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Expanding your remote workforce can have a significant impact on network infrastructure, cybersecurity, and company workflows. Progent has two decades of background assisting small and mid-size businesses to design, configure, manage, optimize, and debug IT networks that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can help your company to pick the right technologies and follow leading practices in building and operating a secure virtual office ecosystem for telecommuters that facilitates teamwork and returns maximum value. Progent can provide services that go from as-needed expertise for getting you over occasional technical bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you carry out mission-critical tasks.

Progent can assist you to succeed with any aspect of creating a high-functioning work-at-home ecosystem by delivering infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice troubleshooting, video conferencing integration, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud integration, Call Desk augmentation, security monitoring, backup/restore solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Configuring the physical and software infrastructure needed for an at-home work environment can be particularly challenging if you have to accommodate a combination of worker-owned equipment like PCs and notebooks, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from different vendors and with a variety of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's experience providing remote help for both outdated and current technologies in remote office solutions enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing infrastructure and offers fast access to top-tire consultants for implement necessary updates. Support services offered by Progent to help your company to implement a high-functioning work-at-home infrastructure include:

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity makes it possible to create a safe connection for authorized at-home workers to use IT assets located at your corporate datacenter or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can help your company to deploy and manage VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your various network resources by providing remote VPN integration consulting. For organizations with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall experts can assist your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect client software for secure VPN tunneling for a broad range of devices including Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products enable an at-home worker to see and interact with a remote PC's desktop. This technology gives IT managers more control over the computing environment of at-home employees and ensures remote users a familiar work experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
• Routers connect home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN connections, home wireless connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier remote support for deploying routers from a range of manufacturers. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wireless networks, typically shared by an entire household and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to connect to their router for work. This can cause performance and cybersecurity problems. Progent can assist businesses to resolve these issues by providing services like Aironet configuration expertise, Cisco Meraki WiFi installation expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless access point setup assistance.
• Internet connectivity solutions impact the performance and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Business-critical processes may demand redundant Internet access in case the primary connection fails. Progent can provide expertise for picking service providers, picking appropriate service packages, and setting up high-availability Internet connections. Refer to Internet connectivity integration services.

IP Voice Integration for At-Home Workers
Expanding the corporate phone environment to accommodate telecommuters is vital to maintaining a productive work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based VoIP products are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support remote users. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's current or older platforms for VoIP solutions. Progent can assist organizations of any size to design or maintain a remote IP voice service that provides the flexibility, transparency and security needed for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants can provide high-level support to help organizations optimize their current Cisco IP voice systems to support a growing at-home workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) delivers high-end IP telephony features to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia apps deployed across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other combined media services like messaging, video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For more information about Progent's CUCM expertise, visit CUCM consulting services.
• CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can help you to maintain your current CallManager environment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. To find out about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy IP voice products, refer to CallManager consulting.
• Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with clients operating beyond the corporate firewall such as at-home workers. Progent offers expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products and for modern Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
• Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can assist you to update your wide area network infrastructure to support these solutions and deliver online configuration and debugging expertise.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Remote Workers
A wide selection of voice/video conferencing platforms from leading vendors enable virtual discussions, video conferencing, chat, and screen sharing for both local users and at-home workers. Many companies utilize a mix of conferencing products to accommodate their various partners and clients. Progent can help you to maintain your current conferencing environment and optimize the productivity of your remote employees.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading unified communications platform that supports real-time presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help your company to set up and maintain Skype for Business clients to accommodate your remote employees. To learn more about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration services.
• FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone app for iOS and Mac devices. FaceTime works over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime support up to 32 simultaneous users for voice/video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Apple FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for virtually all computing devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex capabilities include sharing discrete content or screens, presentations that embed rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session recording, plus revision and playback for future reference. For details about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex as well as 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 conversations, contacts, and information with features such as IP voice and video calling, threaded chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 products, visit 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 debugging expertise for these products and assist you to optimize your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 families, providing a rich environment of applications that create a cohesive user interface for exchanging information across multiple sites and on a wide range of endpoint computers. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their first releases and can assist businesses to tune these critical collaboration products to optimize the effectiveness 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 works with Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration. Designed as a replacement 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 depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (formerly called Azure Active Directory) for delivering its full range of features. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, see solution design and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint uses web sites to facilitate collaboration and information sharing by offering policy-based delivery of data, workflow, and tools for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to build secure web portals that permits remote workforce to view and update aggregated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts. To learn about Progent's SharePoint expertise, visit SharePoint configuration and application development expertise.

Exchange 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 learn about Progent's Exchange expertise, refer to planning and configuration consulting services for Microsoft Exchange Server.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud-based storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home users can save files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can retrieve them safely via a web browser. Included with Office 365, OneDrive enables home employees to jointly author documents. Edits created offline are synced when you go back online. To learn about Progent's support services for Microsoft OneDrive, refer to Onedrive integration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration Services for Telecommuters
Progent can provide advanced online assistance for helping businesses to create, manage and optimize integrated network models that incorporate physical data centers, at-home workers, branches, plus public cloud resources. Progent can provide expertise for all modes of cloud service such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help teleworkers fix issues with public cloud connectivity, identity, and cybersecurity.

Azure is a leading platform for cloud software and services that enables you to utilize IT infrastructure, servers, and critical applications running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure includes more than one hundred services services including hosting for 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 set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure Active Directory, and plan backup and recovery systems with Azure Backup. Progent can also show you how to establish secure access to Azure for remote workers by setting up and debugging firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Azure, visit Microsoft Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of client productivity software and cloud-based services offered by subscription. Office applications and services are marketed in a variety of plans designed for customers ranging from individuals and households to large corporations. Progent offers fast and affordable online access to experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible client devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can assist you to assess the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 apps for your remote workers in a way that delivers maximum business value. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, see Microsoft 365 integration support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most widely used applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online provides the advantages of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and additional benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to operate smoothly with on-premises Exchange environments, enabling customers to create hybrid information systems. Progent's Exchange consultants are available for as-needed help to get you past tough IT roadblocks and also offer end-to-end project management services to make sure your at-home workers have convenient and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. For details Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud computing arena and is the world's top provider of cloud services. Progent offers quick and economical online contact with cloud integration experts who can help your organization to plan, deploy, manage, and debug hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local resources and with other public clouds such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help you to create a high-availability network model to make sure your employees have a productive computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the move. To learn about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting expertise.

Google Cloud (GCP) is a leading collection of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can help your business to expand your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's DBA experts can help you make your critical apps cloud friendly so your telecommuters can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist you to set up VMs on GCP Compute Engine, design an efficient storage system with Google Cloud Storage, and simplify identity management for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also assist your business to utilize GCP's unified management tools to administer and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. For details, go to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration support.

Help Desk Call Center Services for At-Home Workers
A fast, organization-wide transition to a telecommuter workforce, which might be motivated by an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery plan, can overwhelm even the most efficient in-house Support Desk. Progent's Call Center services make it possible for organizations to outsource or augment their Call Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center services.

• Progent's Standard Support Desk support services utilize Progent's extensive team of remote technical support experts combined with enterprise-class ticketing and follow-up technology to offer an affordable, advanced Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that addresses all facets of online Level 1 desktop technical support from initial service requests to ticket creation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables at-home employees to check or edit the status of their current trouble tickets, enter information, and append screenshots or attachments. Support services are provided at a substantial price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical service charges, and Progent makes available the option of rapid escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to deal with complex problems. To learn more, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
• Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service allows you to augment your existing Support Desk staff by sharing delivery of Help Desk Call Center support services seamlessly between your in-house IT support staff and Progent's extensive pool of PC support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Support Desk service is based on a co-sourcing support solution based on the number one professional services automation (PSA) platform for managing help requests and trouble tickets, assigning ownership, monitoring progress, and generating management reports. To find out how Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Services can help your business to provide best-in-class desktop support to your teleworkers, refer to Progent's Help Desk Call Center augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for Telecommuters
At-home staff members typically use their own devices and usually operate in an unsecured physical space. This multiplies their vulnerability to cyber attacks and calls for careful deployment of firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, extensive end-user education, and the development of security policies based on best practices. Progent's seasoned team of cybersecurity solutions consultants can assist you to plan, deploy and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that guards vital IT resources in environments that include telecommuters.

Firewalls allow companies to build a network that can be safely utilized by local users and by teleworkers, mobile employees, suppliers, customers, and the public. Modern firewall devices allow you to configure and control appropriate permissions to various groups of users and to expand your IT network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks grow increasingly complex. Progent works with both current and older firewall appliances from all major vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall integration services, refer to firewall support expertise.

Online Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the disparate devices used by an at-home workforce and either block or spot and mitigate modern cyber attacks such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint agent is installed on each protected endpoint device, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify new threats before they can spread. When an attack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly disconnects the infected endpoint device from the corporate network to quarantine the malware. Since the ProSight ASM agent is self-contained, endpoints stay secure even if they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For more information about ProSight ASM, visit remote endpoint security monitoring for at-home workers.

Progent's Duo authentication Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo technology to protect against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo supports one-tap identity verification with iOS, Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, whenever you log into a secured online account and give your password you are requested to confirm who you are on a device that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this added form of authentication such as a smartphone or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate several verification devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity validation services, refer to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for remote workers.

Security Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all types of outside and internal security attacks for a network that includes at-home workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity analysis software for rapidly and economically uncovering a wide variety of security holes that can be found over the Internet. Progent's security audit experts, which can be provided by data security professionals with advanced certifications including CISM, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help your company to evaluate your workflows and governance policies and assess your IT architecture to allow you to implement the highest level of protection for your an at-home workforce.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated testing of your at-home connectivity solution and your internal and perimeter networks to help you uncover, prioritize, remediate, and verify security vulnerabilities before threat actors can take advantage of them. Progent's pentest experts can assist you to deploy NodeZero to perform thorough penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal network so you can determine your current security posture. Progent can also assist you to strengthen your existing network security and can help you to plan and implement a cohesive cybersecurity strategy that simplifies management and delivers optimum protection for on-prem, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To learn additional information about Progent's vulnerability analysis solutions based on on NodeZero's PEN test products, refer to Consulting Support for NodeZero's Pentest Platform.

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

Data Protection Solutions for At-Home Workers
Data Protection involves saving and restoring critical data so as to prevent data loss and minimize restoration time in case of storage system failures due to hardware breakdowns, programming glitches, operator error, malware, or any other reason. Reliable data protection strategies can be especially challenging to design and manage in hybrid environments that combine local data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

• Backup/Restore strategies for remote workers must cover diverse kinds of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide quick online access to experts knowledgeable about a broad range of products for backing up Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, tablets and smartphones. Popular backup/restore solutions maintained by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To back up resources distributed throughout a hybrid network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery service that uses cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained recovery and unified management capabilities.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans often anticipate circumstances that require a temporary changeover to telecommuting. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity planning specialists can help your business to create, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for Teleworkers
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Endpoint Manager offers a centralized environment for safeguarding critical data by controlling onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting remote devices and software. Remote endpoint devices can be user owned or business owned. IT administrators managing the enrolled endpoint computers of at-home workers can use Intune to provision and validate applications on devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for accessing data and networks, set passwords, establish VPN tunnels, control how telecommuters share information, establish threat protection, ensure security compliance, and delete sensitive information from lost, stolen or decommissioned devices. Microsoft Intune works with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. For information about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to administer the devices of your at-home workforce, visit Intune telecommuter endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management product that allows network managers to keep off-premises endpoints up to date and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint administration along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for access control, application management, and setup management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE runs with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-site deployment via a one-time purchase. Key features of VMware Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air provisioning of new laptops, immediate onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of devices, aggregated management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and integration with Microsoft applications and cloud services. For details about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE remote device management expertise.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To contact Progent about building and managing an efficient work-from-home solution, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.