Fort Worth Teleworkers Connectivity Support and Consulting

Enlarging your at-home workforce can have a significant impact on IT architecture, security/compliance, and corporate processes. Progent has 20 years of background assisting businesses of all sizes to design, deploy, administer, tune, and debug IT environments that incorporate at-home workers. Progent can help your Fort Worth company to pick the right tools and follow leading practices in creating and operating a secure virtual solution for telecommuters that promotes teamwork and returns top business value. Progent offers services that go from on demand guidance for helping you past occasional IT bottlenecks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you successfully complete mission-critical initiatives.

Progent can assist Fort Worth, Texas companies to with any facet of creating a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem by delivering infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud integration, Call Desk augmentation, cybersecurity, backup/restore solutions, and unified management.

Infrastructure for Telecommuters
Integrating the network infrastructure needed to support an at-home work environment can be especially complex if you have to manage a mix of personal hardware such as desktop computers and laptops, Internet routers, and wireless APs from different manufacturers and with a variety of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's experience providing remote support for both legacy and modern technologies in virtual office venues enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and offers fast access to expertise for implement essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to help your company to implement a productive telecommuting ecosystem include:

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity makes it possible to create a secure connection for authorized at-home employees to access IT assets located at your company data center or in a public cloud. Progent can help you to configure and maintain VPN connections between your at-home workforce and your various IT resources by providing online VPN configuration support. For organizations with Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA consultants can assist your telecommuters to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software to provide safe VPN tunneling for a broad range of endpoint devices such as Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products enable an at-home worker to see and use a data center PC's desktop. This technology gives network managers more control over the computing environment of at-home employees and offers remote users a familiar work experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI consulting.
• Routers connect home computer networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home wireless connectivity, and firewall services. Progent offers expert remote support for integrating home routers from a variety of manufacturers. See router integration services from Cisco-certified experts.
• Home Wireless networks, typically shared by families and visitors, are commonly utilized by at-home employees to access their Internet router for work. This can cause throughput as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can assist you to resolve these issues by providing expertise like Cisco Aironet integration consulting, Cisco Meraki wireless installation consulting, and Ubiquiti wireless AP setup assistance.
• Internet access solutions impact the speed and reliability of connections between at-home workers and the corporate data center. Vital applications may demand backup Internet connections in case the normal connection fails. Progent can provide expertise for selecting ISPs, selecting sensible bandwidth and data volume offerings, and configuring redundant Internet access. See Internet access solutions.

VoIP Integration for At-Home Workers
Extending the business PBX system to include remote users is critical to maintaining a productive work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-centric VoIP platforms are used by SMBs to server telecommuters. Many enterprises depend on Cisco's modern or legacy platforms for IP voice management. Progent can assist businesses of all sizes to design or tune a telecommuter VoIP service that provides the flexibility, convenience and security needed for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts offer high-level support to assist businesses tune their current Cisco IP voice environments to support a growing at-home workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends high-end telephony features to devices such as IP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and mixed media applications deployed across the network. CUCM supports additional combined media services such as messaging, video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's CUCM support, see Cisco Unified Communications Manager consulting services.
• Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent can assist your company to support your existing CallManager deployment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy IP voice platforms, see CallManager expertise.
• Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with PSTN networks and with users operating beyond the corporate firewall like telecommuters. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series and for current Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration consulting.
• Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your WAN architecture to support these solutions and provide on-demand deployment and troubleshooting expertise.

Voice/Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A wide range of video conferencing products from major technology companies enable virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen sharing for both onsite workers and telecommuters. Many companies utilize a mix of conferencing products to meet the needs of their various partners and customers. Progent can assist your organization to manage your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and optimize the experience of your at-home workforce.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications product that supports real-time presence, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing as well as the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help your company to set up and manage Skype for Business clients to support your at-home workforce. To learn more about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business consulting services.
• FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling platform for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac devices. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime support as many as 32 simultaneous users for voice/video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most computing devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing granular content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus editing and playback for future reference. For details about Progent's support expertise for Cisco Webex as well as for additional IP video solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
• Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a portal for conversations, contacts, and content with features such as video conferencing, threaded chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Microsoft Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Additional Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and debugging expertise for these products and help you to tune your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a rich environment of productivity apps that deliver a consistent user experience for exchanging information across multiple sites and on a broad range of endpoint computers. Progent has provided online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their original publication and can assist businesses to tune these critical collaboration platforms to maximize 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 deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can support chat, video meetings with screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, as well as file and application sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and relies on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (previously called Azure Active Directory) for delivering its complete range of capabilities. For additional information about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, see solution design and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint uses web entities to allow collaboration and information sharing by providing policy-driven delivery of data, business processes, and tools for looking through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to build protected web portals that allows at-home workers to view and edit consolidated corporate intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts. 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 find out about Progent's Exchange support services, go to integration expertise for Exchange Server.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud-based file hosting and synchronization service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home users can store files to OneDrive, and co-workers can share them safely through a web browser. Included with Office 365, OneDrive enables home employees to co-edit documents. Revisions created offline are synced when you go back online. To learn about Progent's expertise for OneDrive, visit Onedrive integration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration for Teleworkers
Progent offers affordable online assistance for enabling businesses to create, maintain and troubleshoot cohesive network architectures that combine physical data centers, telecommuters, branch offices, and cloud services. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all types of cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help telecommuters fix issues with public cloud connectivity, identity, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure is a popular family of cloud software and services that allows you to use infrastructure, servers, and key applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure features more than one hundred services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help you to deploy virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure AD, and plan data backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish secure connections to Azure services for teleworkers by setting up and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting services for Azure, see Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of business productivity applications and cloud-based services offered by subscription. Office apps and services are provided in a selection of plans intended for users ranging from individuals and small offices to major corporations. Progent offers fast and affordable remote access to consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoints based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can help you to assess the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your at-home workers to achieve top business value. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Exchange Online is among the most widely used applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online offers the advantages of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and additional benefits inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run seamlessly with local deployments of Exchange, allowing customers to create hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's certified Exchange experts are available for as-needed assistance to guide you through challenging IT bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your remote workers have easy and safe access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. For information Progent's support services for Exchange Online, go to Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud computing market and is the industry's top provider of cloud services. Progent offers quick and economical online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can assist your organization to plan, deploy, manage, and debug hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with on-premises data centers and with other popular cloud platforms such as 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 productive computing experience whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, from home, or on the road. To learn about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a leading suite of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist your business to expand your current IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA consultants can help you make your critical apps cloud ready so your at-home workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can help your organization to set up virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with Google Cloud Storage services, and simplify identity control for remote workers with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also assist you to utilize GCP's unified management tools to administer and monitor your GCP environment. For details, go to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration services.

Help Desk Call Center Services for Teleworkers
A fast, organization-wide changeover to a telecommuter workforce, which might be motivated by a pandemic or as a component of a business continuity plan, can overwhelm even a high-performing in-house Call Desk. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services allow businesses of any size to outsource or expand their Help Desk Call Center by using Progent's online Technical Response Center services.

• Progent's Standard Help Desk support services utilize Progent's extensive network of remote IT support specialists combined with enterprise-class ticketing and follow-up software to offer an economical, state-of-the-art Help Desk Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that addresses all facets of online Level 1 desktop technical support from initial help requests through trouble ticket creation, screen sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows teleworkers to track or edit their current trouble tickets, add details, and upload screenshots or attachments. Desktop support services are delivered at a significant discount off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical service rates, and Progent makes available optional fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT specialists to resolve advanced problems. For more information, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small companies.
• Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplemental Service allows your business to expand your existing Help Desk Call Center organization by sharing delivery of Help Desk Call Center support services seamlessly between your regular support staff and Progent's nationwide team of PC support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service is based on a co-sourcing support model based on the number one professional services automation (PSA) platform for handling service requests and trouble tickets, assigning ownership, tracking progress, and generating reports. To learn how Progent's Support Desk Supplementation Services can enable your business to deliver world-class IT support to your teleworkers, see Progent's Help Desk supplementation Services.

Security for At-Home Workers
Work-from-Home (WFH) staff members typically use their personal computers and often work in a poorly secured physical environment. This multiplies their susceptibility to malware attacks and requires judicious deployment of firewalls, AV tools, multi-factor authentication, remote endpoint monitoring, extensive user education, and the creation of policies based on leading practices. Progent's seasoned team of cybersecurity solutions consultants can assist your business to plan, deploy and manage a compliant security solution that protects critical information resources in environments that include at-home workers.

Firewalls enable you to build a network that can be safely accessed by local users and by at-home workers, mobile users, vendors, clients, and the public. Modern firewall appliances permit you to configure and control different permissions to different classes of users and to expand your network and modify your security as your company evolves and as cyber threats grow more complex. Progent supports both current and legacy firewall devices from all leading vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall support expertise, go to firewall integration and support services.

Online Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the various devices utilized by at-home workers and either block or spot and mitigate the latest threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight agent is installed on each secured endpoint, watching all activity and utilizing state-of-the-art machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify new attacks before they can spread. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring immediately isolates the impacted device from the corporate network to contain the threat. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is autonomous, endpoint devices remain protected even when they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint security monitoring for telecommuters.

Progent's Duo authentication Managed Services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to protect against stolen passwords through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables single-tap identity verification on iOS, Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you log into a secured online account and give your password you are requested to verify your identity on a unit that only you have and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A wide selection of out-of-band devices can be used as this second means of authentication including an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate multiple verification devices. To find out more about Duo identity authentication services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for telecommuters.

Security Audits can assess the exposure of your information system to all types of external and local security attacks for an environment that includes an at-home workforce. Progent can deploy online, automated cybersecurity inventory scanning for quickly and affordably uncovering a wide variety of security gaps that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's security assessment consulting services, which can be managed by security professionals with top credentials such as CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your company to evaluate your operations and policies and assess your IT architecture to allow you to design the highest level of protection for your at-home workers.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports autonomous threat assessment of your at-home connectivity solution and your internal and perimeter networks to help you expose, rank, remediate, and verify security vulnerabilities before threat actors can exploit them. Progent can help you to use NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure in order to determine your present security posture. Progent can also assist you to harden your network security and can assist you to plan and implement a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and provides maximum protection for on-premises, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To find out additional details about Progent's threat assessment services powered by on NodeZero's PEN test platform, see Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Products.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home (WFH) Environment
To read or download a white paper describing critical areas to concentrate on for securing an IT environment that supports telecommuters, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for At-Home Workers
Data Protection involves backing up and recovering vital data so as to avoid data loss and minimize recovery time in the event of storage system failures due to equipment breakdowns, programming hiccups, operator error, malware, or any other reason. Reliable data protection solutions can be especially difficult to design and maintain in hybrid networks that incorporate private data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

• Backup/Restore solutions for telecommuters must cover diverse types of user-owned endpoints. Progent can provide quick remote help from consultants familiar with a wide range of products for backing up Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iPads and smartphones. Leading backup/recovery solutions supported by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To back up data distributed across a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained restore and centralized management capabilities.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) strategies commonly anticipate scenarios that call for a temporary switch to an at-home workforce. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity specialists can assist your company to create, document and validate a DR/BC plan that includes the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for At-Home Workers
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management products under the title Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a centralized platform for safeguarding corporate data by managing local, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

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 personally owned or business owned. IT admins managing the endpoint devices of telecommuters can use Intune to deploy and validate apps on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for accessing information and resources, manage passwords, establish VPN connections, control how home-based workers share data, establish threat protection, verify security compliance, and delete corporate information from missing, stolen or deactivated endpoint devices. Intune runs with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X computers. For details about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can help you to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to manage the devices of your at-home workers, visit Intune mobile device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that allows network administrators to keep remote endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for centralized endpoint administration along with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for identity control, application management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE runs with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises deployment via a perpetual license. Top features of VMware Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air provisioning of new laptops, quick onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of devices, unifies management reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based products. To find out about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, go to VMware Workspace ONE remote device management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about building and maintaining an efficient telecommuter environment for your Fort Worth, Texas company, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.