Hartford Remote Workforce Configuration Consultants

Expanding your remote workforce may have a significant effect on IT architecture, security, and corporate processes. Progent has two decades of background assisting SMBs to plan, configure, administer, tune, and debug IT networks that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can assist your Hartford company to select the right technologies and follow best practices in creating and maintaining a safe virtual office ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes collaboration and delivers maximum business value. Progent offers support services ranging from as-needed expertise for helping you over occasional IT roadblocks to comprehensive project management to help you carry out mission-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Hartford, Connecticut companies to with any aspect of creating a high-performing remote work ecosystem by delivering network infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud connectivity, Help Desk outsourcing, security monitoring, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Configuring the physical and software infrastructure needed to support a remote workforce can be especially challenging if you have to manage a mix of personal equipment such as PCs and laptops, routers, and Wi-Fi APs from an assortment of manufacturers and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's experience providing online support for both legacy and current IT products in virtual office venues enables you to make efficient use of your available network infrastructure and offers ready access to expertise for making necessary updates. Support services available from Progent to help your company to implement a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem include:

• Virtual Private Network technology allows you to establish a secure connection for authorized remote employees to use IT resources located at your corporate datacenter or in a public cloud. Progent can assist your company to deploy and maintain VPN access between your at-home workforce and your various IT resources by providing online VPN configuration consulting. For businesses using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall experts can help your at-home workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect software for secure VPN tunneling for a broad range of devices such as Microsoft Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products allow a teleworker to see and use a data center computer's desktop. This technology gives network managers significant control over the digital environment of telecommuters and offers them a familiar experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
• Routers attach home computer networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, local wireless connectivity, and firewall services. Progent offers top-tier remote support for deploying home routers from a range of manufacturers. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wireless networks, typically supporting an entire household and visitors, are commonly utilized by at-home employees to connect to their Internet router for work. This can create performance as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can assist businesses to resolve these problems by delivering services like Aironet integration consulting, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless installation expertise, and Ubiquiti WiFi access point integration assistance.
• Internet connectivity solutions affect the speed and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Vital applications may demand redundant Internet connections in case the normal connection breaks. Progent can provide guidance for picking ISPs, choosing sensible bandwidth and data volume packages, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet connections. Refer to Internet access integration services.

IP Voice Solutions for Telecommuters
Extending the business PBX environment to include remote users is critical to supporting an effective at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-based digital PBX platforms are popular with SMBs to support remote users. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's current or older platforms for IP voice solutions. Progent can assist businesses of all sizes to plan or maintain a remote IP voice environment that delivers the versatility, convenience and security required for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants can provide high-level support to assist organizations optimize their current Cisco IP voice environments to support a growing remote workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) extends advanced telephony capabilities to devices like VoIP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and multimedia software used across the network. CUCM supports additional combined media services like unified messaging, video conferencing, and team collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM expertise, visit CUCM consultants.
• Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM. Progent's consultants can assist you to support your current CallManager environment or migrate efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. To learn about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other early VoIP platforms, refer to CallManager consulting services.
• Cisco IP Gateways enable integration with PSTN networks and with users operating outside the corporate firewall like telecommuters. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 product lines as well as for modern Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco SIP gateway configuration consulting.
• Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your WAN architecture to support these solutions and provide online deployment and debugging services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A broad selection of voice/video conferencing platforms from leading vendors enable online meetings, video conferencing, chat sessions, and content sharing for both local workers and at-home workers. Many organizations use multiple products to accommodate their different partners and clients. Progent can help you to maintain your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and enhance the productivity of your at-home employees.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications product that enables presence, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the transparent 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 you to set up and maintain Skype for Business client software to support your at-home employees. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business consulting services.
• FaceTime is Apple's group video phone platform for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime allow up to 32 concurrent users for video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing discrete content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, session recording, plus revision and playback for training. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco Webex and for additional 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 hub for conferencing, contacts, and information with features such as voice/video conferencing, persistent threaded chat, plus file sharing. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, see Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Other Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide configuration and debugging services for these products and help your business to tune your network infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office families, offering a rich ecosystem of productivity apps that deliver a cohesive user experience for exchanging data and ideas across a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoints. Progent has delivered remote consulting services for SharePoint and Exchange Server since their original publication and can help businesses to configure these critical collaboration platforms to maximize the productivity of your remote 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 on top of Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can enable chat, audio/video meetings that include screen sharing, calling, 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 Azure Entra (formerly branded Azure Active Directory) for delivering its complete range of capabilities. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, see planning and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint uses web sites to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing by offering policy-based access to data, business processes, and tools for looking through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to create secure portals that enables at-home workers to see and edit aggregated business intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For details about Progent's SharePoint support services, refer to SharePoint integration and 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. For details about Progent's Exchange support services, visit integration consulting for Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud storage service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can save files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers can retrieve them safely via a browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive enables remote employees to co-edit documents. Revisions created offline are automatically synced when you go back online. To find out about Progent's consulting services for OneDrive, refer to Microsoft Onedrive integration experts.

Cloud Integration for Telecommuters
Progent offers affordable remote support for enabling businesses to create, maintain and repair cohesive network models that combine internal data centers, teleworkers, branches, plus public cloud services. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all types of cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with cloud access, identity, and security.

Microsoft Azure is a leading family of public cloud software and services that enables you to utilize IT infrastructure, servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure includes over 100 cloud-based services such as the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered VMs, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can assist your organization to deploy virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure Active Directory, and plan backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also help you establish secure connections to Azure for remote workers by setting up and troubleshooting firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. For details about Progent's expertise for Microsoft Azure, go to Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of client productivity software and cloud services available on a subscription basis. Microsoft apps and services are provided in a variety of plans designed for users ranging from individuals and small offices to large enterprises. Progent offers quick and affordable remote contact with consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoint devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can assist you to assess the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your at-home workers to achieve maximum business value. To learn about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting services.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most popular applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online provides the benefits of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and additional benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run transparently with on-premises deployments of Exchange, enabling you to create hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's Exchange consultants are available for as-needed assistance to guide you through challenging IT roadblocks and can also provide end-to-end project management services to ensure your at-home workers have convenient and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, go to Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud computing arena and is the world's top source of cloud services. Progent can provide rapid and economical online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can assist your business to plan, implement, manage, and debug hybrid information networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local data centers and with other public clouds like Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help you to build a high-uptime network model so 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 move. To learn about Progent's expertise for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting expertise.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a popular suite of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist your business to extend your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA consultants can help you make your mission-critical applications cloud ready so your teleworkers can benefit fully from Google Cloud services. Progent's consultants can help your organization to deploy VMs on GCP Compute Engine, design a cost-effective storage solution with GCP Storage, and simplify identity management for at-home workers with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent's experts can also assist you to use GCP's unified management technology to control and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. For details, see Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration support.

Help Desk Call Center Support for Teleworkers
A sudden, company-wide transition to a teleworker workforce, which could be driven by a pandemic or as a component of a disaster recovery process, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Call Center. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services make it possible for businesses to outsource or augment their Call Desk with Progent's remote Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

• Progent's Standard Call Desk support services utilize Progent's extensive team of remote technical support experts combined with enterprise-class ticketing and follow-up technology to offer an affordable, modern Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that addresses all facets of remote Level 1 PC technical support from initial service requests to trouble ticket creation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables teleworkers to monitor or update their active tickets, add information, and upload screen captures and relevant files. Support services are delivered at a substantial price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent offers optional fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT specialists to resolve complex problems. For details, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
• Progent's Call Center Supplemental Service allows your business to expand your current Call Desk team by sharing delivery of Help Desk support services seamlessly between your in-house IT support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of desktop support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Call Center service uses a co-sourcing support model based on the number one PSA platform for handling service requests and trouble tickets, establishing responsibility, monitoring progress, and producing reports. To find out how Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Services can enable your business to deliver world-class desktop support to your teleworkers, visit Progent's Call Center augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Remote Workers
Work-from-Home workers commonly use their own computing devices and usually operate in an unsecured physical space. This increases their susceptibility to cyber attacks and calls for judicious deployment of corporate firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, intensive end-user training, and the development of policies built on leading practices. Progent's seasoned roster of data security solutions consultants can help you to design, configure and manage an effective security solution that guards vital IT assets in networks that incorporate at-home workers.

Firewalls allow you to create a network that can be securely accessed by local users as well as by an at-home workforce, mobile users, suppliers, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall devices allow you to assign and control different access rights to different classes of users and to scale your network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your company evolves and as cyber threats grow more sophisticated. Progent supports both new and older security appliances from all leading manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall configuration expertise, see firewall configuration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the disparate computers utilized by an at-home workforce and either reject or identify and respond to modern cyber attacks such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint software agent is put on every protected endpoint device, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to identify zero-day attacks at inception. When an attack is discovered, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly isolates the targeted endpoint from the network to contain the malware. Because the ProSight ASM agent is autonomous, endpoint devices stay protected even when they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To learn more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint monitoring for remote workers.

Progent's Duo authentication Service Plans incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to defend against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation on iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, whenever you log into a secured application and enter your password you are requested to confirm your identity on a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A broad selection of devices can be used as this second means of ID validation including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may register several validation devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, refer to Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for at-home workers.

Security Audits can evaluate the vulnerability of your network to all classes of external and internal security attacks for an environment that incorporates an at-home workforce. Progent can run remote, automated cybersecurity inventory scanning for rapidly and affordably detecting a broad range of security holes that can be surfaced via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by security professionals with advanced certifications including CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your company to audit your processes and governance policies and assess your IT architecture to enable you to design the highest level of protection for your telecommuters.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero PEN Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated threat assessment of your work-from-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can uncover, rank, remediate, and verify security weaknesses before threat actors can take advantage of them. Progent's pentest experts can help you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your network perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your current security posture. Progent can also help you to strengthen your network security and can help you to plan and deploy a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and delivers optimum cyber defense for on-prem, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To learn more information about Progent's threat analysis solutions powered by on NodeZero's penetration test products, see Consulting Support for NodeZero's Pentest Platform.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network
To read or download a white paper about key things to concentrate on for securing an IT environment that includes work-from-home staff, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home Network White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection for Remote Workers
Data Protection covers saving and recovering vital data so as to avoid data loss and reduce recovery time and effort in case of storage system problems due to equipment issues, programming hiccups, user error, cyber attack, or other causes. Reliable data protection solutions can be particularly difficult to design and maintain in hybrid environments that incorporate private data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

• Backup/Recovery solutions for at-home workers must cover multiple types of personally owned endpoints. Progent can provide quick remote help from experts familiar with a broad range of platforms for backing up Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iOS and Android tablets and handhelds. Popular backup/restore products maintained by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed across a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud storage and includes granular restore and unified management capabilities.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) strategies typically envision scenarios that require a temporary changeover to an at-home workforce. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity specialists can assist you to produce, document and test a DR/BC strategy that addresses the logistics of moving to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has rebranded and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a unified solution for protecting critical data by managing onsite, mobile, and at-home endpoint devices.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and securing off-premises devices and software. Remote endpoint computers can be personally owned or company owned. IT admins managing the enrolled endpoint computers of telecommuters can utilize Intune to deploy and authenticate apps on devices, push patches and certificates, set up policies for permission to access data and resources, set passwords, create VPN tunnels, control how telecommuters share data, set up threat defense, ensure compliance, and erase sensitive data from missing, stolen or deactivated endpoint devices. Intune runs with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS computers. For details about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to administer the devices of your telecommuters, go to Intune teleworker endpoint management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized MDM platform that helps network managers to keep remote endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint management plus VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for identity control, app management, and configuration management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE runs with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises product through a perpetual license. Key features of VMware Workspace ONE include rapid remote provisioning of out-of-the-box laptops, immediate onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, aggregated management reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud products. To learn about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE remote device management expertise.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To contact Progent about building and maintaining a productive work-from-home environment for your Hartford, Connecticut organization, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.