IT Technology News and Progent Solutions

Microsoft began shipping the most recent version of Microsoft Communications Server, Microsoft's platform for managing presence, IM infrastructure, teleconferencing, and IP-based calling. The latest edition of Microsoft Communications Server features enhancements that offer IT organizations more flexibility for supporting their communications infrastructure effectively while representing an extensible platform for communications-enabled work processes.

To reduce expenses, improve productivity, and enhance teamwork, the latest version of Microsoft Communications Server permits phone audioconferencing to replace costly third-part services with an in-house conferencing bridge that can be managed as part of a company's overall communications environment. Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2 also now features desktop sharing, which allows workers to share their PC seamlessly and initiate calls and team up with others external to the company on Windows PC, Apple Mac, or Linux computers through a Web-based interface. The new release of Microsoft Office Communications Server also allows geographically dispersed teams to work together by participating in theme-based discussions that extend indefinitely. This application provides users with an index of all active discussion rooms and themes, automatically backs up chats in an XML file format that meets compliance regulations, delivers utilities to look through the entire history of chat on a specific topic, and offers filters and alarms to notify someone of new updates.

The new version of Microsoft Communications Server 2007 also includes enhanced support for voice communications and mobility. The innovative attendant console permits support personnel or group secretaries to control calls and conferences on behalf of associates, set up processes to route phone calls, and handle higher numbers of incoming communications via an intuitive software console. The SIP trunking feature allows businesses to cut expenses by establishing up a direct VoIP interface between an Internet telephony service supplier and Office Communications Server without requiring on-premises gateways. In addition, Office Communicator Mobile functionality has been extended to new platforms such as the Motorola RAZR, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile.

How Progent's Microsoft-certified Consultants Can Assist You to Benefit from Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2
A Standard Edition Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 manages all necessary services on one physical Front End Server. The minimal expense in computer hardware and ease of management make this version is ideal for small and medium-sized companies and for branch offices. Microsoft Communications Server relies on Windows Server and takes advantage of powerful Windows platforms like as Active Directory, Microsoft SQL Server, System Center Operations Manager, and Microsoft Exchange Server. With Office Communications Server, you can add real-time teamwork features and presence to ubiquitous Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Excel, and Microsoft Word. Presence awareness generated by the server can also be added to productivity applications. Microsoft Office Communications Server also acts as the presence mechanism for team sites and web portals, providing presence and Instant Messaging access from within SharePoint sites.

Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers offer expert technical services for all these technologies and can help you in planning and implementing an installation of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 so as to maximize the productivity value of this IM, presence, and VoIP platform. Progent can also assist your company to upgrade from Live Communications Server 2005 to the latest edition of Microsoft Communications Server 2007.

Progent's consultants can help your company to install Microsoft Communications Server and integrate a wide of Microsoft platforms to take advantage of the presence, IM, and Voice over IP features enabled by Microsoft Communications Server:

Windows Server 2008 Planning and Support
Progent offers a variety of Windows Server 2008 planning and maintenance services that can help small businesses to get the most from Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can assist your company to evaluate the areas where Windows Server 2008 could enhance the productivity of your IT system in order to rationalize an upgrade. Progent can help you pilot Microsoft Windows Server 2008 so that you can determine its stability, speed, and operability running realistic workloads. Progent can help with developing a rollout plan, assess and improve existing network environment, document archiving and recovery procedures, evaluate security architecture and policies, assist in integrating physical and virtual machines, design high-availability strategies such as server clustering, train your internal IT administration team, and deploy proactive 24x7 monitoring processes to track your information system's protection and performance.

Exchange Server 2007 Design, Installation, and Troubleshooting Support
Progent's expert support team can show you how to define and implement an efficient Microsoft Exchange 2007 upgrade plan that avoids productivity disruption, reduces ongoing support demands, and makes your Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 easy to administer. Progent's Exchange 2007 support, troubleshooting, and design services include expertise with the configuration of third-party enhancements of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and the design of unified messaging implementations based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Progent's services feature integration with your business network, access to handheld computing devices, automated monitoring of performance and network security, spam and virus filtering, patch and revision management, Help Desk Call Center services, daily backup, and full email administration services.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Help
Progent can provide expertise for planning, configuring, and managing successful Microsoft Office SharePoint Server solutions that can significantly improve important areas of your company's IT environment including collaboration, web portal, company-wide search, forms-driven business operations, delivery of actionable information, and document management. Progent's Microsoft-qualified consultants can help you to assess the business benefit for deploying SharePoint Server, deliver setup and installation expertise, help you to set up SQL Server as a back-end database, enhance your network infrastructure, integrate your off-the-shelf and custom application programs to operate with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, develop a company-wide protection plan that includes portal solutions, and deliver online and in-person repair and Help Desk Call Center services.

SQL Server Integration and Maintenance
Progent's SQL Server experts can help your organization configures SQL 2008 properly, and that your SQL-based data management solution is incorporated seamlessly with your business applications. Progent offers continuous server monitoring to make sure your business information system is healthy, and Progent's remote Help Desk Call Center is ready to provide fast remediation for SQL issues. Progent's certified data protection experts can assess your business-wide security policies and mechanisms and suggest improvements for better regulatory compliance. Progent's developers can assist your company to create or personalize business applications or eCommerce sites rely on databases controlled by SQL Server 2008.

Windows Active Directory Consulting and Support Services
Microsoft Windows Active Directory requires significant field experience to configure optimally across an enterprise. Progent's Microsoft certified Active Directory experts are skilled in planning, integrating, and troubleshooting complex Microsoft Enterprise Active Directory installations. Progent's areas of expertise with Microsoft Windows 2003 and 2008 Active Directory include replication issues, multi-domain partition design, repair of corrupted Active Directory objects, cleaning up legacy legacy version configuration objects in online Active Directory systems, and repair of unsuccessful configurations of Active Directory and AD-integrated applications.

Desktop Consulting and Support Services
Progent's certified desktop support consultants can deliver a broad array of cost-effective support services to assist your company to install, configure, troubleshoot, and administer workstations and notebooks based on Microsoft Windows. Progent can offer onsite or online assistance for individual PCs and moble devices or work with your business to design and implement a company-wide migration to the latest version of Windows. Progent can also install Microsoft Office or Microsoft Dynamics business applications on your workstations so they integrate productively with other Microsoft applications, products from popular vendors, SQL databases, and key solutions throughout your network. Progent can also supply consultants and technicians to assist your company to plan for and implement an office move or merger organized to produce the least possible interruption to your business.

Wireless Solutions Consulting
Progent's consultants provide expertise in a variety of technologies relevant to mobile connectivity such as system infrastructure, Activesync, wireless protection, mobile e-mail, Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry, and wireless software programming. Progent's certified professionals can save your company work and expense by using their wireless background to help you choose and configure wireless networking technologies that fit the needs of your business. Progent can also tune your IT infrastructure so that mobile PDAs perform better.

Emergency Remote Troubleshooting
Progent's Technical Response Center provides nationwide remote troubleshooting for Windows and Cisco-based small business information networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Certified support engineers offer telephone support and online secure computer access to isolate and resolve network problems quickly and affordably. The breadth of IT experience represented by Progent's staff of country-wide support engineers allows Progent to escalate even the toughest problems to appropriate experts as required.

To learn more information concerning Progent's support services for Office Communications Server 2007, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.