with advanced issues. To learn more, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Call Center Augmentation Service enables you to expand your current Call Center staff by sharing responsibilities for Help Desk support seamlessly between your regular IT support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of desktop support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Call Center service uses a co-sourcing support model utilizing the number one professional services automation (PSA) tool for managing service requests and ticketing, establishing ownership, monitoring progress, and producing reports. To learn how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplementation Services can help your business to deliver world-class IT support to your telecommuters, go to Progent's Call Desk supplementation Services.

Security for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home (WFH) workers commonly use their personal computers and usually operate in a poorly secured physical environment. This situation multiplies their susceptibility to cyber threats and calls for judicious deployment of firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, extensive user education, and the development of security policies built on best practices. Progent's seasoned team of IT security support consultants can assist your business to plan, deploy and maintain an effective security solution that guards vital IT assets in environments that include at-home workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable companies to create a network that can be safely utilized by local users and by telecommuters, mobile employees, suppliers, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall appliances permit you to assign and control appropriate permissions to various groups of users and to expand your IT network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your company evolves and as network attacks become more sophisticated. Progent works with both new and legacy firewall appliances from all leading manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall integration services, refer to firewall configuration and support services.

Remote Security Monitoring and Management Services for TeleworkersOnline Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the disparate devices utilized by remote workers and either reject or spot and respond to modern cyber attacks like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint agent is installed on every protected endpoint, watching all activity and using advanced AI technology from SentinelOne to detect zero-day attacks at inception. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately isolates the impacted endpoint device from the corporate network to contain the threat. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is self-contained, endpoints remain protected even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, visit remote endpoint security monitoring for at-home workers.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo MFA Services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to defend against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo enables one-tap identity confirmation on Apple iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using Duo 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are asked to confirm your identity on a unit that only you have and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this second form of ID validation such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You can register several verification devices. For more information about ProSight Duo two-factor identity validation services, go to Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for remote workers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the exposure of your information system to all classes of external and local security threats for an environment that includes remote workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity analysis scanning for rapidly and economically detecting a broad range of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's security assessment experts, which can be provided by network security experts with top credentials including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your business to audit your procedures and policies and assess your IT architecture to allow you to implement top-level security for your telecommuters.

NodeZero Pentetration Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver autonomous testing of your work-from-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks to help you uncover, rank, fix, and confirm cybersecurity vulnerabilities before threat actors can exploit them. Progent can help you to use NodeZero to carry out comprehensive penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can evaluate your current security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also assist you to strengthen your network security and can assist you to design and implement a unified cybersecurity strategy that streamlines management and provides maximum protection for on-premises, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To find out additional information about Progent's vulnerability analysis solutions powered by on NodeZero's penetration test platform, refer to Consulting Services for NodeZero's Pentest Products.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment
To read or download a white paper describing key areas to concentrate on for protecting a network that supports telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for Telecommuters
The field of Data Protection covers saving and recovering critical data in order to avoid data loss and minimize restoration time in case of storage system failures due to hardware breakdowns, programming glitches, operator mistakes, cyber attack, or other causes. Dependable data protection solutions can be particularly challenging to architect and manage in hybrid networks that combine private data centers, public clouds, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Restore strategies for telecommuters must cover diverse kinds of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent can provide fast online access to consultants familiar with a wide range of products for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Popular backup/restore solutions supported by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect data spread across a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud-based storage and features granular recovery and centralized management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans commonly anticipate scenarios that require a temporary switch to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity planning specialists can help your business to develop, document and test a DR/BC strategy that addresses the process of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Telecommuters
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud-based management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Endpoint Manager provides a unified platform for safeguarding corporate information by managing local, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting off-premises computers and applications. Remote endpoint computers can be user owned or company owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of telecommuters can use Intune to provision and validate apps on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure policies for accessing data and networks, set passwords, establish VPN connections, determine how home-based workers share data, set up threat defense, ensure compliance, and wipe sensitive data from lost, stolen or decommissioned devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with iOS/iPadOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS endpoints. For information about Intune and how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to administer the devices of your teleworkers, see Intune telecommuter device management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified MDM product that allows network administrators to keep offsite endpoints up to date and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for centralized endpoint management plus VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for authorization control, application management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises deployment through a perpetual license. Key capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid remote deployment of new laptops, immediate onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of devices, unifies management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based services. To find out about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE remote device management consultants.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Expertise
To contact Progent about building and managing a productive telecommuter environment for your Garland, Texas business, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.