Enlarging your telecommuter workforce can have a major impact on network infrastructure, security, and company workflows. Progent has two decades of experience helping businesses of all sizes to plan, deploy, administer, tune, and debug IT networks that incorporate work-from-home employees. Progent can help your Leeds organization to select the right tools and adhere to leading practices in creating and operating a secure virtual office solution for teleworkers that facilitates collaboration and returns top business value. Progent can provide services that go from on demand expertise for helping you past challenging technical bottlenecks to comprehensive project management to help you carry out business-critical initiatives.
Progent can assist Leeds, United Kingdom companies to with any facet of building a high-functioning remote work ecosystem by providing network infrastructure configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud connectivity, Help Desk outsourcing, data security, data protection solutions, and unified management.
Network Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Integrating the physical and software infrastructure needed to support an at-home workforce can be especially complicated if you have to manage a combination of personal hardware such as desktop computers and laptops, routers, and wireless appliances from various vendors and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's background delivering online support for both outdated as well as modern technologies in remote office venues enables you to make efficient use of your existing infrastructure and offers ready access to top-tire consultants for making necessary updates. Support services offered by Progent to assist your company to implement a productive work-at-home ecosystem include:
VoIP Solutions for an At-Home Workforce
Extending the business PBX environment to accommodate telecommuters is vital to maintaining a productive work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-centric VoIP platforms are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support remote users. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's modern or older platforms for IP voice solutions. Progent can help organizations of all sizes to design or tune a remote VoIP environment that delivers the flexibility, convenience and protection needed for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice experts offer advanced support to assist businesses tune their existing Cisco VoIP environments to handle a growing at-home workforce.
Voice/Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A wide selection of voice/video conferencing products from major vendors support online discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen/content sharing for both onsite users and telecommuters. Many organizations use multiple conferencing products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist your organization to maintain your current conferencing ecosystem and optimize the experience of your at-home employees.
Microsoft Collaboration Software for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 families, providing a rich ecosystem of applications that deliver a cohesive user interface for exchanging data and ideas across a corporate network and on a wide selection of endpoints. Progent has delivered online consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their initial releases and can assist your company to configure these flagship collaboration products to maximize the effectiveness of your at-home 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 works with Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Designed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can support chat, video meetings with screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and app sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (previously branded Azure Active Directory) for delivering its full range of features. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit planning and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.
SharePoint uses web entities to allow collaboration and information delivery by providing policy-based access to content, workflow, and utilities for looking through enterprise-wide information silos. SharePoint enables you to build secure web portals that permits at-home workers to view and update aggregated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For information about Progent's SharePoint consulting services, visit SharePoint configuration and application development consulting.
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 consulting services, visit integration consulting services for Microsoft Exchange.
OneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can store files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers anywhere can share them securely via a web browser. Included with Office 365, OneDrive allows home workers to co-author documents. Revisions made offline are synced when you go back online. To find out about Progent's support services for OneDrive, visit Onedrive integration consulting.
Public Cloud Integration Services for Teleworkers
Progent can provide fast and affordable online support for enabling businesses to create, maintain and repair cohesive network models that incorporate internal data centers, at-home workers, branches, plus cloud resources. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help at-home workers fix problems with public cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.
Azure is a popular family of cloud software and services that allows you to use IT infrastructure, virtual servers, and critical applications running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure features more than 100 cloud-based services including hosting for Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help you to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity management with Azure AD, and plan backup and restore systems with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you establish protected access to Azure services for at-home workers by setting up and debugging firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Azure, visit Microsoft Azure consulting.
Microsoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of business productivity applications and cloud services offered on a subscription basis. Microsoft applications and cloud services are marketed in a selection of plans intended for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to major enterprises. Progent can provide quick and easy remote contact with consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoint devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can assist your business to evaluate the various subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your remote workers to achieve top business value. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting services.
Microsoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most popular cloud-based applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of lower costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other benefits associated with public clouds. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate smoothly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing you to create hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's Exchange experts can provide occasional help to guide you through challenging technical bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to ensure your at-home workers have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. To learn Progent's support services for Exchange Online, go to Exchange Online integration and support consulting.
Amazon AWS is a pioneer in the public cloud market and is the industry's top provider of cloud-based services. Progent can provide quick and economical online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can help your business to plan, deploy, maintain, and debug hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with on-premises resources and with other popular cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to assist you to create a high-uptime network architecture to make sure your employees have a consistent computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, at home, or on the road. To learn about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS integration support.
Google Cloud Platform is a popular collection of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist you to expand your current IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database experts can help you make your critical apps cloud friendly so your telecommuters can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can help your organization to set up virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design a cost-effective storage system with GCP Storage, and streamline access control for telecommuters with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent can also help you to use GCP's management technology to control and track your GCP environment. To learn, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) consulting services.
Help Desk Support for Teleworkers
A rapid, company-wide changeover to a teleworker workforce, which might be the result of a pandemic or as a component of a disaster recovery plan, can overwhelm even the most efficient internal Call Center. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services make it possible for businesses of any size to outsource or expand their Help Desk Call Center by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) services.
Security for Teleworkers
At-home staff members commonly utilize their own computers and often work in an unsecured physical environment. This multiplies their susceptibility to malware attacks and calls for judicious deployment of corporate firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, intensive end-user education, and the creation of security policies built on leading practices. Progent's veteran team of IT security solutions consultants can help your business to design, deploy and manage a compliant cybersecurity solution that guards critical IT resources in networks that incorporate at-home workers.
Firewalls enable you to create a network environment that can be safely accessed by on-premises users and by teleworkers, mobile users, vendors, customers, and the public. Modern firewall devices allow you to configure and manage different access rights to various classes of users and to expand your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as cyber threats grow more sophisticated. Progent supports both current and legacy security appliances from all leading vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall integration services, go to firewall integration and support services.
Remote Endpoint Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the various computers utilized by telecommuters and either reject or spot and mitigate the latest threats such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint software agent is installed on every protected endpoint, monitoring all activity and using state-of-the-art behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to detect zero-day threats before they can spread. When an attack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately disconnects the infected device from the network to quarantine the threat. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoints remain secure even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. For details about ProSight ASM, visit remote endpoint security monitoring for at-home workers.
Progent's Duo authentication Managed Services incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to defend against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Android, and other personal devices. Using 2FA, whenever you log into a secured online account and enter your password you are asked to confirm who you are on a device that only you possess and that is accessed using a different network channel. A broad selection of devices can be used for this second means of authentication such as an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You can designate multiple validation devices. For more information about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for an at-home workforce.
Security Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all classes of external and internal security attacks for an environment that includes teleworkers. Progent can run remote, automated security analysis scanning for rapidly and affordably detecting a broad range of security holes that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be managed by network security experts with top credentials such as CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your business to evaluate your operations and policies and assess your network infrastructure to enable you to implement top-level security for your teleworkers.
Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Pentest Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports autonomous threat assessment of your work-from-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks so you can find, rank, remediate, and confirm cybersecurity weaknesses before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent's pentest experts can assist you to deploy NodeZero to carry out comprehensive pentests of your perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your present security posture. Progent can also help you to harden your existing network security and can assist you to plan and implement a cohesive cybersecurity strategy that simplifies management and delivers optimum cyber defense for on-prem, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT resources. To learn additional information about Progent's threat assessment solutions based on on NodeZero's pentest platform, visit Consulting Services for NodeZero's Pentest Products.
Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Environment
To view or download a white paper describing critical things to focus on for securing an IT environment that incorporates telecommuters, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)
Data Protection for Telecommuters
The field of Data Protection involves saving and recovering vital data in order to avoid data loss and minimize recovery time in case of storage failures resulting from equipment breakdowns, programming glitches, user error, malware, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially challenging to design and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate private data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.
Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management products under the name Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing local endpoints. Endpoint Manager features a centralized platform for protecting corporate data by managing local, mobile, and at-home endpoints.
Microsoft Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting off-premises computers and software. Remote endpoint devices can be user owned or business owned. IT admins managing the endpoint computers of teleworkers can use Intune to provision and validate apps on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up rules for accessing information and resources, set passwords, create VPN connections, determine how teleworkers share data, establish threat protection, verify security compliance, and wipe corporate data from missing, stolen or deactivated devices. Microsoft Intune runs with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X devices. For details about Intune and to find out how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to manage the devices of your telecommuters, go to Intune mobile device management consultants.
VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management product that allows network managers to keep off-premises endpoint devices up to date and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for access control, application management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises product through a perpetual license. Top features of VMware Workspace ONE include fast remote provisioning of new notebooks, immediate onboarding of new employees, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, aggregated reporting and analytics, email encryption, and integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based services. For information about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE mobile device management consultants.
Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about creating and managing a productive telecommuter environment for your Leeds, United Kingdom company, phone