Technology News and Progent IT Solutions

Microsoft debuted the most recent release of Small Business Server (SBS 2008) and Windows Essential Business Server (EBS 2008). Microsoft's software platforms bring the capabilities of Windows advanced server technologies to small businesses in an economical bundle. Targeted for companies with up to 75 users, Microsoft Windows SBS is a cohesive server platform engineered to help companies keep their information safer and their network more productive.

MS SBS 2008 is available in standard and premium versions. The standard edition features MS Windows 2008 Server, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, SharePoint 3.0, and Windows Server Update Services. The premier version also includes MS SQL Server 2008.

Windows Essential Business Server is targeted for organizations with as many as 75 workstations and offers network staff greater control over their information system by reducing complexity and automating common processes. With support for Windows Mobile phones, SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 can significantly help boost productivity by allowing connectivity to business messaging, scheduling, addresses and information to workers who are away from the office. To read Microsoft's press release, visit Microsoft Releases Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008.

How Progent's Microsoft-certified Experts Can Help You to Take Advantage of MS Windows SBS 2008
The optimal deployment of MS Windows SBS 2008 calls for a network consulting firm with hands-on experience and an extensive background in planning and building data-driven strategic business IT applications. The experience of Progent's Microsoft-authorized technical team, with more than 10 years of consulting in Microsoft products, assures you results in planning, executing and administering Microsoft Small Business Server applications that are thoroughly integrated with Microsoft's product family of system and application servers.

Progent's IT professionals can help you to deploy the main pieces of the Windows Small Business Server and Microsoft EBS 2008 packages and can also offer a variety of other low-cost support options to improve the efficiency, dependability, protection, speed, and maintainability of IT networks based on Windows Small Business Server 2008 or EBS 2008:

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Integration
Progent provides a variety of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 consulting and integration support that can assist small companies to take advantage of Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can help your company to understand the areas where Windows Server 2008 could improve the business value of your information network in order to rationalize an upgrade. Progent can show you how to test Windows Server 2008 so that you can assess its stability, responsiveness, and operability handling your workloads. Progent can assist with developing a deployment plan, assess and enhance your current network infrastructure, document backup and restoration processes, analyze security architecture and guidelines, help in installing physical and virtual servers, design fault-tolerant solutions such as server and storage clustering with Hyper-V, train your internal network management staff, and set up proactive server and network monitoring operations to track your information system's protection and performance.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Planning, Installation, and Troubleshooting Support
Progent's expert support team can show you how to design and deploy a smooth Exchange Server 2007 upgrade strategy that minimizes network downtime, simplifies ongoing support demands, and makes your Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 easy to manage. Progent's Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 help, repair, and consulting offerings include expertise with the integration of third-party enhancements of Exchange 2007 Server and the creation of unified messaging implementations based on Exchange Server 2007. Progent's services include integration with your business network, access to handheld computing devices, automated tracking of performance and network security, spam protection, patch and service pack management, Contact Center support, daily backup, and full messaging administration services.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Integration Services
Progent can offer assistance for planning, configuring, and maintaining successful Microsoft Office SharePoint Server solutions that will dramatically improve key areas of your IT system such as teamwork, web portal, corporate-wide search, forms-driven business processes, delivery of actionable intelligence, and content control. Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you to evaluate the business benefit for adopting SharePoint Server 2007, provide configuration and installation expertise, assist your business to set up Microsoft SQL Server 2008 as a back-office database, enhance your network architecture, integrate your off-the-shelf and custom business software to operate with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, create a company-wide protection strategy that includes web portal solutions, and provide remote and in-person repair and Help Desk support.

SQL Server 2008 Design and Support
Progent's SQL Server experts can make sure your business configures SQL Server 2008 efficiently, and that your SQL-powered database solution is integrated effectively with your applications. Progent offers automated server monitoring to ensure your corporate information system is healthy, and Progent's remote Help Desk Call Center is available to provide rapid resolutions for SQL database issues. Progent's certified computer security consultants can assess your business-wide security policies and technologies and suggest enhancements for better protection. Progent's developers can help your company to develop or personalize line-of-business programs or eCommerce sites utilize databases managed by Microsoft SQL Server.

Desktop Support Services
Progent's Microsoft-certified desktop support experts offer a wide array of affordable consulting and support services to help you company to deploy, integrate, troubleshoot, and administer workstations and notebooks powered by Windows. Progent can provide onsite or remote help for individual computers or notebooks or work with your business to design and carry out a company-wide rollout of the latest version of Windows. Progent can also configure Microsoft Office or Microsoft Dynamics business applications on your workstations so they communicate productively with all Microsoft applications, products from popular publishers, business servers, and key solutions throughout your network. Progent can also provide consultants and technicians to help you to plan for and implement an office move or merger designed to produce minimal interruption to your business.

Security Inventory Packages
Progent offers two ultra-affordable service bundles designed to allow small businesses to receive an objective network security assessment from a CISA, CISM and CISSP-certified security consultant. With Progent's External Security Inventory Checkup, a security engineer runs a comprehensive examination of your network from beyond your firewall to determine potential weaknesses in the security profile you expose to the outside world. With Progent's Internal Network Security Inventory Scan, a security engineer runs a network scan from an authorized computer inside your firewall to assess your exposure to internal assaults. Both security inventory services are configured and executed from a secured remote location. The project is implemented by an engineer who has earned top security accreditations who generates a report that details and interprets the data collected by the security scan and proposes practical remediation if appropriate.

Virtual Training for Desktop Applications
Progent offers online virtual training for an array of client applications and environments such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Project, Acrobat Writer, Adobe Photoshop, Crystal Reports, and Microsoft Windows XP and Vista. Virtual learning provides all the advantages of conventional classroom seminars, including immediate interaction between clients and trainers, but avoids the costs of transportation and the hassle of trying to synchronize the schedules of many workers. Offered to single students or classes of all sizes, virtual education permits the trainer to run the class from a remote office and the students can be spread across an office or across the country. Virtual education utilizes powerful learning aids like virtual white boards, electronic hand-raising, and collaborative applications. Sessions can be short and personalized for specific subjects or extended in time and broader in coverage. Instructors and clients can work through problems individually or as a class.

Urgent Online Troubleshooting
Progent's Technical Response Center provides nationwide remote help for Windows and Cisco-based small business IT networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Premier support experts offer telephone support and online direct network access to troubleshoot and repair network problems quickly and economically. The scope of technical expertise represented by Progent's team of nationwide service professionals allows Progent to escalate even the toughest network issues to appropriate experts as required.

For additional information concerning Progent's support for MS Windows Small Business Server 2008, phone 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.