Uberlândia Remote Workforce Connectivity Advisor

Expanding your remote workforce can have a major impact on IT architecture, cybersecurity, and corporate culture. Progent has 20 years of background helping businesses of all sizes to plan, configure, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot IT environments that incorporate work-from-home employees. Progent can help your Uberlândia company to select the appropriate tools and follow leading practices in creating and maintaining a secure virtual office ecosystem for teleworkers that promotes teamwork and returns maximum business value. Progent can provide support services that go from as-needed expertise for helping you over occasional technical bottlenecks to comprehensive project management to help you successfully complete business-critical tasks.

Progent's consultants can help Uberlândia, Minas Gerais organizations to succeed with any aspect of creating a high-performing remote work ecosystem by providing network infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform selection and deployment, cloud connectivity, Help Desk augmentation, endpoint security, backup/restore solutions, and centralized management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Setting up the network infrastructure needed for an at-home workforce can be particularly complex if you have to accommodate a combination of worker-owned equipment such as PCs and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi APs from an assortment of manufacturers and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's experience delivering remote support for both outdated as well as current technologies in virtual office venues enables you to make efficient use of your existing infrastructure and provides you with ready access to top-tire consultants for making essential updates. Services available from Progent to assist your company to create a productive telecommuting infrastructure include:

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology makes it possible to establish a safe connection for authorized at-home employees to access IT assets located at your corporate datacenter or in the cloud. Progent can assist you to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your teleworkers and your various network resources by providing remote VPN integration consulting. For businesses with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA experts can assist your telecommuters to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software to provide secure VPN connections for a wide range of devices such as Windows, Mac, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products allow an at-home worker to see and interact with a remote computer's desktop. This technology provides IT managers substantial control over the computing environment of at-home employees and offers them a familiar work experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
• Routers attach home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert online support for configuring home routers from a range of vendors. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wireless networks, typically shared by an entire household and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to connect to their router for work. This can create performance and security issues. Progent can assist you to mitigate these problems by delivering services like Cisco Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless deployment consulting, and Ubiquiti WiFi AP setup assistance.
• Internet access methods affect the performance and availability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate network. Business-critical processes might require backup Internet access in case the normal connection breaks. Progent offers guidance for identifying ISPs, selecting appropriate bandwidth and data volume bundles, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet connections. Refer to Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Integration for Telecommuters
Expanding the corporate PBX system to accommodate remote users is critical to supporting an effective at-home workforce. A broad range of cloud-centric IP voice products are used by small and mid-size businesses to server telecommuters. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's current or older platforms for IP voice management. Progent can help organizations of all sizes to plan or maintain a telecommuter VoIP environment that delivers the flexibility, transparency and protection required for at-home workers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants can provide advanced support to help businesses tune their current Cisco IP voice systems to support an expanding at-home workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) extends enterprise IP telephony capabilities to devices such as IP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia apps used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports additional mixed media services like unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM support, refer to Cisco Unified Communications Manager consultants.
• Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been replaced by CUCM. Progent's consultants can assist you to maintain your existing CallManager deployment or upgrade smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. To find out about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other legacy VoIP products, visit Cisco CallManager consulting.
• Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with users operating beyond the corporate perimeter such as telecommuters. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration consulting.
• Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to enhance your WAN infrastructure to work with these solutions and deliver online integration and debugging services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for Telecommuters
A broad range of voice/video conferencing products from leading technology companies support virtual discussions, video conferencing, chat sessions, and content sharing for both local workers and telecommuters. Many companies use a mix of conferencing products to meet the needs of their different partners and clients. Progent's communications experts can help you to maintain your current voice/video conferencing environment and enhance the productivity of your remote workforce.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications platform that enables real-time presence, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified consultants who can assist you to deploy and manage Skype for Business client software to accommodate your at-home workforce. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration experts.
• FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone app for compatible iOS, iPadOS, iPod and Mac devices. FaceTime works over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current editions of FaceTime support as many as 32 concurrent users for video calls. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for virtually all computing devices. Offered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing specific content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based capture, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco Webex as well as for other IP video products from Cisco, refer to Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
• Teams is Microsoft's follow-up for Skype for Business. Teams provides a hub for conferencing, contacts, and content with features such as voice/video calling, persistent threaded chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 products, visit 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 deliver integration and troubleshooting expertise for these products and help you to tune your WAN infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for Telecommuters
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are closely integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 families, offering a rich environment of applications that deliver a consistent user experience for exchanging data and ideas across multiple sites and on a wide selection of endpoint devices. Progent has provided online consulting services for SharePoint and Exchange since their initial releases and can assist your company to deploy these critical collaboration products to optimize the productivity 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 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 and Teams Premium can enable chat, video meetings that include screen sharing, phone calls, cloud voicemail, group email, plus file and application sharing. Teams is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365 and depends on Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Azure Entra (formerly branded Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of features. For additional information about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, see solution design and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint uses web sites to allow collaboration and information delivery by providing policy-driven access to data, business processes, and tools for searching through company-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to build protected portals that permits at-home workers to see and edit aggregated corporate intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social networking web sites, and Web Parts. For details about Progent's SharePoint consulting services, see 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. For details about Progent's Exchange consulting expertise, go to deployment expertise for Microsoft Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. At-home users can save files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers anywhere can share them safely via a web browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive allows home employees to jointly author documents. Edits made offline are automatically synced when you reconnect to the Internet. To find out about Progent's expertise for OneDrive, refer to Microsoft Onedrive configuration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent offers fast and affordable online assistance for enabling businesses to create, manage and troubleshoot cohesive hybrid network models that combine physical data centers, telecommuters, branches, plus public cloud services. Progent offers expertise for all types of cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with public cloud access, authentication, and security.

Microsoft Azure is a popular platform for public cloud services that enables you to utilize IT infrastructure, servers, and key applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure includes more than one hundred services services such as the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can assist you to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity management with Azure AD, and design data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you establish protected connections to Azure for telecommuters by configuring and troubleshooting firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. To find out about Progent's consulting expertise for Azure, refer to Microsoft Azure consulting.

Microsoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of business productivity software and cloud services offered on a subscription basis. Microsoft applications and services are provided in a variety of bundles intended for users ranging from students and small offices to large corporations. Progent can provide quick and easy online contact with consultants familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible client devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can assist your business to assess the numerous subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 applications for your telecommuters in a way that delivers top business value. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, refer to Microsoft 365 consulting expertise.

Exchange Online is among the most widely used cloud-based applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product suite. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the benefits of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, dynamic scaling, high availability, and additional advantages associated with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Exchange Online to run transparently with local Exchange environments, allowing you to create hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's certified Exchange experts are available for occasional assistance to get you through challenging technical roadblocks and can also provide end-to-end project management outsourcing to make sure your telecommuters have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online deployment. To learn Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Exchange Online configuration and troubleshooting consulting.

Amazon AWS is a trailblazer in the public cloud arena and is the world's biggest source of cloud-based services. Progent can provide rapid and economical online contact with cloud connectivity experts who can assist your organization to design, implement, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds such as Azure. Progent also offers access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to help your company to build a high-availability network architecture to make sure your users have a productive computing environment regardless of whether they are working from your main office, a remote branch, at home, or on the move. To learn about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting services.

Google Cloud is a popular set of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist your business to scale your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA experts can show you how to make your critical applications cloud friendly so your teleworkers can take full advantage of Google Cloud services. Progent can assist your organization to set up virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage solution with GCP Storage services, and simplify access control for at-home workers with Google Cloud Identity services. Progent's experts can also help your organization to utilize GCP's management tools to control and monitor your GCP ecosystem. To learn, see Google Cloud Platform integration expertise.

Help Desk Support for Telecommuters
A fast, company-wide changeover to a from-home business model, which could be the result of an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery process, can overwhelm even a high-performing in-house Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for businesses to outsource or augment their Help Desk Call Center with Progent's remote Technical Response Center team.

• Progent's Standard Call Center services leverage Progent's extensive team of remote technical support specialists along with enterprise-class ticketing and follow-up software to provide an affordable, advanced Support Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that handles all facets of online Level 1 desktop support from initial help requests through ticket creation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables at-home employees to track or update the status of their current tickets, enter information, and upload screenshots or attachments. Technical support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent makes available the option of rapid escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT experts to resolve complex problems. To find out more, see Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size businesses.
• Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service enables your business to augment your current Call Center organization by splitting responsibilities for Help Desk services seamlessly between your regular IT support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of PC support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Help Desk Call Center service uses a co-sourcing support model based on the leading professional services automation platform for managing help requests and trouble tickets, establishing ownership, tracking progress, and generating reports. For information about how Progent's Call Center Supplementation Services can enable your business to provide world-class desktop support to your at-home employees, see Progent's Support Desk supplementation Services.

Cybersecurity for Remote Workers
At-home workers commonly use their own devices and usually operate in a poorly secured physical area. This increases their vulnerability to malware threats and requires judicious configuration of corporate firewalls, AV tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, thorough end-user education, and the development of policies based on leading practices. Progent's veteran roster of data security support consultants can assist your business to design, configure and maintain a compliant cybersecurity solution that guards critical IT assets in networks that include at-home workers.

Firewalls allow you to build a network environment that can be securely utilized by local users and by teleworkers, mobile workers, suppliers, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall devices allow you to configure and manage appropriate permissions to different classes of users and to expand your network and adjust your security as your company evolves and as cyber threats grow more complex. Progent works with both new and legacy firewall appliances from all leading manufacturers including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall configuration expertise, visit firewall integration and support services.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to track the various computers used by at-home workers and either reject or identify and respond to the latest threats such as ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight software agent is installed on each secured endpoint device, watching all activity and using advanced machine learning from SentinelOne to detect new attacks at inception. When an attack is discovered, ProSight ASM immediately disconnects the impacted device from the network to quarantine the malware. Because the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is self-contained, endpoint devices remain protected even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. For details about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint security monitoring for remote workers.

Progent's Duo authentication Services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against password theft by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity verification with Apple iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you log into a secured online account and enter your password you are requested to verify your identity on a device that only you have and that uses a different network channel. A broad selection of out-of-band devices can be used for this second means of authentication including a smartphone or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You can designate multiple verification devices. To learn more about Duo identity validation services, go to Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for telecommuters.

Security Audits can assess the vulnerability of your network to all types of external and internal security attacks for an environment that includes at-home workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity analysis software for rapidly and affordably uncovering a broad range of security weaknesses that can be surfaced via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment experts, which can be managed by security experts with advanced certifications including CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can help your company to audit your workflows and policies and review your IT infrastructure to allow you to implement top-level protection for your remote workers.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero PEN Testing Platform is a breakthrough penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver automated testing of your at-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks to help you identify, rank, remediate, and confirm cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can take advantage of them. Progent can help you to deploy NodeZero to carry out thorough penetration tests of your perimeter and your internal network so you can determine your present security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also help you to harden your network security and can assist you to plan and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and delivers maximum cyber defense for on-prem, cloud-based, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To learn additional information about Progent's threat assessment services based on on NodeZero's pentest platform, refer to Consulting Services for NodeZero's Penetration Test Products.

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

Data Protection Solutions for Telecommuters
Data Protection involves saving and restoring critical data so as to prevent data loss and reduce restoration time and effort in the event of storage system problems due to equipment breakdowns, programming glitches, user mistakes, cyber attack, or other causes. Dependable data protection solutions can be particularly challenging to design and manage in hybrid networks that combine private data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

• Backup/Recovery strategies for at-home workers must address multiple types of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent can provide quick remote help from experts familiar with a wide range of platforms for protection Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iPads and handhelds. Leading backup/recovery solutions supported by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud storage and includes fine-grained recovery and centralized management.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans typically envision circumstances that call for a rapid changeover to a work-at-home environment. Progent's expert disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity planning specialists can assist you to produce, document and test a DR/BC plan that includes the logistics of moving to an at-home workforce.

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-based management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite endpoints. Endpoint Manager features a centralized solution for safeguarding critical data by managing local, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and securing mobile computers and software. Managed endpoint devices can be user owned or company owned. IT administrators managing the enrolled endpoint computers of at-home workers can utilize Intune to deploy and authenticate applications on devices, push updates and certificates, configure policies for accessing information and resources, manage passwords, create VPN connections, determine how teleworkers share information, set up threat protection, ensure security compliance, and wipe sensitive data from missing, stolen or deactivated devices. Intune can be used with iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS devices. To find out about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can help your company to use this platform to manage the endpoint computers of your at-home workforce, visit Intune teleworker endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized Mobile Device Management product that allows network managers to keep remote endpoints current and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint administration along with VMware's Horizon virtual application delivery technology for identity control, app management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE runs with devices based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises product through a one-time purchase. Key capabilities of Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air provisioning of out-of-the-box notebooks, quick onboarding of new employees, policy setting and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, unifies management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based services. To find out about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, go to VMware Workspace ONE mobile device management expertise.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Support Services
To contact Progent about creating and maintaining an efficient work-from-home solution for your Uberlândia, Minas Gerais organization, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.