Expanding your remote workforce may have a significant effect on IT architecture, cybersecurity, and company processes. Progent has two decades of background helping SMBs to plan, deploy, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot IT networks that incorporate work-from-home employees. Progent can assist your Appleton organization to select the right tools and adhere to best practices in building and operating a safe virtual solution for teleworkers that promotes teamwork and delivers maximum value. Progent can provide services ranging from on demand expertise for helping you past challenging IT bottlenecks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you successfully complete mission-critical tasks.

Progent can help Appleton, Wisconsin businesses to with any aspect of creating a high-performing remote work ecosystem by delivering network infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, Help Desk outsourcing, security monitoring, data protection solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure needed to support an at-home work environment can be especially challenging if you must accommodate a mix of worker-owned hardware such as PCs and laptops, routers, and wireless appliances from different manufacturers and with a variety of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's background delivering online support for both outdated as well as modern technologies in remote office venues allows you to make efficient use of your existing network infrastructure and offers ready access to top-tire consultants for implement essential upgrades. Support services offered by Progent to help your company to implement a productive work-at-home infrastructure include:

  • VPN connectivity allows you to create a secure tunnel for authenticated at-home workers to access IT assets located at your company data center or in a public cloud. Progent can assist you to deploy and maintain VPN access between your at-home workforce and your key network resources by providing remote VPN integration support. For businesses using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA experts can help your at-home workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software for safe VPN connections for a wide range of endpoint devices such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms enable a teleworker to see and interact with a data center PC's desktop. This provides IT managers substantial control over the digital ecosystem of at-home employees and ensures them a familiar experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
  • Routers connect home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, local Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent offers top-tier remote consulting for integrating routers from all major manufacturers. See router integration services from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, typically shared by an entire household and visitors, are frequently used by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can create performance as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can help businesses to mitigate these issues by providing expertise that include Cisco Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki WiFi deployment consulting, and Ubiquiti wireless access point setup help.
  • Internet access methods impact the speed and availability of connections between at-home workers and the company data center. Vital applications may demand redundant Internet connections in case the primary connection fails. Progent can provide guidance for selecting Internet service providers, picking appropriate bandwidth and data volume bundles, and setting up high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet connectivity integration services.

VoIP Solutions for an At-Home Workforce
Extending the business phone system to include remote users is critical to supporting a productive work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based VoIP products are popular with SMBs to server telecommuters. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's modern or older products for IP voice management. Progent can help businesses of all sizes to plan or maintain a telecommuter IP voice environment that delivers the flexibility, convenience and protection needed for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts offer high-level support to help businesses optimize their existing Cisco IP voice systems to support an expanding at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) extends high-end telephony features to devices like VoIP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and multimedia applications used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager manages additional combined media services such as messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For more information 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 can help your company to support your existing CallManager environment or migrate smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. To learn about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other early IP voice products, refer to Cisco CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with PSTN networks and with clients operating outside the corporate perimeter like at-home workers. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
  • Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your WAN architecture to support these solutions and deliver as-needed configuration and debugging services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A wide selection of voice/video conferencing products from leading technology companies enable virtual meetings, video conferencing, chat, and screen sharing for both onsite users and teleworkers. Many organizations use multiple conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist your organization to manage your current voice/video conferencing environment and enhance the experience of your remote employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications product that enables presence, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent offers the skills of Microsoft-certified consultants who can assist you to set up and manage Skype for Business client software to support your at-home workforce. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business consulting experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video phone platform for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current versions of FaceTime support up to 32 concurrent users for video calls. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most computing devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing discrete content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session capture, plus editing and playback for future reference and training. For details about Progent's support expertise for Webex as well as for other IP video solutions from Cisco, see Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a hub for conversations, contacts, and information with features such as IP voice and video conferencing, threaded chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's support services for Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 products, see 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 troubleshooting services for these products and assist you to optimize your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office suites, providing a powerful environment of productivity apps that create a consistent user experience for sharing data and ideas across multiple sites and on a wide range of endpoints. Progent has provided online consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their initial releases and can help businesses to configure these flagship collaboration products to optimize the effectiveness 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 Integration Consultants for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works on top of Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration. Developed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can support chat, video meetings with screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (formerly called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of capabilities. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, see solution design and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint Deployment Experts for Remote WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing by providing policy-based delivery of data, workflow, and tools for looking through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to build secure portals that enables remote workers to view and update consolidated corporate intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To learn about Progent's SharePoint support services, visit SharePoint configuration and development expertise.

Exchange Deployment 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 details about Progent's Exchange support services, visit integration consulting for Exchange Server.

Onedrive Configuration Consultants for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can store files to OneDrive, and colleagues can retrieve them safely through a browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables remote workers to co-edit files. Edits made offline are synced when you reconnect to the Internet. For information about Progent's consulting services for OneDrive, go to Microsoft Onedrive configuration experts.

Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent can provide fast and affordable remote assistance for helping organizations to create, manage and repair cohesive hybrid network architectures that incorporate physical data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, and public cloud services. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all types of public cloud service such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help remote workers resolve problems with public cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration for At-Home WorkersAzure is a leading platform for cloud software and services that enables you to utilize infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure includes more than one hundred cloud-based services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-based VMs, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can assist your organization to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure AD, and plan backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also show you how to establish protected connections to Azure for remote workers by configuring and debugging firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. To learn about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Azure, see Microsoft Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of business productivity applications and cloud-based services available on a subscription basis. Office apps and services are provided in a variety of bundles designed for customers ranging from students and households to large corporations. Progent can provide fast and easy online contact with consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible client devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can help your business to assess the numerous subscription plans offered with Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 apps for your teleworkers in a way that delivers top business value. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, refer to Microsoft 365 consulting expertise.

Exchange Online Integration Services for Remote WorkersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most widely used cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the advantages of lower costs for physical infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and additional benefits associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate smoothly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, enabling customers to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide occasional assistance to guide you past tough IT bottlenecks and also offer end-to-end project management outsourcing to ensure your telecommuters have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. For details Progent's support services for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, refer to Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for TelecommutersAmazon AWS is a trailblazer in the public cloud computing market and is the industry's top source of cloud-based services. Progent offers quick and economical online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can help your organization to design, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms like Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to assist your company to create a high-availability network architecture to make sure your users have a productive computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, at home, or on the road. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS integration support.

Google Cloud Platform Integration Services for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a popular set of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help you to extend your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database consultants can show you how to make your mission-critical applications cloud ready so your remote workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can help your organization to deploy virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design an efficient storage system with Google Cloud Storage services, and streamline access control for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent can also assist your business to utilize GCP's management tools to control and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. To find out, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting services.

Help Desk Services for Remote Workers
An emergency, organization-wide transition to a from-home workforce, which could be the result of a pandemic or as part of a business continuity preparedness plan, can overstretch even the most efficient in-house Call Center. Progent's Call Center services allow organizations of any size to outsource or expand their Help Desk Call Center with Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

  • Progent's Standard Call Desk support services leverage Progent's nationwide team of remote technical support specialists combined with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking software to provide an economical, modern Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that handles all facets of online Level 1 desktop technical support from service requests to trouble ticket creation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables at-home employees to track or edit their current trouble tickets, enter information, and append screen captures or attachments. Desktop support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 technical support charges, and Progent makes available optional fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to resolve complex problems. For more information, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small businesses.
  • Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Service enables you to supplement your existing Call Desk organization by splitting delivery of Help Desk Call Center support seamlessly between your in-house IT support staff and Progent's extensive pool of desktop support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Support Desk service is based on a collaborative support solution utilizing the leading professional services automation tool for managing service requests and trouble tickets, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and producing reports. To find out how Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Services can help your company to provide best-in-class technical support to your from-home workers, refer to Progent's Call Desk supplementation Services.

Cybersecurity for Teleworkers
At-home staff members typically utilize their personal computing devices and often work in a poorly secured physical environment. This situation multiplies their susceptibility to malware attacks and requires careful deployment of firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, extensive user education, and the development of policies based on leading practices. Progent's veteran team of IT security support consultants can assist you to plan, configure and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that protects critical IT resources in networks that include telecommuters.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to build a network that can be safely utilized by local users and by teleworkers, mobile workers, suppliers, clients, and the public. Modern firewall devices allow you to configure and control different permissions to various classes of users and to expand your IT network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks become increasingly complex. Progent works with both new and older firewall devices from all leading vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall support services, refer to firewall integration and support services.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management for TeleworkersRemote Endpoint Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the disparate devices used by telecommuters and either block or spot and respond to the latest threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight software agent is installed on each protected endpoint, watching all activity and utilizing advanced behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify new attacks on arrival. When an attack is discovered, ProSight ASM immediately isolates the impacted endpoint device from the network to quarantine the threat. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoints remain secure even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To learn more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, go to remote endpoint security monitoring for teleworkers.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo MFA Managed Services incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports one-tap identity verification on Apple iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With Duo 2FA, whenever you log into a secured online account and enter your password you are requested to confirm who you are via a unit that only you possess and that uses a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be used for this second means of authentication such as an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You can register several verification devices. To find out more about Duo identity validation services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for at-home workers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the exposure of your information system to all types of outside and local security threats for an environment that includes telecommuters. Progent can deploy online, automated security analysis software for quickly and affordably detecting a wide variety of security weaknesses that can be found via the Internet. Progent's security audit consulting services, which can be managed by network security experts with top certifications including CISM, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist you to audit your procedures and policies and assess your IT infrastructure to allow you to implement the highest level of protection for your remote workers.

NodeZero Pen Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated threat assessment of your at-home environment as well as your internal and perimeter networks to help you identify, prioritize, fix, and confirm cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can help you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough 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 help you to strengthen your existing network security and can help you to plan and deploy a unified cybersecurity strategy that simplifies management and provides maximum cyber defense for on-prem, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT assets. To learn more information about Progent's threat analysis services based on on NodeZero's pentest products, refer to Consulting Support for NodeZero's Pentest Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Network
To view or download a white paper about critical areas to concentrate on for protecting an IT environment that supports work-from-home staff, click:
Protecting 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 recovering critical information in order to prevent data loss and reduce recovery time and effort in case of storage failures resulting from hardware breakdowns, software hiccups, operator error, cyber attack, or any other reason. Dependable data protection solutions can be especially difficult to architect and manage in hybrid networks that combine local data centers, public clouds, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Restore strategies for an at-home workforce must address multiple kinds of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent offers fast remote help from consultants knowledgeable about a wide range of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and handhelds. Leading backup/restore solutions supported by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained recovery and centralized management.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans often anticipate scenarios that call for a quick changeover to an at-home workforce. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity specialists can help you to create, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that includes the process of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Teleworkers
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing local endpoints. Endpoint Manager features a unified environment for safeguarding critical information by managing onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing remote computers and applications. Remote endpoint devices can be user owned or company owned. Network admins managing the endpoint computers of at-home workers can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up rules for accessing data and networks, set passwords, create VPN connections, control how telecommuters share data, establish threat protection, ensure compliance, and wipe sensitive information from lost, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X computers. To find out about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can help your company to use this platform to manage the devices of your telecommuters, refer to Intune remote device management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized MDM platform that allows network administrators to keep remote endpoints up to date and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for identity control, app management, and configuration management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-site product through a perpetual license. Top features of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air deployment of out-of-the-box notebooks, immediate onboarding of new employees, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, unifies management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. To learn about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Support Services
To contact Progent about creating and managing an efficient telecommuter environment for your Appleton, Wisconsin business, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.