San Francisco Work from Home Employees Configuration Support and Consulting

Enlarging your at-home workforce may have a significant effect on IT infrastructure, security/compliance, and company workflows. Progent has 20 years of background assisting SMBs to plan, deploy, administer, optimize, and troubleshoot IT environments that support a remote workforce. Progent can assist your San Francisco company to select the right technologies and follow leading practices in building and operating a secure virtual ecosystem for teleworkers that facilitates teamwork and delivers top business value. Progent offers services that go from on demand guidance for getting you past challenging IT roadblocks to comprehensive project management to help you successfully complete mission-critical tasks.

Progent can help San Francisco, California businesses to succeed with any facet of building a high-functioning remote work ecosystem by providing infrastructure configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud integration, Help Desk services, data security, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Integrating the network infrastructure required for an at-home workforce can be particularly complicated if you must accommodate a combination of worker-owned hardware like desktop computers and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from various manufacturers and with a variety of OS software and firmware levels. Progent's background delivering online support for both legacy and modern IT products in virtual office venues enables you to make cost-effective use of your available infrastructure and provides you with ready access to expertise for implement essential updates. Support services available from Progent to assist you to create a productive work-at-home 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 a public cloud. Progent's consultants can help your company to configure and manage VPN access between your teleworkers and your key network resources by providing online VPN integration support. For businesses with Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall consultants can help your at-home workers to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect client software for safe VPN connections for a wide selection of devices such as Microsoft Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platforms allow an at-home worker to see and use a data center PC's desktop. This technology provides network managers substantial control over the digital environment of telecommuters and ensures remote users a familiar experience. Progent's virtual desktop services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
• Routers connect at-home computer networks to the Internet and support VPN connections, local Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent offers top-tier remote support for setting up routers from a range of vendors. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified experts.
• Home Wi-Fi networks, often supporting families and visitors, are commonly used by telecommuters to connect to their Internet router for work. This can create throughput and cybersecurity problems. Progent can assist you to mitigate these issues by delivering expertise that include Aironet integration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki WiFi deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi wireless AP integration assistance.
• Internet access solutions impact the performance and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate network. Vital applications may require redundant Internet connections in the event the primary connection breaks. Progent offers expertise for selecting ISPs, selecting sensible service offerings, and integrating fault-tolerant Internet connections. See Internet connectivity solutions.

VoIP Integration for Teleworkers
Expanding the corporate PBX system to accommodate teleworkers is critical to supporting an effective work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based digital PBX platforms are used by small and mid-size businesses to server telecommuters. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's current or legacy platforms for IP voice solutions. Progent can assist organizations of all sizes to design or maintain a telecommuter IP voice environment that delivers the versatility, convenience and protection required for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants offer advanced support to help organizations optimize their current Cisco VoIP environments to support an expanding remote workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends high-end IP telephony features to devices such as VoIP phones, media processing products, VoIP gateways, and multimedia software used throughout the network. CUCM manages additional mixed media services such as unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and team interaction networks. For details about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM support, visit CUCM consulting services.
• CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM. Progent can help you to maintain your existing CallManager environment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. To learn about Progent's support services for CallManager and Cisco's other older IP voice platforms, see CallManager consulting services.
• Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with public telephony networks and with clients working outside the corporate firewall such as at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products and for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
• Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to update your WAN infrastructure to support these VoIP solutions and deliver online configuration and debugging expertise.

Video Conferencing for Teleworkers
A wide range of voice/video conferencing platforms from leading vendors support online discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen sharing for both onsite workers and teleworkers. Many organizations use a mix of products to meet the needs of their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can help your organization to manage your existing voice/video conferencing environment and enhance the experience of your remote workforce.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications product 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 offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist your company to configure and manage Skype for Business clients to support your at-home workforce. For details about Progent's support expertise for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration experts.
• FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling app for iOS, iPadOS, iPod and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current versions of FaceTime allow as many as 32 concurrent users for video calls. For details about Progent's consulting services for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for most computing devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based recording, plus revision and playback for training. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Webex and for additional IP video products from Cisco, refer to Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
• Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams acts as a hub for conversations, contacts, and information with features such as IP voice and video conferencing, threaded chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Apps supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide configuration and troubleshooting services for these products and help your business to tune your WAN infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 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 endpoint computers. Progent has provided online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial publication and can help your company to deploy these critical collaboration products to maximize the productivity of your at-home 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. Designed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium can support chat, audio/video meetings with screen sharing, calling, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and application sharing. Teams is closely integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Entra (formerly called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its full range of features. For additional information about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit solution design and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint uses web sites to facilitate collaboration and information delivery by providing policy-based access to content, workflow, and tools for searching through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint permits you to create protected portals that allows remote workforce to view and edit aggregated business intelligence by means of Wikis, Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For details about Progent's SharePoint consulting expertise, visit 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 consulting services, see planning and configuration consulting for Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers can access them securely via a browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive allows at-home employees to co-edit documents. Revisions made offline are uploaded when you reconnect to the Internet. To find out about Progent's consulting services for OneDrive, see Onedrive integration experts.

Public Cloud Integration Services for Telecommuters
Progent offers fast and affordable online support for enabling organizations to build, maintain and optimize cohesive hybrid network models that incorporate physical data centers, at-home workers, branches, plus cloud services. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all types of cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers fix issues with cloud access, identity, and cybersecurity.

Azure is a popular family of public cloud services that allows you to utilize infrastructure, servers, and critical apps running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure features over 100 cloud-based services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-based VMs, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can help you to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure AD, and design backup and recovery systems with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you establish protected access to Azure for telecommuters by configuring and debugging firewalls and VPN tunnels. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Azure, see Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of client productivity software and cloud services offered by subscription. Microsoft applications and services are marketed in a variety of bundles designed for customers ranging from individuals and households to large corporations. Progent can provide fast and easy online access to experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoints running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent's experts can assist your business to evaluate the numerous subscription bundles offered with Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your remote workers in a way that delivers maximum business value. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 integration services.

Exchange Online is one of the most popular applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the benefits of reduced spending for data center infrastructure, easier management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and other benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate smoothly with local Exchange environments, allowing you to build hybrid information systems. Progent's certified Exchange experts can provide as-needed assistance to get you past challenging IT bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to ensure your at-home workers have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. For details Progent's support services for Exchange Online, visit Exchange Online integration and support consulting.

Amazon AWS is a trailblazer in the public cloud arena and is the industry's leading provider of cloud-based services. Progent offers rapid and affordable online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can assist your organization to plan, deploy, maintain, and debug hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with on-premises data centers and with other popular cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help you to create a high-uptime network model to make sure your employees have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the road. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, refer to Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a popular set of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist your business to expand your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database experts can help you make your key apps cloud ready so your telecommuters can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist your business to set up virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with GCP Storage, and simplify access management for teleworkers with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent's experts can also help you to use GCP's management tools to administer and track your GCP environment. For information, visit Google Cloud Platform integration expertise.

Help Desk Support for Telecommuters
A sudden, organization-wide transition to a teleworker workforce, which might be motivated by an epidemic or as part of a business continuity preparedness plan, can overstretch even a high-performing in-house Help Desk. Progent's Help Desk services allow organizations to outsource or expand their Help Desk Call Center by using Progent's remote Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

• Progent's Standard Support Desk services utilize Progent's nationwide network of remote IT support experts along with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and follow-up software to provide an affordable, modern Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide a comprehensive solution that addresses all aspects of remote Level 1 desktop technical support from service requests to trouble ticket creation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal allows from-home workers to check or edit their active trouble tickets, add information, and append screenshots and attachments. Desktop support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 desktop service rates, and Progent makes available optional rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT specialists to resolve complex issues. To learn more, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
• Progent's Support Desk Augmentation Service enables you to augment your current Help Desk organization by splitting delivery of Help Desk services seamlessly between your regular support organization and Progent's nationwide pool of PC support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Help Desk Call Center service is based on a co-sourcing support model utilizing the number one professional services automation tool for managing help requests and ticketing, assigning responsibility, monitoring progress, and producing management reports. For information about how Progent's Help Desk Augmentation Services can enable your company to deliver best-in-class desktop support to your from-home workers, see Progent's Support Desk augmentation Services.

Security and Compliance for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home employees typically utilize their own computers and often work in a poorly secured physical area. This multiplies their susceptibility to cyber threats and calls for careful configuration of corporate firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, thorough end-user education, and the creation of security policies based on best practices. Progent's veteran roster of data security solutions experts can help you to design, configure and manage a compliant security solution that protects vital information assets in environments that incorporate an at-home workforce.

Firewalls enable companies to build a network environment that can be securely accessed by on-premises users as well as by teleworkers, mobile employees, vendors, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall appliances allow you to configure and manage appropriate access rights to various classes of users and to scale your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as network attacks grow increasingly complex. Progent works with both current and older firewall appliances from all major manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall support expertise, see firewall configuration and support services.

Online Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the disparate devices utilized by an at-home workforce and either block or spot and respond to modern cyber attacks such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint agent is installed on each protected endpoint, watching all activity and using state-of-the-art AI technology from SentinelOne to identify new threats before they can spread. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight ASM immediately disconnects the impacted endpoint device from the corporate network to quarantine the malware. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring software agent is self-contained, endpoints stay protected even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, visit remote endpoint monitoring for at-home workers.

Progent's Duo authentication Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo technology to defend against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity verification with iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are requested to verify who you are on a device that only you possess and that uses a separate network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be used for this second means of authentication including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You can designate several verification devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity authentication services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for telecommuters.

Security Audits can evaluate the exposure of your information system to all types of outside and internal security threats for a network that includes an at-home workforce. Progent can run online, automated cybersecurity inventory scanning for quickly and economically uncovering a wide variety of security gaps that can be surfaced via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by network security experts with advanced certifications such as CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your company to audit your processes and policies and assess your network architecture to enable you to implement top-level protection for your at-home workers.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero PEN Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports autonomous testing of your at-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks to help you find, prioritize, fix, and verify cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent can assist you to deploy NodeZero to perform thorough penetration tests of your perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can evaluate your current security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also assist you to harden your network security and can assist you to plan and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity strategy that simplifies management and provides optimum cyber defense for on-premises, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT assets. To learn additional details about Progent's threat analysis services powered by on NodeZero's pentest platform, refer to Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Products.

Download White Paper: Securing a Work-From-Home Network
To view or download a white paper about critical areas to concentrate on for protecting an IT environment that includes telecommuters, click:
Securing a Work-From-Home Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for At-Home Workers
Data Protection involves backing up and restoring critical data in order to avoid data loss and reduce restoration time and effort in case of storage failures resulting from hardware breakdowns, programming glitches, operator error, malware, or other causes. Reliable data protection strategies can be especially challenging to architect and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate in-house data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

• Backup/Restore strategies for an at-home workforce must address multiple types of personally owned endpoints. Progent offers quick remote access to consultants familiar with a broad array of products for backing up Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iOS and Android tablets and handhelds. Leading backup/recovery solutions supported by Progent's backup/recovery consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect resources spread throughout a wide area network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a managed backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud-based storage and features fine-grained restore and unified management.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies typically envision circumstances that require a quick switch to a work-at-home environment. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity planning specialists can help you to produce, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that addresses the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Remote Workers
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises endpoints. Microsoft Endpoint Manager features a unified solution for safeguarding critical information by managing onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing mobile computers and software. Managed endpoint computers can be user owned or company owned. IT administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of telecommuters can utilize Intune to deploy and authenticate applications on devices, push updates and certificates, set up rules for permission to access information and resources, set passwords, create VPN tunnels, determine how teleworkers share information, establish threat defense, ensure compliance, and delete sensitive data from missing, stolen or decommissioned devices. Microsoft Intune runs with iOS/iPadOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS devices. To find out about Intune and to find out how Progent can help your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to manage the endpoint devices of your teleworkers, refer to Intune mobile device management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform that helps network managers to keep offsite endpoints up to date and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for centralized endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for authorization control, app management, and setup management of endpoint computers. Workspace ONE runs with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, 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 deployment through a one-time purchase. Top features of Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air provisioning of new laptops, immediate onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, unifies reporting and analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. For information about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about creating and maintaining an efficient telecommuter solution for your San Francisco, California business, phone 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.