Expanding your telecommuter workforce can have a significant effect on IT architecture, security/compliance, and corporate culture. Progent has 20 years of experience assisting small and mid-size businesses to design, deploy, manage, tune, and debug IT environments that support at-home workers. Progent can help your Sherman Oaks company to select the appropriate tools and follow best practices in creating and maintaining a secure virtual ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and delivers maximum business value. Progent can provide support services ranging from on demand expertise for getting you over challenging IT roadblocks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you carry out business-critical initiatives.

Progent can assist Sherman Oaks, California businesses to with any aspect of building a high-functioning telecommuting environment by delivering infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud integration, Help Desk outsourcing, endpoint security, data protection solutions, and unified management.

Network Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure needed to support a remote workforce can be particularly challenging if you must manage a mix of personal equipment like desktop computers and notebooks, Internet routers, and wireless appliances from an assortment of manufacturers and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's experience delivering online help for both outdated as well as current IT products in remote office solutions enables you to make cost-effective use of your available network infrastructure and provides you with fast access to expertise for making necessary updates. Support services available from Progent to help your company to create a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

  • Virtual Private Network technology allows you to establish a secure connection for authenticated at-home employees to access IT assets situated at your company datacenter or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist you to deploy and manage VPN access between your at-home workforce and your various network resources by providing online VPN configuration consulting. For businesses using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall consultants can help your remote workers to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect client software for secure VPN tunneling for a broad selection of devices such as Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Android.
  • Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products allow a teleworker to see and interact with a remote computer's desktop. This technology gives network managers substantial control over the digital ecosystem of telecommuters and offers remote users a consistent and more productive work experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
  • Routers attach home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN connections, local Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert remote consulting for integrating routers from a range of manufacturers. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
  • Home Wi-Fi networks, often shared by the whole family and guests, are commonly used by at-home employees to connect to their router for work. This can cause throughput as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can assist businesses to resolve these problems by delivering expertise that include Cisco Aironet configuration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless access point integration help.
  • Internet access solutions affect the performance and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Mission-critical applications might demand redundant Internet connections in the event the normal connection breaks. Progent offers expertise for picking Internet service providers, picking appropriate service bundles, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet connections. See Internet access integration services.

VoIP Solutions for Teleworkers
Extending the corporate phone environment to include teleworkers is critical to supporting a productive work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based VoIP platforms are used by small and mid-size businesses to server telecommuters. Many enterprises depend on Cisco's modern or older platforms for IP voice management. Progent can assist organizations of any size to plan or maintain a telecommuter IP voice environment that delivers the flexibility, convenience and protection needed for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts can provide advanced support to help businesses optimize their existing Cisco VoIP systems to support a growing at-home workforce.

  • Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) delivers enterprise IP telephony features to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and mixed media software used across the network. Unified Communications Manager manages additional mixed media services like unified messaging, video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For details about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM support, refer to Cisco Unified Communications Manager consultants.
  • Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing software and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent can assist you to support your current CallManager environment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. To learn about Progent's expertise for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other early IP voice platforms, refer to Cisco CallManager consulting.
  • Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with PSTN networks and with clients working outside the corporate perimeter such as telecommuters. Progent offers expert support for Cisco's earlier generation IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines as well as for current Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
  • Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to update your wide area network infrastructure to support these solutions and provide as-needed configuration and debugging expertise.

Video Conferencing for Remote Workers
A wide range of video conferencing products from leading vendors support virtual meetings, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and screen/content sharing for both local workers and at-home workers. Many organizations utilize multiple conferencing products to meet the needs of their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can help your organization to maintain your current voice/video conferencing environment and enhance the engagement of your remote workforce.

  • Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications platform that enables real-time presence, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing plus the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help you to set up and maintain Skype for Business client software to accommodate your remote employees. For details about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration services.
  • FaceTime is Apple's group video phone app for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime allow up to 32 concurrent users for voice/video calls. For details about Progent's support services for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
  • Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most computing devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex capabilities include sharing granular content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, session recording, plus editing and playback for future reference. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Webex as well as for other video conferencing products from Cisco, refer to Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
  • Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conversations, contacts, and information with features such as video conferencing, persistent threaded chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 apps, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
  • Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver configuration and debugging services for these conferencing platforms and help your business to tune your WAN infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Software for At-Home Workers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of applications that deliver a cohesive user experience for exchanging information across multiple sites and on a broad selection of endpoint computers. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange Server since their first releases and can assist businesses to deploy these critical collaboration products to maximize the effectiveness of your at-home workers.

Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office suite, providing a rich ecosystem of applications that deliver a consistent user experience for sharing information across multiple sites and on a wide variety of endpoint devices. Progent has provided remote consulting services for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial releases and can help at-home workers set up and use these flagship collaboration platforms to maximize productivity.

Microsoft Teams Integration Experts for TelecommutersMicrosoft Teams works on top of Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can enable chat, audio/video meetings that include screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (formerly branded Azure Active Directory) for delivering its full range of capabilities. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, visit planning and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint Server Configuration Consultants for Remote WorkersSharePoint uses web sites to promote collaboration and knowledge delivery by offering policy-driven access to data, workflow, and utilities for searching through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to build secure web portals that permits remote workforce to see and edit aggregated corporate intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts. For information about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, refer to SharePoint configuration and development expertise.

Exchange Integration Experts for At-Home 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. To find out about Progent's Exchange consulting expertise, refer to planning and configuration consulting services for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Onedrive Configuration Experts for Remote WorkersOneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can store files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers anywhere can share them safely through a web browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive allows remote employees to co-author documents. Revisions created offline are automatically synced when you go back online. For information about Progent's consulting services for OneDrive, refer to Microsoft Onedrive configuration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent offers advanced online assistance for enabling organizations to build, manage and troubleshoot integrated hybrid network architectures that include 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, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help remote workers fix issues with public cloud access, identity, and security.

Azure Integration for TelecommutersAzure is a leading platform for cloud software and services that enables you to use IT infrastructure, servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure features over one hundred cloud-based services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can assist your organization to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and design backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you establish protected connections to Azure services for at-home workers by configuring and debugging firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft Azure, go to Microsoft Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365 Integration Services for At-Home WorkersMicrosoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing family of business productivity software and cloud services offered on a subscription basis. Microsoft applications and services are marketed in a selection of bundles intended for users ranging from students and households to major corporations. Progent can provide fast and affordable online contact with consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can assist you to evaluate the various subscription plans available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your at-home workers in a way that delivers top business value. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Exchange Online Integration for TeleworkersMicrosoft 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 spending for data center infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and other advantages inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with on-premises Exchange environments, enabling you to create hybrid networks. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide as-needed help to get you past challenging technical roadblocks and can also provide end-to-end project management outsourcing to make sure your at-home workers have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. To learn Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, visit Exchange Online integration and support expertise.

Amazon AWS Integration for At-Home WorkersAmazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud computing arena and is the industry's top source of cloud services. Progent can provide quick and economical online contact with cloud connectivity consultants who can help your business to design, deploy, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local resources and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help your company to create a high-availability network architecture so your users have a consistent computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, at home, or on the move. To find out about Progent's expertise for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting expertise.

Google Cloud Integration Services for TelecommutersGoogle Cloud Platform is a leading collection of public cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can help you to expand your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database consultants can help you make your mission-critical apps cloud ready so your telecommuters can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist your business to deploy VMs on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage solution with GCP Storage, and streamline identity management for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also help your business to use GCP's unified management technology to administer and track your GCP environment. To learn, refer to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration support.

Help Desk Support for Telecommuters
A sudden, organization-wide switchover to a telecommuter business model, which could be the result of an epidemic or as a component of a business continuity process, can overwhelm even a well-staffed in-house Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for organizations to outsource or augment their Support Desk by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center team.

  • Progent's Standard Help Desk Call Center support services leverage Progent's extensive network of online IT support specialists along with world-class ticketing and tracking software to provide an affordable, modern Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that handles all facets of online Level 1 desktop technical support from initial service requests to trouble ticket generation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables from-home workers to track or update their active tickets, add details, and append screenshots and relevant files. Technical support services are provided at a significant discount off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical service charges, and Progent offers optional rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to resolve advanced problems. For details, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small companies.
  • Progent's Call Desk Supplemental Service enables your company to augment your current Help Desk staff by sharing delivery of Help Desk Call Center support services transparently between your in-house support organization and Progent's extensive roster of desktop support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk service is based on a collaborative support solution based on the leading PSA tool for managing service requests and trouble tickets, establishing responsibility, monitoring progress, and producing management reports. To find out how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplementation Services can help your business to provide world-class IT support to your at-home employees, visit Progent's Help Desk Call Center augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Telecommuters
Work-from-Home employees commonly utilize their own computing devices and often work in an unsecured physical space. This multiplies their vulnerability to malware threats and requires careful configuration of firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, intensive user training, and the creation of policies built on best practices. Progent's veteran roster of data security solutions experts can help you to plan, deploy and maintain an effective security solution that guards critical IT resources in environments that include an at-home workforce.

Firewall Integration Services for At-Home WorkersFirewalls enable you to create a network that can be safely accessed by local users as well as by an at-home workforce, mobile users, suppliers, customers, and the public. Modern firewall appliances permit you to configure and control appropriate access rights to various groups of users and to expand your network and modify your security as your company evolves and as network attacks become increasingly sophisticated. Progent works with both new and older security appliances from all major manufacturers including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall integration expertise, go to firewall configuration and support services.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring and Management for At-Home WorkersRemote Endpoint Monitoring makes it possible to track the various computers used by an at-home workforce and either reject or identify and mitigate modern cyber attacks like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight software agent is installed on each secured endpoint, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art AI technology from SentinelOne to identify zero-day attacks at inception. When a cyberattack is discovered, ProSight ASM instantly isolates the impacted endpoint device from the network to contain the malware. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is autonomous, endpoints remain secure even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To learn more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, refer to remote endpoint monitoring for teleworkers.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Remote WorkersProgent's Duo MFA Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity confirmation with Apple iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With Duo 2FA, when you log into a secured online account and enter your password you are requested to verify your identity on a unit that only you have and that uses a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this second means of authentication including an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may register multiple validation devices. For more information about ProSight Duo identity validation services, refer to Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for teleworkers.

Security Audit Services for At-Home WorkersSecurity Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all types of external and internal security attacks for a network that includes remote workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated security inventory scanning for rapidly and affordably detecting a wide variety of security weaknesses that can be found via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment experts, which can be managed by security professionals with top certifications such as CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist you to evaluate your workflows and policies and review your IT infrastructure to allow you to design top-level security for your at-home workers.

NodeZero Pentetration Testing for At-Home WorkersHorizon3.ai's NodeZero PEN Testing Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated threat assessment of your work-from-home connectivity solution and your internal and perimeter networks so you can expose, rank, fix, and confirm cybersecurity weaknesses before threat actors can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can assist you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough penetration tests of your perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure in order to determine your present security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also assist you to strengthen your existing network security and can assist you to design and implement a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and provides maximum protection for on-premises, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To learn more information about Progent's vulnerability assessment services based on on NodeZero's PEN test platform, refer to Consulting Services for NodeZero's Penetration Test Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home Network
To view or download a white paper describing critical areas to concentrate on for securing a network that incorporates telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home (WFH) 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 case of storage failures resulting from equipment issues, programming glitches, user error, cyber attack, or any other reason. Reliable data protection strategies can be especially challenging to architect and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate in-house data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

  • Backup/Restore solutions for teleworkers must address multiple types of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide fast online help from experts knowledgeable about a wide range of products for protection Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery solutions maintained by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained restore and unified management capabilities.
  • Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans commonly envision scenarios that call for a temporary switch to telecommuting. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity specialists can assist you to develop, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the process of moving to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Remote Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management products under the title Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides a unified platform for safeguarding corporate data by controlling on-premises, 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 service for managing and securing remote devices and applications. Remote endpoint devices can be user owned or company owned. IT admins managing the enrolled endpoint devices of at-home workers can use Intune to deploy and validate applications on devices, push patches and certificates, set up rules for permission to access information and networks, manage passwords, create VPN tunnels, control how teleworkers share information, establish threat protection, ensure security compliance, and wipe sensitive information from missing, stolen or deactivated devices. Intune can be used with iOS/iPadOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X endpoints. For details about Intune and to find out how Progent can assist you to use this platform to administer the devices of your teleworkers, go to Intune teleworker device management consultants.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized MDM product that allows network administrators to keep offsite endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for access control, app management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE runs with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or leading 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 rapid remote deployment of new laptops, immediate onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of devices, unifies management reporting and analytics, email encryption, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based services. To find out about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE remote device management expertise.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about creating and maintaining a productive work-from-home environment for your Sherman Oaks, California company, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.