Expanding your remote workforce may have a major impact on IT architecture, security/compliance, and company culture. Progent has two decades of experience helping small and mid-size businesses to design, deploy, administer, optimize, and debug IT networks that support work-from-home employees. Progent can help your Fort Collins organization to select the right technologies and adhere to leading practices in building and operating a secure virtual office ecosystem for teleworkers that facilitates teamwork and returns maximum business value. Progent can provide support services that go from on demand guidance for helping you over occasional IT roadblocks to full project management or co-management to help you successfully complete mission-critical tasks.

Progent can help Fort Collins, Colorado businesses to succeed with any facet of building a high-performing work-from-home ecosystem by providing network infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing integration, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud connectivity, helpdesk outsourcing, cybersecurity, backup/restore solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Integrating the physical and software infrastructure required to support a remote workforce can be especially complex if you must manage a mix of personal equipment like PCs and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from an assortment of manufacturers and with a variety of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's background providing remote support for both outdated as well as modern technologies in remote office solutions enables you to make efficient use of your available network infrastructure and provides you with ready access to expertise for implement essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to assist your company to create a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network connectivity allows you to create a secure tunnel for authorized at-home workers to access IT assets situated at your company data center or in the cloud. Progent can help your company to deploy and maintain VPN access between your at-home workforce and your key network resources by providing online VPN integration support. For organizations using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall consultants can assist your at-home workers to set up Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software for secure VPN tunneling for a broad range of devices such as Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products allow a telecommuter to view and use a data center PC's desktop. This gives network managers significant control over the digital ecosystem of telecommuters and ensures them a familiar experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
  • Routers connect home computer networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent offers top-tier online consulting for configuring home routers from all major manufacturers. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, typically supporting families and visitors, are frequently used by at-home employees to access their router for work. This can create performance as well as security problems. Progent can help businesses to resolve these issues by providing expertise like Cisco Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki WiFi installation expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi AP integration assistance.
  • Internet access methods affect the performance and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the company data center. Business-critical applications might require redundant Internet access in case the normal connection breaks. Progent offers guidance for picking ISPs, picking appropriate bandwidth and data volume packages, and integrating redundant Internet connections. See Internet access integration services.

VoIP Integration for an At-Home Workforce
Extending the corporate PBX environment to include teleworkers is vital to maintaining a productive at-home workforce. A broad range of cloud-based VoIP platforms are used by small and mid-size businesses to support remote users. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's current or legacy platforms for VoIP management. Progent can assist organizations of all sizes to design or tune a remote VoIP service that delivers the versatility, transparency and security needed for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts offer high-level support to help organizations tune their existing Cisco IP voice environments to support an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) delivers enterprise telephony features to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia applications deployed throughout the network. CUCM manages other combined media services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager expertise, refer to Cisco Unified Communications Manager consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing software and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent's consultants can assist you to support your current CallManager deployment or migrate smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy VoIP products, visit CallManager consulting services.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with public telephony networks and with users working beyond the corporate firewall such as at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for current Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration consulting.
  • Other VoIP Products supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your WAN architecture to work with these solutions and provide as-needed configuration and troubleshooting services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A wide selection of video conferencing platforms from leading vendors support virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen/content sharing for both local workers and at-home workers. Many companies use multiple conferencing products to meet the needs of their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist you to maintain your current voice/video conferencing environment and enhance the experience of your at-home employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications product that supports presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing as well as the transparent 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 you to set up and manage Skype for Business clients to accommodate your at-home workforce. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video calling app for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current editions of FaceTime support up to 32 simultaneous users for voice/video sessions. For details about Progent's consulting services for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Delivered via Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session recording, plus editing and playback for future reference. For details about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex as well as for other video conferencing products from Cisco, see Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a portal for conferencing, contacts, and information with capabilities such as voice/video conferencing, persistent chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 apps, see Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver integration and debugging services for these products and help you to tune your network architecture to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Software for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of applications that deliver a consistent user experience for sharing information throughout a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoints. Progent has delivered online consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their first publication and can assist businesses to deploy these critical collaboration products to optimize the productivity of your at-home workers.

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. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can support chat, video meetings with screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and app sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (previously branded Azure Active Directory) for delivering its complete range of features. For additional information about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams, visit planning and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Server Deployment Experts for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to allow collaboration and information delivery by providing policy-based access to content, workflow, and tools for searching through company-wide information silos. SharePoint enables you to create secure portals that permits remote workers to view and edit aggregated business intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For information about Progent's SharePoint support services, visit SharePoint integration and application development expertise.

Exchange Configuration Experts 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 information about Progent's Exchange expertise, go to planning and configuration consulting for Exchange.

Microsoft Onedrive Deployment Consultants for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can access them securely through a web browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive allows home employees to co-author documents. Revisions created offline are automatically uploaded when you go back online. For information about Progent's support services for Microsoft OneDrive, refer to Microsoft Onedrive integration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for At-Home Workers
Progent offers affordable remote support for helping businesses to create, maintain and optimize integrated network models that combine internal data centers, at-home workers, branches, and public cloud services. Progent offers expertise for all types of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with public cloud access, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration Services for TeleworkersAzure is a popular family of public cloud services that enables you to use IT infrastructure, servers, and key applications running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure offers over 100 cloud-based services such as hosting for Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can assist you to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure Active Directory, and plan data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish secure connections to Azure for remote workers by configuring and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. To learn about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Azure, go to Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of client productivity applications and cloud services available by subscription. Office apps and cloud services are provided in a selection of plans designed for users ranging from individuals and households to major corporations. Progent can provide fast and easy remote access to experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible client devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can help your business to assess the numerous subscription plans offered with Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your at-home workers in a way that delivers maximum business value. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 integration services.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration for TeleworkersExchange Online is one of the most popular cloud-based applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of reduced spending for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other advantages inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing you to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's Exchange experts are available for occasional assistance to get you past tough technical bottlenecks and can also provide end-to-end project management outsourcing to ensure your at-home workers have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's support services for Exchange Online, see Exchange Online configuration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for At-Home WorkersAmazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud arena and is the world's top source of cloud services. Progent offers fast and economical online contact with cloud connectivity consultants who can assist your organization to design, deploy, maintain, and debug hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist you to build a high-availability network model to make sure your employees have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the road. For information about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Integration for TelecommutersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a popular collection of public cloud services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help you to scale your current IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database experts can help you make your key apps cloud ready so your telecommuters can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can help you to deploy virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design an efficient storage system with GCP Storage, and streamline identity control for teleworkers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent's experts can also assist your business to use GCP's management technology to control and monitor your Google Cloud environment. For details, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting services.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Teleworkers
A fast, enterprise-wide changeover to a telecommuter business model, which might be the result of an epidemic or as an element of a business continuity process, can overwhelm even the most efficient internal Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services make it possible for organizations of any size to outsource or augment their Help Desk Call Center by using Progent's online Technical Response Center services.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk support services leverage Progent's extensive team of remote technical support specialists combined with world-class ticketing and tracking technology to offer an economical, state-of-the-art Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that addresses all facets of remote Level 1 desktop support from service requests through ticket generation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows telecommuters to check or edit the status of their active tickets, add information, and upload screenshots and relevant files. Support services are provided at a significant price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical support charges, and Progent makes available optional rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to deal with advanced issues. To learn more, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small companies.
  • Progent's Support Desk Supplemental Service enables you to supplement your existing Help Desk Call Center organization by sharing responsibilities for Call Center support seamlessly between your in-house support organization and Progent's nationwide pool of PC support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Support Desk service uses a collective support model utilizing the number one professional services automation tool for handling service requests and trouble tickets, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and producing management reports. To find out how Progent's Call Desk Supplementation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class IT support to your at-home employees, refer to Progent's Support Desk augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home (WFH) staff members typically utilize their personal computing devices and often work in an unsecured physical space. This increases their susceptibility to cyber threats and requires careful deployment of firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, extensive end-user training, and the creation of security policies built on best practices. Progent's seasoned roster of IT security solutions experts can help your business to plan, configure and maintain an effective security solution that guards critical information assets in environments that include remote workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable you to build a network that can be safely utilized by local users and by at-home workers, mobile users, suppliers, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall devices permit you to assign and manage appropriate permissions to different groups of users and to scale your network and adjust your security as your business evolves and as cyber threats become increasingly complex. Progent works with both new and legacy firewall devices from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall support services, see firewall support services.

Remote Security Monitoring and Management for TelecommutersOnline Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate devices used by at-home workers and either block or identify and mitigate modern cyber attacks such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight software agent is installed on every secured endpoint, watching all activity and utilizing state-of-the-art machine learning from SentinelOne to identify zero-day threats before they can spread. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately disconnects the infected device from the corporate network to contain the threat. Because the ProSight ASM software agent is autonomous, endpoints stay secure even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For more information about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint monitoring for remote workers.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for At-Home WorkersProgent's Duo authentication Services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity verification on Apple iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, when you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are asked to confirm who you are via a device that only you have and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A wide selection of out-of-band devices can be utilized for this second form of authentication such as a smartphone or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate several verification devices. To learn more about Duo identity validation services, refer to Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all types of external and internal security attacks for a network that includes remote workers. Progent can run online, automated security inventory scanning for quickly and affordably uncovering a broad range of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment experts, which can be managed by data security professionals with top certifications such as CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your company to evaluate your operations and governance policies and assess your network architecture to enable you to design the highest level of security for your remote workers.

NodeZero Pen Testing for Work-from-Home EnpointsHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated testing of your work-from-home environment as well as your internal and perimeter networks to help you identify, prioritize, fix, and confirm security weaknesses before threat actors can exploit them. Progent can assist you to use NodeZero to carry out comprehensive pentests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can determine your current security posture. Progent can also assist you to strengthen your existing network security and can help you to plan and implement a cohesive cybersecurity strategy that simplifies management and delivers optimum protection for on-prem, cloud-based, remote, and perimeter IT assets. To find out additional information about Progent's vulnerability analysis solutions powered by on NodeZero's pentest products, refer to Consulting Services for NodeZero's Pentest Platform.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Environment
To read or download a white paper describing key things to concentrate on for securing an IT environment that includes work-from-home staff, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Remote Workers
Data Protection involves backing up and restoring critical data so as to avoid data loss and reduce restoration time in the event of storage system failures resulting from equipment breakdowns, programming glitches, operator mistakes, cyber attack, or any other reason. Dependable data protection strategies can be particularly difficult to design and manage in hybrid networks that combine local data centers, public clouds, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Recovery solutions for an at-home workforce must address diverse types of user-owned endpoints. Progent offers fast online help from consultants knowledgeable about a wide range of platforms for protection Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/restore products maintained by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery service that uses cloud storage and features granular restore and centralized management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) strategies commonly envision scenarios that require a temporary switch to a work-at-home environment. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity planning consultants can help you to develop, document and validate a DR/BC plan that includes the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Teleworkers
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management products under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Endpoint Manager features a unified platform for safeguarding critical data by controlling local, mobile, and at-home endpoint devices.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and securing remote computers and applications. Managed endpoint devices can be personally owned or business owned. Network admins managing the enrolled endpoint devices of at-home workers can utilize Intune to deploy and authenticate applications on devices, push patches and certificates, configure policies for accessing data and networks, manage passwords, create VPN tunnels, control how telecommuters share information, establish threat protection, ensure compliance, and delete sensitive information from missing, stolen or decommissioned devices. Intune runs with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X endpoints. For information about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can assist you to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to manage the endpoint devices of your telecommuters, go to Intune mobile endpoint management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that helps network managers to keep off-premises endpoints up to date and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint administration combined with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for identity control, application management, and configuration management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE runs with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-site product via a perpetual license. Key features of Workspace ONE include rapid remote provisioning of out-of-the-box notebooks, immediate onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of devices, aggregated reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud products. For information about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about building and maintaining a productive telecommuter environment for your Fort Collins, Colorado business, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.