IT Technology News and Progent Solutions

Cisco unveiled innovative products intended especially for small business networks and designed to provide a high degree of protection and connectivity for an affordable cost. Solutions announced by Cisco included Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker, the Cisco NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems, and the newest version of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS).

The Cisco Spam and Virus Blocker is a purpose-built antispam and antivirus security product that virtually eliminates email-based attacks with no set up. Cisco's NSS2000 and NSS3000 Small Business Network Storage Systems are affordable desktop NAS appliances that offer protection for valuable data and allow workers to share information easily. Cisco's Smart Business Communications System Version 1.4, a complete sharing and communications solution that easily connects offices, workers, and customers however dispersed. Cisco's current version incorporates the debut of a wireless desktop Internet Protocol (IP) handset with Bluetooth capabilities. To see Cisco's news release, refer to Cisco Introduces Connectivity and Collaboration Solutions for Small Businesses.

Cisco Spam and Virus Blocker
The Spam and Virus Blocker protects small companies by providing powerful defense against spam, malware and other email-borne threats to secure your system and business information and simultaneously enhance efficiency. Because the device stops spam and viruses right out of the box and updates on its own, it eliminates the expense and hassle with initial configuration and continuing and management. By eliminating unwanted email, Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker appliance increases the performance of network connections, servers, and workstations. The Spam Blocker is an end-to-end solution email threats by including a physical appliance, intelligent software, continuous patches, and technical support in a single bundle.

Key features of Cisco's Spam and Virus Blocker are:

• Efficiency: Helps to ensure that email-borne attacks and spam are intercepted and business email is accepted.
• Ongoing automatic patches: Non-stop communication with SenderBase services, a network library of email security threats, makes sure that the Spam & Virus Blocker appliance incorporates the most current updates to guard your business email.
• Simple installation and use: User-friendly web-based installation tools permit you to configure the Spam Blocker in nearly any network within minutes, delivering instant protection for your business network.
• Effortless management: As soon as you deploys the the Spam and Virus Blocker appliance, you get spam and malware filtering with minimal additional hassle demanded of your IT staff.

Cisco Small Business NSS2000 and 3000
The Cisco Small Business NSS2000 and NSS3000 Network Storage Systems offer the robust security and comprehensive backup features that your business needs, at a price small businesses can afford. The Cisco Small Business NSS3000 accommodates as much as to four terabytes of data and as many as 15 simultaneous users per enclosure, provides the ideal answer for storing, sharing, and backing up your mission-critical business information. As distinct from entry-level network-attached storage (NAS) systems, the Cisco Small Business NSS3000 delivers the advanced backup, encryption, user authentication, and service continuity your business needs.

The Cisco NSS3000 4-Bay Gigabit Storage System Chassis handles any approved disk drive. The product provides a range of features in a desktop-size system engineered for small companies. The Cisco NSS3000 Storage System enclosure also offers your company the versatility to deploy the product without any attached drives, to reconfigure the product easily, and to link several chassis together, offering a solution that can continually grow with your business.

You can use the Cisco NSS2000 or 3000 to:

• Intelligently copy vital information from each workstation and application server on your network
• Offer unified storage and distribution of important information
• Employ Continuous Data Protection (CDP) to back up unattended each version of each file saved by workers, permitting you to recover files easily
• Record and archive digital video from your video security system

Cisco SBCS
The Smart Business Communications System Release 1.4 is an easy-to-manage and comprehensive sharing and communications solution that allows small businesses to interconnect at-home workers, mobile workers and office workers in disparate sites to improve their options to communicate with clients and teammates. In the new release, the aggressively priced system offers improved wireless capabilities such as the first wireless desktop IP handset with built-in Bluetooth technology, the Cisco SPA525G VoIP phone, which allows businesses to grow cost-effectively by deploying phones in places where conventional phone wires or network cables are missing or cannot conveniently be added.

Other new components of the Cisco SBCS Release 1.4 are:

• The Cisco 520 Secure Router product to help guard a small business infrastructure and give employees secure access to the Internet and key corporate data any time, anywhere
• The Configuration Assistant Release 1.9 to enable stakeholders to simplify the configuration and deployment of solutions created custom for certain businesses

How Progent's Consulting Experts Can Help You to Take Advantage of Cisco Networking Technology
Progent's Cisco support professionals and CCIE networking experts can help you to evaluate the latest Cisco technologies to determine their appropriateness for your IT system, set up Cisco appliances to improve the security and efficiency of your network, and troubleshoot Cisco products both in person and remotely to keep your network running smoothly. Progent's consulting experts can provide a range of cost-effective support services to improve the availability, protection, efficiency, and maintainability of your company's information system:

Quick Online Access to Cisco CCIE Network Engineers
Progent delivers convenient, quick, and affordable support from CCIE support professionals. CCIEs are recognized networking gurus who are awarded this prestigious classification only after exhaustive examination by Cisco. CCIEs can resolve even the most complex issues surrounding network infrastructure design, deployment, troubleshooting, and maintenance. Progent's CCIE experts cooperate intimately with Cisco in-house staff in identifying problems with Cisco's IOS platform and developing fixes or acquiring software updates to correct anomalies. Progent gives you fast access to a CCIE by telephone so you are able to get instant assistance for tough network troubles that are undermining worker productivity but are beyond the scope of your local IT service providers. Progent's CCIE support engineers can link to your environment using state-of-the-art off-site connectivity technology in order to provide fast and cost-effective diagnosis and repair of urgent infrastructure difficulties.

Cisco VoIP Phone and IP Video Phone Integration
Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified VoIP phone and video IP phone experts can assist your business to configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Cisco IP phones, video IP phones and wireless IP phones. Progent offers expertise for all versions of Cisco's IP phones from legacy VoIP devices to the newest media phones. Progent's IP telephony experts can also assist you to integrate your VoIP phones and video IP phones with Unified CM, previously named CallManager, or with Cisco Unified CM Express to build a modern IP-PBX ecosystem for unified messaging and collaboration. Progent's consultants can provide expertise with all aspects of Cisco VoIP Phone integration including reviewing dial plans, resolving IP phone registration issues, setting up SIP gateways, deploying ISR G2 routers with CUBE internetworking capability, and designing UCS server clustering and Cisco SRST solutions for survivability. For more information on Progent's technical support for Cisco's IP voice and video technology, visit Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) and Unified Communications Consulting Expertise.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager and CallManager Unified Messaging
Cisco Unified Communications Manager, previously known as CallManager, acts as the center of Cisco's communications and collaboration portfolio. Unified CM and Unified Communications Manager Express provide a modern IP-PBX solution by integrating tightly with apps like Cisco Unified CM IM and Presence Service, Unity Connection for voicemail management, Mobile Connect for Single Number Reach (SNR), and Unified Contact Center Enterprise (Unified CCE) for creating an advanced customer contact center. Progent's CCIE-certified CUCM consultants can assist with any aspect of Unified CM support and debugging in areas that include integrating VoIP phones and video IP phones, reviewing dial plans, setting up SIP connections and PSTN calling, deploying ISR G2 routers with CUBE networking support, creating Cisco UCS server clustering solutions for survivability, and integration with Exchange Server.

Cisco ASA Firewall and PIX Firewall Consulting
Progent's certified Cisco network security consultants offer expert PIX and ASA Firewall consulting services covering architecture, configuration, and support of Cisco firewall and Cisco security solutions. The PIX and ASA Series of Cisco firewalls delivers strong user and software policy enforcement, mutlivector attack defense, and safe access services. Ranging from compact, plug-and-play desktop devices for small and home businesses to scalable gigabit products, Cisco PIX Firewall and ASA Firewalls offer advanced security, performance, and excellent reliability for network environments of any size. PIX and ASA Firewalls are based on a hardened, purpose-built platform, minimizing common OS-specific security holes.

Network Security Inventory and Assessment Packages
Progent's GIAC, CISA and CISM-certified security engineers can deliver a range of cost-effective network security Inventory bundles and network security evaluation service packages created to give businesses of all sizes a chance to receive a professional look at the strength of their protection profile. The packages range from low-cost external network security scan and internal security scan packages for small and midsize businesses up to a high-end network security assessment solution for corporations who need comply with security standards demanded by state regulators or by vendors. For every security inventory or evaluation bundle, consultants with top security credentials evaluate and report on collected data and make recommendations for effective remediation.

SIP Connectivity Solutions: SIP Trunks and CUBE Configuration Consulting
Progent's Cisco-certified SIP infrastructure consultants and CUBE configuration experts can help organizations of any size to design, integrate, manage, debug and upgrade Cisco's SIP infrastructure solutions and Cisco's CUBE-connected SIP trunks. Progent can provide affordable remote or on-premises expertise to help businesses to migrate smoothly to a modern unified communications ecosystem that delivers fast ROI. Progent's certified Microsoft collaboration consultants can assist you to configure interfaces between Cisco's CUBE SBC and Microsoft's VoIP and IP video applications such as Skype for Business or Lync for connectivity to a SIP-based IP PSTN trunk.

Consulting and Support Consulting and Troubleshooting Expertise for Cisco Wireless Solutions
Progent can provide a certified CCIE or certified CCNP to assist you to develop a comprehensive wireless network design and implementation strategy that integrates a broad array of wireless products and technologies and offers the same security, expandability, and ease of management you expect from your wired network. Progent can assist you to implement transparent integration between Cisco wireless products and wireless products from third-party suppliers to offer your company the functionality you need plus the most protected, dependable, and cost-effective wireless networking system possible. Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security consultants can show you how to design security into your wireless network and your company's processes.

Simplified Administration Solutions for Cisco-based IT Network Infrastructure
Progent's Cisco-Premier network consultants offer help with Cisco's network management tools alongside a range of specialized third-party products to build a comprehensive network management solution in order to keep your environment operating smoothly, fully utilize limited resources, protect your information, revive quickly from hardware breakdown or deliberate attacks, and allow you to add or repurpose network resources sensibly and affordably as your company grows.

To find out more information about Progent's consulting expertise for Cisco connectivity and security solutions, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.