Expanding your telecommuter workforce can have a major impact on IT infrastructure, security/compliance, and company processes. Progent has two decades of background helping businesses of all sizes to design, deploy, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT networks that support at-home workers. Progent can assist your San Francisco organization to select the right tools and adhere to best practices in creating and operating a safe virtual ecosystem for telecommuters that promotes teamwork and delivers top business value. Progent offers support services ranging from as-needed expertise for getting you over challenging technical roadblocks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you carry out business-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can assist San Francisco, California companies to with any aspect of building a high-performing work-from-home ecosystem by delivering infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud integration, helpdesk services, security monitoring, backup/restore solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Configuring the network infrastructure needed for an at-home work environment can be especially complicated if you have to accommodate a mix of personal hardware like desktop computers and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi APs from different vendors and with a variety of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's background delivering online support for both legacy and current IT products in virtual office venues enables you to make efficient use of your available infrastructure and offers fast access to top-tire consultants for making necessary upgrades. Services offered by Progent to assist your company to implement a high-functioning work-at-home ecosystem include:

  • VPN connectivity makes it possible to establish a secure tunnel for authenticated remote workers to use IT assets located at your company datacenter or in a public cloud. Progent can help your company to deploy and manage VPN connections between your teleworkers and your key network resources by providing online VPN configuration consulting. For businesses with Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA consultants can assist your telecommuters to set up Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software for secure VPN tunneling for a broad selection of endpoint devices such as Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms enable a teleworker to see and interact with a data center computer's desktop. This gives IT managers significant control over the digital environment of telecommuters and ensures them a consistent and more productive work experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
  • Routers connect home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier online consulting for integrating home routers from a range of manufacturers. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, often shared by families and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to connect to their router for work. This can create performance as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can help businesses to resolve these problems by delivering services that include Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless installation consulting, and Ubiquiti WiFi AP integration assistance.
  • Internet access methods affect the speed and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate data center. Vital processes might require redundant Internet access in the event the primary connection fails. Progent can provide expertise for identifying ISPs, picking sensible service bundles, and configuring high-availability Internet connections. See Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Integration for an At-Home Workforce
Extending the corporate PBX system to accommodate remote users is vital to supporting a productive at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-based digital PBX platforms are used by SMBs to support teleworkers. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's current or older products for VoIP solutions. Progent can assist businesses of any size to plan or tune a telecommuter VoIP service that delivers the versatility, convenience and protection needed for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants can provide high-level support to assist businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP environments to handle an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) extends high-end telephony features to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and mixed media software deployed throughout the network. CUCM supports other mixed media services such as unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For details about Progent's CUCM support, see Cisco Unified Communications Manager expertise.
  • CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing software and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent's consultants can assist your company to maintain your current CallManager environment or migrate efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy VoIP platforms, see Cisco CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with public telephony networks and with users operating beyond the corporate firewall like at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for current Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration expertise.
  • Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to update your WAN architecture to support these VoIP solutions and deliver online deployment and debugging services.

Video Conferencing for an At-Home Workforce
A broad range of video conferencing platforms from leading vendors support virtual meetings, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both onsite workers and teleworkers. Many organizations use multiple products to meet the needs of their various partners and clients. Progent's communications experts can help your organization to manage your current conferencing environment and optimize the experience of your remote employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications platform that supports presence, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing as well as the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help your company to configure and maintain Skype for Business client software to support your remote employees. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business consulting services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video calling platform for compatible iOS and macOS devices. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime allow as many as 32 simultaneous users for video calls. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based recording, plus editing and playback for training. To learn more 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 follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a portal for conversations, contacts, and content with capabilities that include IP voice and video calling, persistent threaded chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Other Conferencing Apps supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver integration and debugging services for these products and assist your business to tune your WAN architecture to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Platforms for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 suites, providing a rich environment of applications that create a cohesive user interface for sharing information throughout multiple sites and on a wide range of endpoint computers. Progent has delivered remote consulting services for SharePoint and Exchange since their first releases and can help your company to tune these critical collaboration platforms to maximize the productivity of your remote 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 Integration Consultants for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works on top of Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can support chat, video meetings with screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and app sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (formerly branded Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of features. For additional information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, see planning and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Server Configuration Consultants for Remote WorkersSharePoint uses web entities to allow collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-based access to data, workflow, and tools for searching through company-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to build protected web portals that permits at-home workforce to view and edit consolidated corporate intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. To find out about Progent's SharePoint expertise, go to 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. To learn about Progent's Exchange expertise, see integration consulting services for Microsoft Exchange.

Microsoft Onedrive Configuration Experts for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can store files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers anywhere can share them securely through a browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables home employees to jointly author documents. Revisions made offline are automatically uploaded when you go back online. To find out about Progent's expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, see Microsoft Onedrive configuration consulting.

Cloud Integration for Teleworkers
Progent can provide affordable online assistance for helping businesses to build, manage and optimize integrated hybrid network models that include internal data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, plus public cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all types of cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help teleworkers fix problems with cloud access, identity, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration Services for TelecommutersAzure is a leading platform for cloud software and services that allows you to use infrastructure, servers, and key apps hosted on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure offers more than one hundred services services such as hosting for Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help you to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure Active Directory, and design data backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish secure access to Azure services for remote workers by configuring and debugging firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. To learn about Progent's support services for Microsoft Azure, refer to Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing family of business productivity applications and cloud-based services available on a subscription basis. Office apps and cloud services are marketed in a selection of bundles designed for customers ranging from students and small offices to large corporations. Progent can provide fast and affordable remote contact with experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can assist you to evaluate the various subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your telecommuters to achieve maximum business value. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Exchange Online Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most popular cloud-based applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the advantages of lower costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high reliability, and other advantages inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate smoothly with local Exchange environments, allowing customers to create hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange experts can provide occasional assistance to get you past challenging technical bottlenecks and also offer comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your telecommuters have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. To find out Progent's support services for Exchange Online, see Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for TeleworkersAmazon AWS is a trailblazer in the public cloud computing market and is the world's leading provider of cloud services. Progent can provide quick and affordable online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can help your business to plan, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with local resources and with other public clouds like Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist you to create a high-uptime network architecture so your users have a consistent computing environment whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the road. For details about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS integration support.

Google Cloud Platform Integration for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud is a popular set of public cloud services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist your business to expand your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database consultants can show you how to make your mission-critical applications cloud ready so your teleworkers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist you to set up VMs on GCP Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage system with GCP Storage services, and simplify access control for teleworkers with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent can also assist you to use GCP's unified management technology to administer and monitor your Google Cloud environment. For information, see Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting support.

Help Desk Call Center Services for At-Home Workers
An emergency, company-wide switchover to a telecommuter business model, which could be motivated by a pandemic or as a component of a business continuity preparedness plan, can overwhelm even the most efficient internal Call Desk. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services make it possible for organizations of any size to outsource or supplement their Call Center by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center services.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk support services leverage Progent's nationwide network of online technical support specialists along with world-class ticketing and follow-up software to offer an economical, advanced Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide an end-to-end solution that addresses all aspects of online Level 1 PC support from service requests to trouble ticket generation, screen sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables at-home employees to monitor or update their active tickets, add information, and upload screen captures or attachments. Support services are provided at a substantial price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop support charges, and Progent makes available optional fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to resolve advanced issues. To find out more, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
  • Progent's Support Desk Supplemental Service allows your business to supplement your existing Support Desk organization by splitting responsibilities for Help Desk support services transparently between your in-house support staff and Progent's extensive team of PC support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Support Desk service uses a co-sourcing support solution based on the number one professional services automation (PSA) tool for managing service requests and ticketing, assigning responsibility, tracking progress, and producing management reports. To find out how Progent's Call Desk Supplementation Services can enable your business to provide world-class technical support to your at-home workforce, visit Progent's Help Desk Call Center supplementation Services.

Cybersecurity for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home (WFH) employees typically use their personal devices and often operate in an unsecured physical environment. This situation multiplies their vulnerability to malware attacks and calls for careful configuration of firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote endpoint monitoring, thorough user training, and the creation of policies built on leading practices. Progent's veteran roster of cybersecurity support experts can assist your business to plan, implement and maintain an effective security solution that guards vital information assets in environments that include remote workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable companies to build a network that can be safely accessed by local users and by teleworkers, mobile users, vendors, clients, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall appliances allow you to assign and control different permissions to various groups of users and to expand your IT network and modify your security as your business evolves and as cyber threats grow more complex. Progent works with both current and older firewall devices from all leading manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall integration expertise, see firewall support services.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management Services for At-Home WorkersOnline Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate devices utilized by at-home workers and either block or identify and respond to modern cyber attacks like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight software agent is put on each protected endpoint, watching all activity and utilizing advanced behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify zero-day attacks on arrival. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly isolates the impacted endpoint from the network to contain the malware. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoint devices remain secure even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight ASM, go to remote endpoint monitoring for remote workers.

Two-factor Authentication Services for At-Home WorkersProgent's Duo authentication Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo technology to defend against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports one-tap identity verification on Apple iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you log into a protected online account and give your password you are requested to confirm who you are on a device that only you have and that uses a different network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized for this added form of authentication such as a smartphone or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You can designate multiple validation devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo identity validation services, see Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for remote workers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all types of external and local security threats for a network that incorporates at-home workers. Progent can deploy online, automated security analysis software for quickly and affordably uncovering a broad range of security holes that can be found via the Internet. Progent's security assessment consulting services, which can be managed by security professionals with advanced credentials such as CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your company to evaluate your workflows and governance policies and review your IT architecture to allow you to implement the highest level of security for your an at-home workforce.

NodeZero Pen Testing for Work-from-Home EnpointsHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver autonomous testing of your at-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks to help you find, prioritize, remediate, and confirm security vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent can help you to use NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your perimeter and your internal network so you can evaluate your current security posture. Progent can also help you to harden your existing network security and can assist you to plan and implement a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and provides maximum protection for on-premises, cloud-based, remote, and perimeter IT assets. To find out additional details about Progent's vulnerability assessment services powered by on NodeZero's pentest platform, refer to Consulting Support for NodeZero's Pentest Platform.

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

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection covers saving and recovering critical information so as to prevent data loss and reduce restoration time in the event of storage failures resulting from equipment issues, software glitches, user mistakes, cyber attack, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be particularly difficult to architect and maintain in hybrid networks that incorporate in-house data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Recovery strategies for telecommuters must address diverse types of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide fast remote help from consultants familiar with a wide array of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/restore products supported by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed across a hybrid network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud-based storage and includes granular restore and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans often anticipate circumstances that require a rapid changeover to a work-at-home environment. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity specialists can assist your company to create, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that includes the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises endpoints. Endpoint Manager offers a centralized platform for safeguarding corporate data by controlling onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting off-premises devices and software. Managed endpoint devices can be personally owned or business owned. IT administrators managing the endpoint devices of teleworkers can use Intune to provision and validate apps on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up rules for accessing data and resources, manage passwords, create VPN tunnels, control how teleworkers share information, set up threat defense, verify compliance, and delete corporate information from missing, stolen or decommissioned devices. Intune runs with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X devices. To learn about Intune and how Progent can help your company to use this platform to administer the endpoint computers of your at-home workforce, go to Intune remote device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized MDM product that helps network administrators to keep off-premises endpoints up to date and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery platform for access control, application management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, 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 product via a perpetual license. Key features of Workspace ONE include rapid remote provisioning of out-of-the-box laptops, quick onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of devices, aggregated management reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. To learn about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE remote device management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To contact Progent about building and managing an efficient work-from-home environment for your San Francisco, California business, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.