Enlarging your remote workforce may have a major effect on network architecture, security/compliance, and corporate culture. Progent has two decades of experience assisting businesses of all sizes to plan, configure, administer, optimize, and troubleshoot IT environments that incorporate work-from-home employees. Progent can assist your Appleton company to select the right tools and adhere to best practices in creating and operating a safe virtual office solution for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and returns top value. Progent can provide services that go from on demand guidance for helping you over challenging technical bottlenecks to comprehensive project management to help you successfully complete mission-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can assist Appleton, Wisconsin organizations to with any facet of creating a high-functioning telecommuting environment by delivering infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, Help Desk services, security and compliance, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Configuring the network infrastructure required to support a remote workforce can be especially complex if you must accommodate a combination of personal equipment like PCs and notebooks, routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from an assortment of manufacturers and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's background providing remote support for both legacy as well as modern technologies in virtual office solutions enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and offers ready access to expertise for making essential updates. Services offered by Progent to assist your company to implement a high-functioning work-at-home infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology allows you to create a secure tunnel for authenticated at-home employees to access IT assets situated at your corporate datacenter or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist your company to deploy and manage VPN access between your at-home workforce and your key network resources by providing online VPN configuration support. For organizations using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall experts can assist your telecommuters to set up Cisco's AnyConnect software for safe VPN tunneling for a wide selection of devices such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms allow an at-home worker to see and interact with a remote computer's desktop. This gives IT managers substantial control over the digital environment of at-home employees and offers them a familiar work experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
  • Routers connect home networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, local Wi-Fi networks, and firewall services. Progent offers top-tier online support for setting up home routers from a range of vendors. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, typically supporting families and guests, are commonly utilized by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can create performance and cybersecurity problems. Progent can help you to resolve these issues by providing services like Aironet integration consulting, Cisco Meraki WiFi installation consulting, and Ubiquiti wireless access point setup assistance.
  • Internet access solutions impact the speed and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the company data center. Line-of-business processes might require redundant Internet connections in case the primary connection breaks. Progent offers guidance for selecting service providers, choosing appropriate bandwidth and data volume offerings, and setting up high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet access integration services.

IP Voice Integration for Telecommuters
Extending the corporate phone environment to accommodate remote users is vital to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based IP voice products are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support remote users. Many enterprises depend on Cisco's modern or older products for IP voice solutions. Progent can help organizations of any size to design or tune a telecommuter IP voice environment that delivers the versatility, convenience and protection needed for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants offer high-level support to assist organizations optimize their existing Cisco IP voice systems to handle an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) delivers enterprise telephony features to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia software deployed throughout the network. CUCM manages additional combined media services such as messaging, video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For details about Progent's CUCM support, see Cisco Unified CM consulting services.
  • CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing software and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM. Progent's consultants can help you to maintain your current CallManager deployment or migrate efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony products. For details about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other early VoIP platforms, see CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with PSTN networks and with users working outside the corporate perimeter like telecommuters. Progent offers expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series as well as for modern Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration expertise.
  • Other VoIP Products supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your wide area network infrastructure to support these VoIP solutions and provide as-needed configuration and debugging services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A broad selection of voice/video conferencing products from major vendors support online discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both onsite workers and telecommuters. Many organizations use multiple conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and clients. Progent's communications experts can help your organization to maintain your current conferencing environment and optimize the engagement of your remote employees.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications platform that enables real-time presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing as well as the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help your company to deploy and maintain Skype for Business clients to support your at-home employees. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video calling platform for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later editions of FaceTime allow as many as 32 concurrent users for video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session recording, plus revision and playback for future reference. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Webex as well as for other IP video solutions from Cisco, refer to 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 information with features that include IP voice and video conferencing, persistent threaded chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's support services for Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide configuration and debugging services for these conferencing platforms and assist you to tune your WAN architecture to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 families, providing a rich ecosystem of applications that deliver a cohesive user interface for exchanging data and ideas across multiple sites and on a wide selection of endpoint devices. Progent has provided remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their original releases and can help your company to tune these critical collaboration products 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 Consultants for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Teams works on top of Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration and communication. Designed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can support chat, video meetings that include 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 Azure Entra (formerly called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of capabilities. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit planning and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Server Deployment Consultants for At-Home WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to allow collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-based access to content, workflow, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint permits you to create protected web portals that enables at-home workers to see and edit aggregated business intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts. For information about Progent's SharePoint support services, see SharePoint integration and application development expertise.

Exchange Deployment Experts for At-Home WorkersExchange and Exchange Online offer secure collaboration features including public folders, shared mailboxes, and shared calendars and contacts. Progent's Microsoft certified Exchange experts can show you how to activate and utilize these features for your at-home workers. To find out about Progent's Exchange consulting expertise, visit planning and configuration expertise for Exchange.

Microsoft Onedrive Configuration Consultants for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can store files to OneDrive, and colleagues can share them securely via a browser. Included with Office 365, OneDrive enables remote employees to co-edit documents. Edits made offline are uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. For information about Progent's expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, visit Microsoft Onedrive integration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration Services for Teleworkers
Progent can provide advanced online assistance for enabling businesses to create, maintain and repair integrated network models that incorporate physical data centers, at-home workers, branch offices, plus cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all types of public cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help telecommuters resolve problems with cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure Integration Services for TeleworkersAzure is a leading family of cloud services that allows you to utilize IT infrastructure, servers, and key applications hosted on Microsoft's massive 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, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can assist you to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure AD, and design data backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish protected connections to Azure services for remote workers by setting up and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Azure, visit Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of business productivity software and cloud-based services offered on a subscription basis. Office applications and cloud services are marketed in a selection of bundles intended for users ranging from individuals and small offices to large corporations. Progent can provide quick and affordable online access to consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoint devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can help you to evaluate the various subscription bundles offered with Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your teleworkers to achieve maximum business value. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 consulting expertise.

Exchange Online Integration for At-Home WorkersExchange Online is one of the most widely used cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the advantages of lower costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and additional benefits associated with public clouds. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with local deployments of Exchange, enabling you to build hybrid information systems. Progent's certified Exchange consultants can provide occasional assistance to get you past tough technical roadblocks and also offer comprehensive project management services to ensure your remote workers have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's consulting services for Exchange Online, go to Exchange Online integration and support consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration for Remote WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud market and is the industry's leading provider of cloud services. Progent offers rapid and economical online access to cloud integration consultants who can help your organization to design, implement, maintain, and debug hybrid information networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to assist you to build a high-availability network architecture so your employees have a consistent computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, at home, or on the road. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Integration for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform (GCP) is a leading set of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help your business to scale your current IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA experts can show you how to make your key applications cloud ready so your teleworkers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist you to deploy VMs on GCP Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with GCP Storage services, and streamline access management for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent can also assist you to use GCP's management technology to control and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. For information, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting support.

Help Desk Support for Remote Workers
A rapid, company-wide switchover to a telecommuter business model, which might be the result of an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery/business continuity process, can overwhelm even a well-staffed in-house Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services allow organizations to outsource or augment their Call Center by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk services utilize Progent's nationwide team of remote IT support specialists along with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and follow-up software to provide an affordable, advanced Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that handles all facets of online Level 1 PC support from help requests through ticket generation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows telecommuters to monitor or update the status of their current tickets, enter details, and upload screen captures or relevant files. Technical support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service rates, and Progent offers the option of rapid escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to resolve complex issues. To find out more, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small and mid-size companies.
  • Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service allows your business to expand your existing Support Desk organization by sharing delivery of Call Desk support seamlessly between your in-house IT support staff and Progent's extensive roster of desktop support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk service uses a collective support model based on the number one PSA tool for handling help requests and ticketing, assigning ownership, monitoring progress, and producing reports. For information about how Progent's Call Center Augmentation Services can help your company to deliver world-class desktop support to your at-home workforce, refer to Progent's Support Desk augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home (WFH) employees commonly utilize their own computers and often work in a poorly secured physical space. This situation increases their vulnerability to malware threats and calls for careful configuration of firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, thorough end-user training, and the development of security policies based on best practices. Progent's veteran group of cybersecurity support experts can help you to design, implement and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that protects vital IT assets in environments that include telecommuters.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow you to create a network that can be securely utilized by on-premises users and by at-home workers, mobile users, vendors, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall appliances permit you to assign and control appropriate permissions to different groups of users and to scale your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your company evolves and as cyber threats grow more complex. Progent supports both new and older firewall appliances from all leading vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall configuration services, visit firewall support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management Services for TelecommutersRemote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it easy to track the various devices used by at-home workers and either block or spot and mitigate the latest threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight agent is installed on every secured endpoint, watching all activity and utilizing state-of-the-art AI technology from SentinelOne to detect zero-day threats at inception. When an attack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately disconnects the infected endpoint from the network to contain the malware. Because the ProSight ASM agent is self-contained, endpoints stay protected even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To learn more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, go to remote endpoint security monitoring for telecommuters.

Two-factor Authentication Services for TeleworkersProgent's Duo authentication Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against stolen passwords through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo enables one-tap identity verification with iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are asked to confirm who you are on a unit that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this second means of ID validation such as an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You may designate multiple validation devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity authentication services, go to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for an at-home workforce.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the exposure of your network to all classes of outside and local security threats for an environment that includes remote workers. Progent can run remote, automated security inventory software for rapidly and economically detecting a wide variety of security holes that can be found via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by security professionals with advanced credentials including CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist your company to evaluate your procedures and governance policies and assess your network infrastructure to enable you to design top-level protection for your telecommuters.

NodeZero Pen Testing for Work-from-Home EnpointsHorizon3.ai's NodeZero PEN Testing Platform is a breakthrough penetration test (pentest) product family that supports automated testing of your at-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can find, prioritize, remediate, and verify security weaknesses before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent can assist you to use NodeZero to perform comprehensive pentests of your perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure in order to determine your current security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also help you to harden your network security and can help you to design and implement a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and delivers maximum protection for on-prem, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To find out more details about Progent's threat assessment solutions powered by on NodeZero's penetration test products, refer to Consulting Services for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Environment
To view or download a white paper describing critical things to focus on for securing a network that includes telecommuters, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
Data Protection covers saving and restoring vital data so as to prevent data loss and minimize recovery time in the event of storage problems due to equipment breakdowns, programming glitches, user error, cyber attack, or other causes. Reliable data protection strategies can be especially challenging to architect and maintain in hybrid networks that incorporate local data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore strategies for remote workers must address diverse types of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide quick remote access to consultants knowledgeable about a wide array of platforms for backing up Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery solutions maintained by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect resources spread across a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud-based storage and includes granular recovery and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans often envision circumstances that require a quick switch to an at-home workforce. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity planning specialists can assist you to create, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Telecommuters
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud-based management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite computers. Endpoint Manager provides a unified solution for safeguarding critical information by controlling on-premises, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting mobile devices and applications. Remote endpoint computers can be personally owned or company owned. IT administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of at-home workers can utilize Intune to provision and validate applications on managed devices, push updates and certificates, set up policies for permission to access information and resources, manage passwords, establish VPN connections, control how telecommuters share data, set up threat defense, ensure security compliance, and erase sensitive data from missing, stolen or decommissioned devices. Intune runs with iOS/iPadOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X endpoints. For details about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can assist you to use this platform to administer the endpoint devices of your telecommuters, visit Intune remote endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that allows network administrators to keep offsite endpoints up to date and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch technology for centralized endpoint management combined with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for identity control, application management, and configuration management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints powered by Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment via a perpetual license. Top capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air provisioning of new laptops, quick onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, unifies reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. For information about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about building and maintaining a productive telecommuter environment for your Appleton, Wisconsin business, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.