Expanding your remote workforce can have a significant impact on network infrastructure, security, and corporate workflows. Progent has 20 years of experience helping small and mid-size businesses to design, configure, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT networks that support work-from-home employees. Progent can assist your Salinas organization to pick the appropriate tools and adhere to best practices in building and maintaining a secure virtual office ecosystem for telecommuters that promotes collaboration and returns top business value. Progent offers services that go from as-needed guidance for getting you over occasional technical roadblocks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can help Salinas, California organizations to with any facet of creating a high-functioning telecommuting environment by delivering network infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud connectivity, Call Desk augmentation, endpoint security, data protection solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure required for an at-home workforce can be especially challenging if you have to accommodate a combination of worker-owned hardware such as PCs and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi APs from an assortment of manufacturers and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's experience delivering remote support for both outdated and modern IT products in remote office venues enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and provides you with ready access to expertise for implement essential upgrades. Support services available from Progent to assist you to create a high-functioning work-at-home infrastructure include:

  • Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity allows you to create a secure connection for authorized remote workers to use IT resources located at your corporate datacenter or in a public cloud. Progent's consultants can help you to deploy and manage VPN access between your at-home workforce and your various network resources by providing remote VPN integration support. For organizations with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA consultants can help your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software for secure VPN connections for a wide range of endpoint devices such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products allow a teleworker to see and use a remote computer's desktop. This technology provides IT managers significant control over the digital ecosystem of telecommuters and offers remote users a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
  • Routers connect home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, home wireless connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier remote consulting for deploying routers from a range of manufacturers. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified experts.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically supporting the whole family and guests, are commonly used by telecommuters to connect to their Internet router for work. This can cause performance and cybersecurity issues. Progent can assist you to mitigate these problems by providing expertise like Aironet integration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless deployment consulting, and Ubiquiti wireless AP setup assistance.
  • Internet connectivity methods affect the performance and availability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate data center. Business-critical processes might require backup Internet access in case the normal connection breaks. Progent can provide expertise for identifying Internet service providers, selecting sensible bandwidth and data volume packages, and configuring fault-tolerant Internet access. See Internet connectivity integration services.

VoIP Solutions for Telecommuters
Expanding the corporate phone system to accommodate remote users is critical to maintaining an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-centric digital PBX products are popular with SMBs to server teleworkers. Many enterprises depend on Cisco's current or older products for IP voice management. Progent can help organizations of all sizes to design or tune a remote IP voice environment that delivers the flexibility, transparency and security required for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants offer high-level support to help businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP environments to handle a growing at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends advanced IP telephony features to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and mixed media software used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other combined media services like unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Unified Communications Manager support, visit Cisco Unified CM consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can help you to maintain your current CallManager deployment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony products. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other legacy VoIP products, refer to Cisco CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with PSTN networks and with users operating beyond the corporate firewall like at-home workers. Progent offers expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines and for current Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
  • Other VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to expand your WAN architecture to support these VoIP solutions and provide online deployment and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A broad selection of voice/video conferencing products from major technology companies support online discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen/content sharing for both onsite workers and telecommuters. Many companies utilize a mix of products to meet the needs of their different partners and customers. Progent can assist you to manage your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your remote workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications platform that supports presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can help you to deploy and manage Skype for Business client software to support your at-home employees. For details about Progent's support expertise for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business integration experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling app for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac devices. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime support as many as 32 simultaneous users for video calls. To learn more about Progent's support services for FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides online conferencing for virtually all computing devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing granular content or screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus revision and playback for future reference. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex and for additional 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 acts as a hub for conversations, contacts, and content with capabilities such as IP voice and video conferencing, threaded chat, plus file sharing. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 apps, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver integration and troubleshooting services for these products and help your business to optimize your WAN architecture to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office families, providing a powerful environment of applications that deliver a cohesive user experience for exchanging information throughout a corporate network and on a wide range of endpoints. Progent has provided remote consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their first publication and can assist businesses to deploy these critical collaboration products 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 Integration Consultants for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works with Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Designed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can enable chat, video meetings that include screen sharing, calling, 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 supporting its full range of capabilities. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams, see solution design and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Server Integration Consultants for Remote WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to enable collaboration and information delivery by offering policy-driven access to content, business processes, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to create protected portals that enables at-home workers to view and edit consolidated business intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts. For information about Progent's SharePoint expertise, refer to SharePoint configuration and development consulting.

Exchange Integration 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 consulting services, visit integration consulting for Exchange.

Microsoft Onedrive Deployment Consultants for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home workers can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can retrieve them safely through a browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows remote employees to co-author documents. Revisions made offline are synced when you reconnect to the Internet. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for OneDrive, visit Microsoft Onedrive integration experts.

Cloud Integration Services for At-Home Workers
Progent offers fast and affordable remote assistance for enabling businesses to build, maintain and optimize integrated hybrid network architectures that incorporate physical data centers, at-home workers, branches, and cloud services. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all types of public cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help telecommuters fix problems with public cloud access, identity, and security.

Microsoft Azure Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft Azure is a popular platform for public cloud software and services that enables you to utilize IT infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical apps hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure offers more than 100 services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-based VMs, scalable cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure Active Directory, and design data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to establish secure connections to Azure services for telecommuters by configuring and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Azure, refer to Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of client productivity software and cloud services available by subscription. Microsoft applications and services are marketed in a variety of plans intended for users ranging from individuals and households to major enterprises. Progent offers quick and affordable online access to consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can help you to assess the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your remote workers in a way that delivers top business value. For information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration Services for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most widely used applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the benefits of lower costs for data center infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and other benefits associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run smoothly with local deployments of Exchange, allowing customers to build hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange consultants are available for occasional assistance to guide you through tough technical bottlenecks and also offer end-to-end project management outsourcing to ensure your telecommuters have convenient and safe access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's consulting services for Exchange Online, go to Exchange Online configuration and support consulting.

Amazon AWS Integration for Remote WorkersAmazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud market and is the industry's leading source of cloud services. Progent offers quick and affordable online access to cloud connectivity experts who can assist your organization to plan, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds like Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help your company to build a high-uptime network model so your employees have a productive computing experience whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, from home, or on the move. For details about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS consulting services.

Google Cloud Integration for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud Platform is a leading set of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist your business to extend your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database consultants can show you how to make your critical apps cloud ready so your remote workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can assist you to set up VMs on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design an efficient storage solution with Google Cloud Storage services, and streamline access management for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also help your organization to utilize GCP's unified management tools to control and monitor your GCP environment. To learn, refer to Google Cloud Platform consulting support.

Help Desk Call Center Services for At-Home Workers
A sudden, organization-wide transition to a telecommuter workforce, which might be the result of a pandemic or as a component of a business continuity plan, can overwhelm even a high-performing internal Support Desk. Progent's Call Center services allow businesses of any size to outsource or supplement their Help Desk with Progent's remote Technical Response Center team.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk Call Center support services leverage Progent's extensive network of online technical support specialists along with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and tracking technology to provide an economical, advanced Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that handles all facets of online Level 1 desktop technical support from initial help requests to ticket creation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal allows at-home employees to track or revise their current trouble tickets, enter details, and upload screenshots or relevant files. Desktop support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent offers the option of fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to resolve complex issues. For more information, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
  • Progent's Call Center Supplemental Service enables your company to supplement your existing Support Desk staff by splitting responsibilities for Help Desk support services seamlessly between your in-house support staff and Progent's extensive pool of desktop support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Support Desk service is based on a co-sourcing support solution utilizing the number one PSA tool for managing service requests and trouble tickets, assigning ownership, tracking progress, and producing reports. For details about how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplementation Services can help your company to deliver best-in-class technical support to your telecommuters, go to Progent's Support Desk augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Remote Workers
Work-from-Home employees typically use their personal computers and usually work in a poorly secured physical area. This increases their vulnerability to malware attacks and requires careful deployment of corporate firewalls, AV tools, multi-factor authentication, remote endpoint monitoring, thorough end-user training, and the development of security policies built on leading practices. Progent's veteran roster of data security support consultants can assist your business to design, configure and maintain a compliant security solution that protects vital information assets in networks that incorporate remote workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls allow companies to build a network that can be safely utilized by on-premises users as well as by at-home workers, mobile workers, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. Modern firewall devices permit you to configure and control different permissions to various classes of users and to scale your network and adjust your security as your company evolves and as cyber threats become increasingly complex. Progent works with both current and legacy firewall appliances from all major vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall configuration expertise, see firewall support services.

Remote Security Monitoring for At-Home WorkersOnline Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the various devices used by at-home workers and either block or spot and respond to the latest threats such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint software agent is installed on each secured endpoint, monitoring all activity and using advanced machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify new threats on arrival. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly disconnects the impacted endpoint from the network to contain the malware. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoint devices remain protected even if they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. For more information about ProSight ASM, see remote endpoint security monitoring for at-home workers.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for At-Home WorkersProgent's Duo authentication Managed Services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo supports single-tap identity confirmation on iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you sign into a protected online account and enter your password you are requested to verify your identity on a device that only you have and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A wide range of devices can be utilized as this second means of authentication including a smartphone or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You can register several verification devices. For more information about ProSight Duo identity validation services, visit 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 classes of outside and internal security threats for an environment that incorporates an at-home workforce. Progent can run remote, automated cybersecurity inventory software for quickly and affordably uncovering a broad range of security holes that can be surfaced via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit consulting services, which can be provided by data security professionals with top certifications such as CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your business to audit your operations and governance policies and review your network infrastructure to allow you to implement the highest level of protection for your at-home workers.

NodeZero Pentetration Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports autonomous threat assessment of your at-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can expose, rank, remediate, and confirm cybersecurity weaknesses before threat actors can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can help you to use NodeZero to perform thorough pentests of your network perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your present security posture. Progent can also help you to harden your network security and can help you to plan and deploy a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and delivers maximum cyber defense for on-prem, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To find out additional details about Progent's vulnerability assessment solutions powered by on NodeZero's pentest platform, refer to Consulting Support for NodeZero's Penetration Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Network
To read or download a white paper describing critical areas to focus on for protecting a network that supports work-from-home staff, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection involves saving and recovering critical data in order to prevent data loss and reduce restoration time in case of storage system failures resulting from hardware issues, software hiccups, user mistakes, cyber attack, or any other reason. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially difficult to architect and manage in hybrid networks that combine in-house data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Recovery strategies for at-home workers must cover multiple kinds of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent offers quick remote access to consultants knowledgeable about a wide array of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery solutions maintained by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect resources spread across a hybrid network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud-based storage and features granular recovery and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans commonly anticipate scenarios that call for a quick switch to a work-at-home environment. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity planning consultants can help your company to produce, document and test a DR/BC plan that addresses the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Teleworkers
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management products under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud-based management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing local computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager offers a centralized environment for protecting critical data by managing local, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and securing off-premises devices and applications. Remote endpoint computers can be user owned or company owned. IT administrators managing the endpoint devices of teleworkers can utilize Intune to deploy and validate apps on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure policies for accessing information and networks, manage passwords, create VPN tunnels, control how teleworkers share information, set up threat protection, verify security compliance, and wipe corporate information from lost, stolen or deactivated devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with iOS/iPadOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS devices. To find out about Intune and how Progent can help you to use this platform to manage the endpoint devices of your teleworkers, see Intune teleworker device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that allows network administrators to keep remote endpoints up to date and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery platform for identity control, app management, and configuration management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises product via a perpetual license. Key features of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid remote provisioning of new notebooks, quick onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of devices, unifies management reporting and analytics, email encryption, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. For details about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote device management consultants.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about building and maintaining a productive work-from-home environment for your Salinas, California company, phone 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.