Enlarging your remote workforce may have a major impact on IT infrastructure, security/compliance, and company workflows. Progent has 20 years of experience helping small and mid-size businesses to plan, deploy, manage, tune, and debug IT environments that support a remote workforce. Progent can assist your Bellevue company to select the appropriate technologies and follow best practices in building and maintaining a secure virtual office solution for teleworkers that facilitates collaboration and delivers maximum business value. Progent offers support services ranging from as-needed guidance for getting you past challenging technical bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you carry out mission-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can help Bellevue, Washington businesses to with any facet of creating a high-functioning work-from-home environment by delivering network infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, public cloud integration, helpdesk outsourcing, endpoint security, backup/restore solutions, and unified management.

Network Infrastructure for Telecommuters
Integrating the network infrastructure required for a remote workforce can be especially complex if you must manage a mix of personal hardware such as desktop computers and notebooks, routers, and wireless APs from different manufacturers and with a variety of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's background delivering online support for both legacy and current technologies in virtual office solutions enables you to make cost-effective use of your available infrastructure and provides you with ready access to expertise for making necessary updates. Support services offered by Progent to assist your company to create a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • VPN connectivity allows you to create a secure tunnel for authenticated remote employees to access IT resources located at your company data center or in the cloud. Progent can assist your company to configure and manage VPN connections between your teleworkers and your various IT resources by providing remote VPN configuration support. For organizations using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall experts can help your remote workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect software to provide secure VPN tunneling for a broad selection of devices such as Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms enable a telecommuter to see and interact with a remote PC's desktop. This provides IT managers substantial control over the digital environment of at-home employees and ensures them a familiar experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
  • Routers connect at-home computer networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewall services. Progent can provide expert remote support for deploying routers from all major vendors. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wireless networks, typically supporting families and guests, are commonly used by at-home employees to connect to their router for work. This can create performance and cybersecurity issues. Progent can help you to mitigate these issues by providing services like Cisco Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco Meraki WiFi installation consulting, and Ubiquiti wireless access point integration assistance.
  • Internet access solutions impact the speed and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the corporate data center. Mission-critical applications may require backup Internet access in the event the normal connection fails. Progent can provide guidance for selecting service providers, selecting sensible bandwidth and data volume offerings, and configuring high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet access integration services.

VoIP Integration for At-Home Workers
Extending the business phone system to accommodate telecommuters is critical to maintaining a productive work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-centric VoIP products are popular with small and mid-size businesses to server teleworkers. Many larger organizations rely on Cisco's current or legacy products for IP voice solutions. Progent can assist businesses of all sizes to design or tune a remote IP voice environment that provides the flexibility, transparency and security required for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants can provide high-level support to help organizations tune their current Cisco IP voice environments to handle an expanding remote workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) delivers enterprise IP telephony features to devices like IP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia software used across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports additional mixed media services like messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For details about Progent's CUCM support, see Cisco Unified CM expertise.
  • CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can help you to maintain your existing CallManager deployment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. For details about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other early VoIP products, see CallManager expertise.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with PSTN networks and with users operating outside the corporate firewall like telecommuters. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines as well as for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway integration consulting.
  • Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your wide area network architecture to support these VoIP solutions and deliver on-demand deployment and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A wide selection of voice/video conferencing platforms from leading technology companies support online meetings, video and voice conferencing, chat, and content sharing for both local users and at-home workers. Many organizations utilize multiple conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and clients. Progent can assist you to maintain your current conferencing ecosystem and enhance the productivity of your remote workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications product that supports real-time presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist your company to configure and manage Skype for Business clients to support your remote employees. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business consulting experts.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video calling platform for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS devices. FaceTime runs on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later editions of FaceTime allow as many as 32 simultaneous users for video calls. For details about Progent's support expertise for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex capabilities include sharing granular content or screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based recording, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Webex and for additional IP video products from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams provides a hub for conferencing, contacts, and information with capabilities that include video conferencing, threaded chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Teams as well as for other 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 deliver configuration and troubleshooting expertise for these conferencing platforms and assist your business to optimize your WAN infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Software for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 families, offering a rich ecosystem of applications that deliver a consistent user experience for exchanging information throughout multiple sites and on a broad selection of endpoints. Progent has delivered remote consulting services for SharePoint and Exchange since their first releases and can help businesses to deploy 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 TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works with Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can support chat, video meetings that include screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (formerly called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of capabilities. For additional information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, visit planning and configuration consulting for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint Configuration Experts for Remote WorkersSharePoint utilizes web sites to enable collaboration and information delivery by providing policy-driven delivery of content, workflow, and tools for searching through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint permits you to build protected portals that allows remote workforce to view and update aggregated business intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To learn about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, see SharePoint configuration and development expertise.

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 expertise, see deployment consulting services for Exchange.

Onedrive Deployment Consultants for At-Home WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud-based file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home users can store files to OneDrive, and colleagues anywhere can retrieve them safely through a web browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows at-home employees to jointly author documents. Edits created offline are uploaded when you go back online. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft OneDrive, refer to Onedrive integration experts.

Cloud Integration for At-Home Workers
Progent can provide affordable online support for enabling businesses to build, manage and optimize integrated network architectures that combine internal data centers, at-home workers, branch offices, and public cloud services. Progent offers expertise for all modes of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help remote workers resolve problems with cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Azure Integration for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft Azure is a leading family of public cloud software and services that enables you to use IT infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure offers over one hundred cloud-based services such as hosting for Windows and Linux-powered VMs, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help you to deploy virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity management with Azure Active Directory, and plan data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also show you how to establish secure access to Azure for telecommuters by setting up and debugging firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's expertise for Azure, see Microsoft Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Integration for TelecommutersMicrosoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of business productivity software and cloud-based services offered on a subscription basis. Microsoft apps and services are marketed in a variety of bundles intended for users ranging from students and households to major corporations. Progent offers fast and easy remote access to experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can help you to assess the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your remote workers to achieve maximum business value. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, refer to Microsoft 365 integration support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration for Remote WorkersExchange Online is among the most popular applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the advantages of reduced costs for physical infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other advantages associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to run seamlessly with local deployments of Exchange, enabling you to create hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's certified Exchange experts can provide as-needed help to get you through tough technical roadblocks and also offer end-to-end project management services to ensure your remote workers have easy and safe access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. For information Progent's consulting services for Exchange Online, refer to Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration Services for TelecommutersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud arena and is the world's biggest source of cloud services. Progent offers fast and economical online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can assist your organization to plan, deploy, maintain, and debug hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with local resources and with other public clouds like Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist your company to build a high-uptime 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, from home, or on the move. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting expertise.

Google Cloud Integration Services for At-Home WorkersGoogle Cloud is a popular collection of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist your organization to expand your current IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's DBA consultants can help you make your critical apps cloud ready so your telecommuters can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can assist you to set up virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, design a cost-effective storage solution with GCP Storage services, and simplify identity control for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent's consultants can also assist your organization to utilize GCP's management technology to control and track your GCP environment. To learn, refer to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting support.

Help Desk Support for At-Home Workers
A rapid, company-wide switchover to a telecommuter business model, which might be the result of an epidemic or as an element of a disaster recovery preparedness plan, can overwhelm even a high-performing in-house Call Desk. Progent's Call Center services make it possible for organizations of any size to outsource or supplement their Support Desk with Progent's remote Technical Response Center team.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk Call Center support services utilize Progent's extensive team of online IT support experts combined 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 an end-to-end solution that addresses all facets of online Level 1 PC technical support from help requests through trouble ticket generation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables from-home workers to monitor or revise their active tickets, enter information, and append screen captures and relevant files. Technical support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical service rates, and Progent makes available the option of fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to deal with advanced problems. For details, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size businesses.
  • Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Service allows you to augment your current Help Desk staff by sharing delivery of Call Desk support transparently between your regular IT support staff and Progent's nationwide roster of desktop support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service uses a co-sourcing support solution based on the number one professional services automation tool for managing service requests and ticketing, establishing responsibility, monitoring progress, and generating management reports. For details about how Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class IT support to your telecommuters, go to Progent's Call Center augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home staff members typically utilize their own devices and usually work in an unsecured physical environment. This 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 development of policies built on leading practices. Progent's seasoned team of IT security support experts can help your business to design, implement and manage a compliant cybersecurity solution that protects vital IT resources in networks that incorporate remote workers.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable you to build a network that can be securely accessed by on-premises users as well as by teleworkers, mobile workers, suppliers, clients, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall appliances permit you to assign and manage appropriate permissions to different groups of users and to scale your network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks become more sophisticated. Progent works with both new and older security devices from all leading vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall integration services, refer to firewall integration and support services.

Remote Security Monitoring Services for TeleworkersOnline Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to track the disparate computers utilized 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 lightweight agent is installed on every protected endpoint device, monitoring all activity and using advanced behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to detect zero-day attacks on arrival. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly isolates the targeted endpoint device from the corporate network to contain the malware. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoints stay protected even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, go to remote endpoint security monitoring for an at-home workforce.

Two-factor Authentication Services for At-Home WorkersProgent's Duo authentication Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo technology to protect against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity confirmation with Apple iOS, Android, and other personal devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a protected online account and enter your password you are requested to confirm your identity via a device that only you possess and that uses a separate network channel. A broad selection of devices can be used as this added means of authentication such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline telephone, etc. You can register several validation devices. For details about Duo identity validation services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for telecommuters.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can assess the exposure of your information system to all types of outside and internal security threats for a network that incorporates teleworkers. Progent can run remote, automated security analysis software for quickly and affordably detecting a wide variety of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's security audit consulting services, which can be provided by data security professionals with top certifications including CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help your business to evaluate your processes and policies and review your IT infrastructure to allow you to implement top-level protection for your telecommuters.

NodeZero Pen Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver autonomous threat assessment of your work-from-home connectivity solution and your internal and perimeter networks to help you uncover, rank, fix, and verify security weaknesses before threat actors can exploit them. Progent can help you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your present security profile. Progent can also assist you to strengthen your network security and can assist you to plan and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and provides optimum protection for on-premises, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To learn additional information about Progent's vulnerability analysis solutions powered by on NodeZero's PEN test platform, see Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Network
To view or download a white paper describing key areas to focus on for protecting an IT environment that includes telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Remote Workers
The field of Data Protection involves backing up and restoring vital data so as to prevent data loss and minimize recovery time and effort in the event of storage system problems due to equipment issues, programming hiccups, operator mistakes, cyber attack, or any other reason. Reliable data protection strategies can be particularly challenging to design and maintain in hybrid environments that incorporate local data centers, public clouds, and an at-home workforce.

  • Backup/Recovery strategies for telecommuters must address diverse types of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent can provide fast online help from consultants familiar with a wide array of platforms for protection Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and handhelds. Leading backup/recovery solutions maintained by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To back up resources distributed across a hybrid network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud storage and includes granular recovery and centralized management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans often envision scenarios that call for a rapid changeover to telecommuting. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity planning specialists can assist you to produce, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the logistics of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management products under the name Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a centralized platform for safeguarding corporate information by managing onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing off-premises computers and applications. Managed endpoint devices can be user owned or business owned. IT admins managing the endpoint computers of telecommuters can utilize Intune to deploy and validate apps on managed devices, push updates and certificates, set up rules for permission to access data and networks, set passwords, establish VPN tunnels, determine how home-based workers share information, set up threat defense, verify security compliance, and delete corporate data from missing, stolen or decommissioned devices. Intune works with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS computers. For information about Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use this platform to manage the endpoint devices of your at-home workforce, visit Intune mobile device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized Mobile Device Management product that allows network administrators to keep off-premises endpoint devices current and secure. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for authorization control, app management, and configuration management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises deployment via a perpetual license. Key capabilities of Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air deployment of out-of-the-box notebooks, quick onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of devices, unifies reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud products. To learn about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To contact Progent about building and maintaining a productive telecommuter solution for your Bellevue, Washington business, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.