Workplace Recovery Support and Service
For Businesses of All Sizes:
Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning Consultants
Business Continuity Planning vs. Disaster Recovery Planning
In case of a catastrophic event, whether natural or man-made, a sound business continuity/disaster recovery (DR/BC) strategy can make the difference between a business glitch and a calamity. Progent's DR/BC consultants can help small and mid-size companies design and test a contingency plan that incorporates advanced technologies and proven processes to get back in business quickly after a catastrophic network failure while at the same time working within a restricted IT budget.
The terms "business continuity planning" and "disaster recovery planning" are often used interchangeably, but it is useful to distinguish them. Business continuity planning takes a high-level, holistic view of a business to determine what personnel, physical resources, and operational processes are required to keep an organization running at some minimally acceptable level after a catastrophe and how to restore normal operations efficiently. Business continuity planning takes into account information technology issues, which are vital to any business, but also addresses areas beyond computing. Will you need temporary office space? Substitute vehicles? Alternate vendors? Replacement personnel? Do you have an emergency notification system in place to alert workers and other stakeholders? Are you required to file regulatory reports or contact insurers? Do you need access to emergency funding?
Progent can provide the services of experienced consultants who can help you follow best practices to create and document a high-level business continuity plan that deals with these critical questions and provides a cohesive game plan to follow in case of a disaster.
Disaster recovery planning is more focused on information technology issues and involves the down-to-earth details of how to keep your crucial IT operations running, protect your data, and restore full network functionality as quickly as practical. Progent can provide the services of a certified IT professional who can help you create and implement a disaster recovery plan that utilizes the latest generation of technologies designed to provide a high degree of fault tolerance and recoverability at historically low prices.
What Is Involved in Developing a Disaster Recovery Plan?
It is still relatively rare for small businesses to have a comprehensive business continuity plan in place, but only businesses with an insatiable appetite for risk should go without a disaster recovery plan. Disaster recovery planning should address the IT resources needed to maintain a defined level of operational capability and restore full network functionality as quickly as practical. The plan should anticipate a broad variety of disaster scenarios such as fires, storms, earthquakes, chemical accidents, flooding, pandemics, loss of key personnel, equipment or system failure, human error, and cyber crime.
You should assess the worst-case impact of each of these disaster scenarios on your network infrastructure and business processes and prioritize the areas that are most critical for you to protect in order to limit business disruption to an acceptable level. For each scenario, you should develop a recovery strategy that addresses your local and remote workers, customers, vendors, facilities, hardware and software, communication services, support contracts, and lead-times for replacing equipment and services and restoring data. Your recovery strategies should include specific action plans, escalation procedures, and data retention and restoration policies. You should also test the plan and train your employees responsible for carrying it out.
Progent's Process for Creating a Disaster Recovery Plan
Progent has developed an effective and affordable process for helping small business create a viable disaster recovery plan. This process involves seven distinct phases:
Phase 1: Business Impact and Risk Analysis
In this phase, you differentiate between critical and non-critical organization functions. A function is critical if its loss for any significant period of time would result in damage that stakeholders regard as unacceptable. You can't realistically decide that all network functions are critical because you have to consider the probable cost of establishing and maintaining rapid business or technical recovery solutions. You also have to take into account that some functions may be dictated by law or contractual obligations. Progent can help you make informed prioritization decisions by assessing the cost and timing issues associated with various recovery strategies.
Once you have identified critical organization functions, you have to establish two values for each function:
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO) - the acceptable latency of data that will be recovered
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO) - the acceptable amount of time to restore the function
The Impact and Risk Analysis phase results in the recovery requirements for each critical function. The recovery requirements consist of:
- The business requirements for recovery of the critical function
- The technical requirements for recovery of the critical function
After you complete the Business Impact and Risk Analysis phase, the business and technical plan requirements have to be documented before you can move on to the solution design and implementation phases. Progent is experienced in generating this vital documentation quickly and can work with your asset management team, if you have one, to identify available and re-allocateable resources you can use for disaster recovery.
Phase 3: Solution Design
The goal of the Solution Design phase is to identify the most cost-effective disaster recovery solution that meets the requirements identified in the Business Impact and Risk Analysis stage. For your critical IT applications, this means determining how the minimum application and application data requirements can be restored within the target timeframe. Disaster recovery plans may also have to address areas beyond IT applications. A common example is the requirement to preserve information in hard copy format. Progent's expertise with Microsoft and Cisco technology, business application programming and support skills, experience providing Internet data center consulting and network management services, and extensive background helping small business recover from catastrophic network failures ensure that the solutions Progent proposes take full advantage of advanced technology to keep costs down while maximizing the chances of success.
Key areas defined in the Solution Design phase include:
- The crisis management command structure
- The location of a secondary work site (where necessary)
- Telecommunication architecture between primary and secondary work sites
- Data replication methodology between primary and secondary work sites
- The application, hardware, and software required at the secondary work site
- The type of physical data requirements at the secondary work site.
The Implementation phase is the most important part of a disaster recovery plan and features the execution of the design elements identified in the Solution Design phase. Work package testing may take place during the implementation of the solution. Progent's skills as system integrators come into play in this phase and help minimize the time and cost required to roll out a viable solution.
Phase 5: Testing and Verification of Technical Solutions
Testing and adjusting recovery plans for specific anticipated scenarios is another critical element of a viable disaster recovery program. The complexity of fault-tolerant networks requires rigorous testing to verify that a recovery plan is feasible and that assigned responsibilities are understood. Recovery exercises will show whether backed-up data can be usefully restored, alternative connectivity technology provides adequate performance under realistic loads, fault-tolerant technologies perform failover processes as planned, and IT staff knows what is expected. Testing exercises will help you identify weak points in your recovery plan so you can make adjustments before disaster strikes. Progent's experience with system design and support ensure that the Testing and Verification phase of a disaster recover plan is thorough and meaningful without being unnecessarily protracted and costly.
Primary areas involved in the Testing and Verification phase of a business continuity plan include:
- Application security
- Hardware operability check
- Application operability/availability check
- Data verification
- Are all work processes for critical functions documented?
- Have the systems used in the execution of critical functions changed?
- Are the documented work checklists meaningful and accurate for staff?
- Does the recovery documentation include the proper order in which network components should be restored?
- Do the documented work process recovery tasks and supporting disaster recovery infrastructure allow staff to recover within the predetermined recovery time objective?
In this phase you resolve any issues or concerns that arose during the Testing and Verification phase. Any changes in the solution design that come about during this phase should be reflected in the associated disaster recovery documents. Progent's experience with disaster recovery solution design and implementation help keep test failures at a minimum and speed up remediation, saving clients time and money.
Phase 7: Handover
The handover of a turnkey disaster recovery solution includes three activities:
- The first activity in the Handover phase is to confirm the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in the written manual and the distribution of the documentation to the client's staff. Staff members whose roles are identified as critical for disaster response and recovery are provided training to ensure that they understand what they are expected to do and know how to do it.
- The second activity is testing and verification of technical solutions established for recovery operations.
- The third activity is an all-hands testing and verification of documented organization recovery procedures.
Progent's certified consultants can assist you to create an affordable, high-availability information network that resolves major problems covering a wide array of networking solutions and processes including:
CRISC-Certified Network Risk Control
The Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) program was established by ISACA in 2010 to validate a consultant's ability to design, implement, and maintain IS controls to mitigate risk. Progent offers the expertise of a CRISC-certified consultant to help you to create and carry out a workplace continuity or disaster recovery plan based on industry best practices identified by CRISC and geared to align with your company's risk appetite, business objectives, and IT budget. For more information, see CRISC-Certified IT risk control experts.
Windows Server 2019 High Availability Failover Clustering
Windows Server 2019 introduced important improvements in capacity, throughput, manageability, security and compliance, app compatibility, Linux co-existence, container networking, and hybrid integration of on-premises and cloud assets. Top enhancements of Windows Server 2019 are Windows Admin Center for unifying the management and monitoring of hybrid on-premises/cloud resources, System Insights for taking advantage of advance predictive analytics to control local networks, Windows Defender ATP Exploit Guard for host-intrusion defense, container networking with Kubernetes, Cluster Sets technology for building and administering massive non-stop scale-out clusters, and Storage Migration Service for streamlining the upgrade process from outdated editions of Windows Server. For details, go to Windows Server 2019 Fault-tolerant Failover Clustering Help.
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Disaster Recovery
Progent's Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery experts can help your organization to design a disaster recovery system built around Microsoft's cloud-tested Failover Clustering technologies such as Cluster Operating System Rolling Upgrade for non-disruptive migration to Windows Server 2016, Storage Replica for zero-data-loss recovery, Storage Spaces Direct for high-performance storage clusters using industry-standard equipment, Virtual Machine Load Balancing for improving the performance and resilience of Failover Clusters while minimizing TCO and operational expenses, and Cloud Witness for easy, affordable deployment of a stretch cluster quorum arbitration point. To learn more, visit Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Disaster Recovery Support.
VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Disaster Recovery Solutions
VMware's Site Recovery Manager is a component of VMware vCenter that allows you to orchestrate, automate and test a consistent process for recovering services rapidly following an outage. SRM provides centrally managed and automated recovery, application mobility, plus non-disruptive site relocation, failback and re-protect. Site Recovery Manager also allows transparent testing for disaster recovery, upgrades and patches and can produce reports to confirm full service restoration, validate Service Level Agreements and prove compliance. Progent can provide the support of a VCDX certified VMware SRM consulting expert to help you to plan, configure, test and manage a DR solution based on VMware SRM.
NetApp MetroCluster High Availability and Disaster Recovery Software
NetApp MetroCluster is a high-availability and disaster recovery software suite that combines array-based storage clustering with continual replication to deliver rapid, zero data loss disaster recovery (DR) between sites located up to 300km apart. Progent can provide the skills of a certified NetApp MetroCluster consultant who can help your business to design, deploy, manage, upgrade, test and repair a disaster recovery solution based on NetApp MetroCluster. Progent can assist you to choose a topology for your MetroCluster deployment that meets your technical requirements and budget. Progent can make sure you adhere to best practices for installing your MetroCluster environment by providing help with procedures such as assigning shelf IDs, determining plexes layout, setting up volumes, setting up Data ONTAP configuration replication service, installing switches, designing a tiebreaker, designing a configuration replication network, and verifying your MetroCluster disaster recovery solution to show compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Network Load Balancing
Progent provides fault tolerant load balancing support that addresses network load balancing, load balanced programs, LAN/WAN infrastructure routing, and content dispatching products such as Cisco Content Engine. Fault tolerant load balancing technologies for which Progent can provide consulting expertise include Windows 2003 and 2008 Server Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Access Suite and Access Gateway, Cisco Content Services Switch, Cisco Content Distribution Manager and LocalDirector 400 series, and F5 Networks BIG-IP. To learn more, go to High Availability Load Balancing.
Non-stop Data Centers
Progent's Data Center professionals can help you find zero-downtime data centers that meet the particular needs of your company. Fault tolerant off-site data centers are particularly attractive to small and mid-size organizations due to of their affordability and simplified logistics in comparison to pursuing a do-it-yourself strategy. Attempting to build an in-house data center that offers even a minimum degree of fault tolerance is financially prohibitive for the majority of small organizations. Progent is ready to help you reap all the advantages of 24x7 Internet data centers by offering a full range of consulting and support services. For more information, go to Non-stop Colocation Expertise.
Fault Tolerant Inter-office Networking
Progent's multi-site connection professionals can help companies achieve non-stop multi-site connections through fully redundant system architectures featuring automatic failover. Progent's Cisco-premier CCIE engineers can plan and implement fault-tolerant Inter-office connections based on fault tolerant EIGRP network routers or non-stop OSPF configurations of Cisco routers. Progent can show you how redundant connections and transparent fail-over offers economical 24x7 interoffice networking. For details, see High-Availability Inter-office Networking.
High Availability Internet Access
Progent's Cisco-certified network experts can help you build an affordable, high availability Internet connection architecture that can achieve non-stop Internet access through a wide range of fault tolerant Internet access solutions including high availability BGP, automatic fail-over, and multiple Internet Service Providers. Progent offers Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert consultants to help you utilize the most up-to-date techniques for fault tolerant Internet connections to build a cost-effective, completely redundant Internet network with automatic failover and other capabilities to create fault tolerant Internet connections. To learn more, go to Non-stop Internet Access Architecture.
Backup and Restore Technology Consulting and Support Services
Progent offers economical remote access to consultants skilled in a broad array of products and services that provide solutions for protecting Windows, Apple Mac, and Linux/UNIX physical and virtual servers and desktops as well as notebooks and handhelds. Progent offers help for leading backup products such as Acronis, Backup Exec, BackupAssist, CrashPlan, Double-Take Software, MozyPro, Retrospect, Time Machine, VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP), and FLARs. Progent's consultants can help you to design, enhance, or troubleshoot backup/restore solutions for a range of topologies including local, remote, cloud-based, or hybrid. To read more, visit Backup and Recovery Solutions Consulting Services.
Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) Backup and Restore Consulting and Support Services
Progent's expert System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) consultants can assist you to develop a practical workplace recovery plan, implement a cost-effective fault-tolerante network infrastructure, install a System Center Data Protection Manager-powered recovery system, thoroughly validate your DPM system, train your administrative staff or local service providers how to maintain Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager, or provide complete information technology support outsourcing including remote housing of virtual or physical SCDPM servers in Progent's secure data center facility. To find out more, see System Center Data Protection Manager Consulting Services.
Barracuda Backup Multi-site and Cloud Data Backup and Disaster Recovery
Barracuda Backup is a low-cost, subscription-based backup/restore platform for small and mid-size organizations. A Barracuda Backup deployment can incorporate a purpose-built hardware storage device manufactured by Barracuda or a virtual appliance with comparable features but which uses your own storage hardware. Barracuda Backup safeguards critical company data generated locally, at one or multiple remote locations, or in the cloud. For disaster preparedness, you can replicate data to the Barracuda Cloud, to Amazon Web Services (AWS), or to any location with a Barracuda Backup appliance. Progent is a certified Barracuda partner and Progent's Barracuda Backup consulting experts can provide a wide range of consulting services to assist your business to plan, integrate, manage and repair a BDR solution based on Barracuda technology. For additional information, visit Barracuda Backup and disaster recovery consulting and management.
ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup Software for Backup and Disaster Recovery
Altaro VM Backup software provides small businesses a reliable and budget-friendly solution for backing up and restoring Hyper-V and VMware-based virtual machines (VMs). Altaro VM Backup can be used for local, offsite, distributed, and cloud-hosted environments and also supports cost-effective cloud backup to Microsoft Azure Block Blob storage. Altaro VM Backup supports high-end capabilities like Immutable Cloud Storage for an extra layer of protection from ransomware. Progent is a certified Altaro partner and offers a wide array of remote or on-premises consulting services to assist you to design, deploy, optimize and troubleshoot a modern backup/restore system powered by Altaro VM Backup. With ProSight Data Protection Services Altaro VM Backup, Progent offers a managed backup/restore service powered by on Altaro VM Backup technology. To learn more, visit Altaro VM Backup consulting services.
ProSight DPS 365 Total Backup Services for Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 provides rudimentary archiving but does not include integrated support for vital data protection services such as Exchange backups or long-term point-in-time recovery for OneDrive for Business or SharePoint. Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup provides a full-featured BDR solution for automatic backup and quick restoration of all your company's M365 mail, Teams Chats, SharePoint sites, OneDrive for Business files, and content on Windows endpoints. Progent is an authorized Hornetsecurity/Altaro partner and offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) 365 Total Backup to deliver end-to-end management services for Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup product. ProSight Data Protection Services 365 Total Backup delivers a budget-friendly backup-as-a-service (BaaS) solution that guards M365 apps against data loss or corruption caused by user or system mistakes, malevolent sabotage, and cyber assaults such as ransomware. To learn more, see ProSight DPS 365 Total Backup solutions for Microsoft 365.
Fully Managed Cloud Backup: ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO
ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO from Progent provide small and medium-sized businesses a low cost and fully managed service for secure backup/disaster recovery (BDR). For a low monthly price, ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO automates and monitors your backup activities and enable rapid recovery of critical files, apps and VMs that have become lost or damaged due to hardware failures, software bugs, natural disasters, human error, or malware attacks such as ransomware. ProSight DPS ECHO can help you protect, recover and restore files, folders, apps, system images, plus Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware images. Important data can be backed up on the cloud, to an on-promises device, or mirrored to both. Progent's cloud backup consultants can provide world-class support to configure ProSight DPS ECHO to to comply with regulatory requirements like HIPAA, FIRPA, and PCI and, whenever necessary, can help you to recover your critical information. Read more about ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO managed backup and recovery.
ProSight Data Protection Services 360 Backup Solutions
Progent's data protection experts can assist you to create, deploy and troubleshoot a backup/restore plan based on MSP360 technology. MSP360 offers file/folder or image backup/restore for virtual machines and physical machines, works with all popular public clouds, and permits you to create a data protection ecosystem with a low Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and a defined Recovery Point Objective. With ProSight Data Protection Services 360 Backup, Progent offers end-to-end monitoring and remote management of your backup environment to protect against data loss resulting from human miscues, computer glitches, ill-intentioned insiders, and malware attacks such as ransomware. For more information, visit ProSight DPS 360 Backup services.
Consulting for Double-Take Software for Backup
Double-Take Software publishes a family of tools intended to deliver small and midsize businesses a variety of cost-effective solutions for backing up and restoring business-critical workloads including Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Server, Blackberry, and Microsoft Office SharePoint. Progent's business continuity planning experts have extensive experience incorporating Double-Take Software products into small business information systems to achieve an advanced level of fault tolerance and business continuity readiness at an affordable cost. To find out more, see Consulting Services Double-Take Solutions for Backup.
Why Pick Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning Solutions?
Because Progent is a Microsoft Certified Partner and offers professional application consulting for a broad variety of small business applications, Progent can help clients to arrive at complete information technology solutions that substantially enhance the business value of your information system. As a Registered Partner for Cisco, Progent offers the support of certified engineers and specialists with experience in designing, implementing and managing networking environments built on Cisco products. The broad scope of Progent's technical experience and Progent's familiarity with the needs of small companies make Progent the ideal resource for building and running an affordable, dependable information system.
How You Can Contact Progent's Experts for Business Continuity Solutions Support
If you wish to contact Progent about consulting help for workplace recovery planning, phone
An index of content::
Design Firms Amazon Marketplace Web Service
24-Hour Amazon Marketplace Web Service programming Development Group
Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS) is a collection of APIs that enables Amazon sellers to improve the efficiency of their operations by automating key sales functions including listings, orders, payments, inbound and outbound fulfillment, and reports. By leveraging Amazon's vast online ecosystem and automating their sales, vendors can expand their market, reduce their operating costs, accelerate response time to customers, and increase their profits. Progent's Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS) developers can collaborate with your development team and provide programming, workflow integration, project management support, and training to help you shorten development time and get to market quickly.
Emergency VMware vSphere Hypervisor Consultancy
VMware VCDX Specialists
Progent offers the assistance of a certified VMware VCDX expert to help your organization design, configure, manage and repair VMware vSphere and vCloud-powered virtualization ecosystem for local networks, private and public clouds, or hybrid cloud deployments. Progent offers advanced expertise for deploying and integrating VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) and VMware's NSX network virtualization platform for disaster recovery and application continuity. Progent has extensive experience of VMware vCloud Director, vRealize Automation, vRO and vCloud Suite tools for administering private and hybrid cloud solutions that deliver high availability, fault tolerance, and application mobility.
Telepresence Computer Consultants
Top Engineer IP Endpoints
Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified networking consultants offer advanced support services for Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) (formerly CallManager). Progent can assist your organization to integrate VoIP phones, design dial plans, set up SIP trunking and PSTN support, deploy ISR G2 routers with CUBE support, and deploy UCS server high availability systems.
IT Consultants Altaro 365 Total Backup
Hornetsecurity Altaro 365 Total OneDrive Backup Information Technology Consulting
Progent is an authorized Hornetsecurity/Altaro partner and can plan, install, and manage a deployment of 365 Total Backup to protect your Microsoft 365 mailboxes, files stored on your company's OneDrive Accounts and SharePoint Document Libraries, user and group Teams Chats, plus files on Windows endpoints.
Open Now Network Professional Remote Support Job
Microsoft Certified Freelancing Job
Progent wants to hire staff-level, results-oriented Microsoft certified engineers with Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer certification; Cisco certified network engineers who have Cisco CCNP or CCIE credentials; security consultants who have CISSP or CISA or equivalent security certification; and advanced system architecture experts with experience in mobile solutions, wireless networking, high uptime, business continuity, information protection, and virtual servers. Progent also is looking for professionals who can work on Progent's team of help desk support technicians and remote support professionals. In addition, Progent is looking for experienced administrators who can perform productively in Progent's high-growth, virtual office culture.
CCIE Certified Online Support Services Catalyst Switch Upgrade
Catalyst 3560 Switch Online Consulting
Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants can assist your business to set up, manage, update, optimize and debug Cisco Catalyst switches. Progent can also assist you to harden the security of Catalyst switches and migrate efficiently from outdated switches to modern devices.
Immediate Immersive Telepresence Consultants
Polycom Video Conferencing Consultants
Progent can provide the support of a veteran specialist with extensive hands-on experience installing, maintaining, and enhancing telepresence platforms from leading vendors including Cisco, TANDBERG, Polycom, and LifeSize. Progent's consultants can coordinate with your internal IT support group, your Internet Service Provider, and your video conferencing technology vendor to assist your organization increase the business value of your video conferencing ecosystem.
Fortinet 2000 Series Firewalls Remote Consulting
Fortinet FortiManager Online Consulting
Fortinet FortiGate next-generation firewalls are leaders in offering best-in-class throughput for SSL inspection. Progent's Fortinet firewall consultants can assist your business to integrate your Fortinet FortiGate security appliances to protect all your IT resources at the enterprise perimeter, within the data center, at branch locations, and in the cloud.
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