Technology News and Progent Solutions

Microsoft debuted the most recent release of Small Business Server (SBS 2008) and Windows Essential Business Server (EBS 2008). These products bring the power of Microsoft's high-end server technologies to small and midsize companies in an economical bundle. Targeted for businesses with up to 75 PC users, Windows Small Business Server 2008 is an integrated server solution engineered to enable businesses make their information more secure and make their organization more efficient.

MS SBS 2008 is available in basic and premium editions. The standard package features MS Windows 2008 Server, Exchange 2007 Server, SharePoint Services, and Windows Server Update Services. The premium edition also includes MS SQL Server 2008.

Microsoft Essential Business Server is targeted for companies with as many as 75 desktops and provides network staff more manageability of their information system by reducing complications and streamlining common tasks. With support for Windows Mobile phones, SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 can significantly help boost productivity by facilitating connectivity to corporate messaging, calendars, contacts and information to workers who are away from their desks. To view Microsoft's news release, refer to Microsoft Announces Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008.

How Progent's Microsoft-certified Engineers Can Help Your Business to Integrate MS Windows Small Business Server 2008
The most productive configuration of MS Windows SBS calls for a network consulting company with real-world experience and a broad background in designing and implementing data-driven strategic business technology applications. The experience of Progent's Microsoft-certified consulting group, with more than 10 years of consulting in Microsoft technology, assures you results in planning, executing and managing Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 solutions that are well integrated with the Microsoft line of servers.

Progent's consulting experts can assist you to deploy the main pieces of the Microsoft Windows SBS 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server bundles and can also provide a range of other affordable services to improve the productivity, dependability, protection, speed, and maintainability of information networks based on SBS 2008 or Essential Business Server 2008:

Windows Server 2008 Expertise
Progent provides a variety of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 planning and integration services that can help small businesses to take advantage of Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can assist your company to evaluate the areas where Windows Server 2008 could improve the business value of your network in order to cost-justify a migration. Progent can help you pilot Microsoft Windows Server 2008 so that you can determine its reliability, throughput, and compatibility running realistic workloads. Progent can assist with creating a rollout plan, assess and improve your current network environment, develop archiving and restoration processes, analyze security architecture and policies, assist in setting up physical and virtual machines, develop high-availability strategies including server clustering, train your internal IT management team, and set up automated server monitoring operations to track your information system's protection and performance.

Exchange Server Planning, Installation, and Maintenance Services
Progent's expert support team can help you define and implement an efficient Exchange Server 2007 migration plan that minimizes productivity downtime, simplifies ongoing support requirements, and makes your Exchange 2007 Server easy to manage. Progent's Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 support, troubleshooting, and design services include assistance with the configuration of third-party enhancements of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and the creation of unified messaging solutions based on Exchange 2007 Server. Services include integration with your business network, access to mobile computing devices, automated tracking of efficiency and network security, spam and virus protection, patch and service pack management, Helpdesk services, per-day backup, and comprehensive messaging management services.

SharePoint Server Help
Progent can offer expertise for designing, configuring, and maintaining successful SharePoint Server installations that will dramatically enhance important areas of your information network including collaboration, web portal, corporate-wide search, forms-driven business operations, access to management intelligence, and content control. Progent's Microsoft-certified engineers can assist you to evaluate the business case for deploying Office SharePoint, provide configuration and installation support, assist your business to configure Microsoft SQL Server 2008 as a back-end database engine, enhance your network architecture, integrate your standard and specialized business programs to work with SharePoint Server, create a comprehensive protection plan that includes portal technology, and deliver remote and in-person repair and Call Center services.

SQL Server 2008 Programming and Support
Progent's SQL Server consultants can help your organization installs SQL 2008 properly, and that your SQL-based RDBM system is incorporated seamlessly with your application software. Progent offers 24x7 network monitoring to ensure your business network is always available, and Progent's remote Help Desk is available to provide rapid solutions for SQL-related issues. Progent's certified network security engineers can assess your company-wide security processes and technologies and suggest improvements for more complete regulatory compliance. Progent's developers can help you to create or personalize business programs or eCommerce sites utilize information controlled by Microsoft SQL Server.

Desktop Consulting and Support Services
Progent's Microsoft-certified desktop support consultants offer a broad range of affordable services to assist you company to deploy, configure, troubleshoot, and manage workstations and laptops powered by Windows. Progent can offer on-premises or online assistance for single computers or laptops or work with you to plan and carry out a company-wide migration to the newest release of Microsoft Windows. Progent can also configure Microsoft Office or Microsoft Dynamics applications on your workstations so they integrate productively with all Microsoft programs, software from third-party publishers, database servers, and line-of-business services throughout your network. Progent can also provide consultants and technicians to help your company to plan for and complete a company move or consolidation designed to produce minimal interruption to your productivity.

Network Security Inventory Bundles
Progent has put together two low-cost service packages designed to enable small companies to receive an impartial network security assessment from a CISM and CISSP-certified security engineer. With Progent's External Security Inventory Scan, an engineer runs an extensive test of your network from beyond your company firewall to determine potential weaknesses in the security posture you expose to the outside world. With Progent's Internal Network Security Inventory Checkup, a security expert executes a system scan from a secure machine within your company firewall to determine your exposure to internal assaults. Both security inventory services are configured and executed from a secured remote location. The project is managed by an engineer who has earned high-level security credentials who generates a report that details and interprets the information collected by the scan and proposes cost-effective remediation if call for.

Virtual Training for Desktop Applications
Progent provides live virtual training for a range of client applications and environments such as Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, Acrobat Writer, Adobe Photoshop, Crystal Reports, and Windows Vista and Windows 7. Virtual education offers the benefits of conventional in-person sessions, such as instant interaction between students and teachers, but avoids the costs of travel and the hassle of attempting to synchronize the schedules of multiple students. Available to single students or groups of any size, virtual education permits the teacher to conduct the seminar from a remote facility and the students can be dispersed throughout an office or all over the country. Virtual learning deploys proven teaching aids such as broadcast white boards, real-time questions, and shared applications. Classes can be short and targeted for specific topics or longer in time and wider in scope. Teachers and students can work through examples individually or as a class.

Emergency Remote Technical Support
Progent's Technical Response Center provides nationwide remote support for Windows and Cisco-based small office IT networks. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-Premier service experts offer phone help and remote direct computer connection to isolate and resolve technical problems quickly and affordably. The breadth of IT experience available from Progent's staff of nationwide service professionals makes it possible to escalate even the most difficult problems to appropriate experts as required.

To find out additional details concerning Progent's support for MS Windows SBS 2008, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.