Durham Remote Workforce Solutions Consulting Experts

Enlarging your telecommuter workforce may have a significant impact on network infrastructure, security, and corporate processes. Progent has 20 years of background assisting businesses of all sizes to plan, configure, manage, optimize, and troubleshoot IT environments that incorporate at-home workers. Progent can help your Durham organization to pick the right tools and follow leading practices in creating and maintaining a safe virtual solution for telecommuters that promotes teamwork and returns maximum business value. Progent can provide support services that go from as-needed guidance for helping you past challenging IT bottlenecks to full project management or co-management to help you carry out business-critical tasks.

Progent can assist Durham, North Carolina companies to with any facet of creating a high-functioning remote work ecosystem by delivering infrastructure design and configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud integration, Help Desk outsourcing, security and compliance, data protection solutions, and unified management.

Infrastructure for Telecommuters
Integrating the network infrastructure needed to support a remote work environment can be particularly complicated if you must accommodate a mix of worker-owned hardware such as desktop computers and laptops, routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from various vendors and with a variety of OS software and firmware releases. Progent's experience providing online help for both outdated as well as modern technologies in remote office solutions allows you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and provides you with fast access to expertise for implement essential upgrades. Services available from Progent to help you to create a high-functioning work-at-home ecosystem include:

• Virtual Private Network technology makes it possible to create a secure tunnel for authorized remote workers to access IT assets located at your company datacenter or in a public cloud. Progent can help you to configure and manage VPN connections between your teleworkers and your various IT resources by providing online VPN integration consulting. For businesses using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall consultants can help your at-home workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect client software to provide secure VPN tunneling for a broad range of endpoint devices including Microsoft Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products enable a teleworker to see and interact with a data center PC's desktop. This technology gives network managers significant control over the digital environment of telecommuters and ensures remote users a consistent and more productive 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 tunnels, home Wi-Fi networks, and firewalls. Progent can provide expert online support for configuring routers from a range of manufacturers. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wi-Fi networks, typically supporting families and visitors, are commonly used by telecommuters to connect to their router for work. This can create throughput as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can assist you to mitigate these issues by delivering services like Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti wireless access point setup help.
• Internet connectivity methods impact the performance and availability of connections between telecommuters and the company network. Vital applications might demand backup Internet access in the event the primary connection breaks. Progent offers expertise for selecting service providers, choosing sensible service bundles, and integrating redundant Internet connections. See Internet access integration services.

IP Voice Integration for an At-Home Workforce
Expanding the business phone system to accommodate telecommuters is vital to supporting a productive work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-centric IP voice platforms are popular with small and mid-size businesses to server remote users. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's modern or legacy platforms for IP voice management. Progent can assist businesses of any size to plan or maintain a remote VoIP environment that provides the flexibility, convenience and security required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts can provide advanced support to help organizations optimize their current Cisco VoIP environments to support an expanding at-home workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) delivers advanced IP telephony features to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and mixed media applications used across the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other combined media services such as unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For details about Progent's CUCM expertise, visit Cisco Unified CM consultants.
• CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent can assist your company to support your current CallManager environment or upgrade efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony products. For details about Progent's support services for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other older IP voice platforms, refer to Cisco CallManager consulting services.
• Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with clients operating outside the corporate firewall such as at-home workers. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series and for current Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway configuration expertise.
• Other VoIP Platforms supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can help you to enhance your WAN architecture to support these VoIP solutions and provide online deployment and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A broad selection of video conferencing platforms from leading vendors support virtual discussions, video conferencing, chat sessions, and content sharing for both onsite workers and at-home workers. Many companies use multiple conferencing products to accommodate their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can help you to maintain your current conferencing environment and optimize the engagement of your remote workforce.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications product that enables presence, IM, voice and video calling and conferencing as well as the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist your company to deploy and maintain Skype for Business clients to accommodate your at-home employees. For details about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, visit Skype for Business consulting experts.
• FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video phone platform for compatible iOS and Mac devices. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current editions of FaceTime support up to 32 concurrent users for voice/video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Apple FaceTime, visit Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Offered via Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex capabilities include sharing granular content or screens, presentations that embed rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, session recording, plus revision and playback for future reference and training. For details about Progent's consulting services for Webex as well as for other IP video solutions 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 portal for conversations, contacts, and content with capabilities such as IP voice and video calling, threaded chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Teams as well as for other Microsoft 365 apps, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Other Conferencing Apps supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver configuration and debugging expertise for these conferencing platforms and assist your business to optimize your WAN infrastructure to run them.

Microsoft Collaboration Platforms for At-Home Workers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 families, providing a powerful environment of applications that deliver a consistent user experience for exchanging data and ideas across a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoint devices. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange Server since their initial releases and can help your company to configure these critical collaboration platforms to optimize 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 integrates with third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration and communication. Designed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can enable chat, audio/video meetings with 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 (previously branded Azure Active Directory) for delivering its complete range of features. For additional information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, see planning and configuration expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint utilizes web sites to promote collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-driven delivery of data, business processes, and utilities for searching through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint enables you to create protected portals that allows remote workforce to see and edit aggregated business intelligence by means of Wikis, Blogs, social sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For information about Progent's SharePoint expertise, see SharePoint integration and application development expertise.

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. To learn about Progent's Exchange support services, refer to integration consulting services for Exchange Server.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud-based storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can save files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers anywhere can access them securely through a browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables home workers to co-edit files. Edits created offline are synced when you reconnect to the Internet. To learn about Progent's expertise for OneDrive, go to Microsoft Onedrive integration experts.

Public Cloud Integration for Remote Workers
Progent offers affordable online assistance for helping businesses to create, manage and troubleshoot cohesive hybrid network architectures that incorporate physical data centers, teleworkers, branch offices, plus public cloud resources. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all types of cloud service including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers resolve problems with cloud connectivity, identity, and security.

Microsoft Azure is a popular family of public cloud software and services that allows you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and key applications running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure features more than 100 cloud-based services including hosting for Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help you to set up virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity control with Azure AD, and plan data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent's cloud experts can also show you how to establish secure connections to Azure services for at-home workers by configuring and debugging firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. To find out about Progent's support services for Microsoft Azure, see Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365, formerly branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular suite of client productivity software and cloud-based services available on a subscription basis. Microsoft applications and cloud services are provided in a variety of bundles designed for customers ranging from individuals and small offices to major enterprises. Progent offers fast and affordable remote access to consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible devices running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent's experts can assist you to evaluate the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and configure 365 apps for your telecommuters to achieve top business value. For details about Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365, refer to Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most popular applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the advantages of lower costs for physical infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and additional benefits inherent with public clouds. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate seamlessly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, enabling customers to build hybrid networks. Progent's certified Exchange experts can provide occasional assistance to guide you through challenging technical roadblocks and can also provide comprehensive project management outsourcing to ensure your at-home workers have easy and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. To find out Progent's consulting services for Exchange Online, refer to Exchange Online configuration and support expertise.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud computing market and is the world's leading provider of cloud-based services. Progent can provide rapid and economical online contact with cloud integration experts who can assist your business to plan, implement, maintain, and debug hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with on-premises data centers and with other public clouds like Microsoft Azure. Progent also offers the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to assist your company to build a high-uptime network model so your users have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, from home, or on the move. For details about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, go to Amazon AWS consulting expertise.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a leading collection of cloud computing services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist you to scale your existing IT assets with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database experts can show you how to make your critical apps cloud ready so your at-home workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent's consultants can assist your organization to set up VMs on GCP Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage system with GCP Storage, and streamline access control for teleworkers with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent's experts can also help your business to use GCP's unified management tools to administer and track your GCP environment. For details, refer to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration expertise.

Help Desk Services for Teleworkers
A rapid, organization-wide changeover to a telecommuter workforce, which could be activated by a pandemic or as part of a disaster recovery plan, can overwhelm even a high-performing internal Help Desk. Progent's Call Center services allow businesses of any size to outsource or augment their Help Desk with Progent's remote Technical Response Center team.

• Progent's Standard Help Desk Call Center services utilize Progent's nationwide team of online technical support experts along with enterprise-class ticketing and tracking technology to offer an affordable, modern Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that addresses all facets of remote Level 1 PC support from initial service requests through trouble ticket creation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal enables at-home employees to monitor or revise their active tickets, add details, and upload screenshots or attachments. Support services are delivered at a substantial discount off Progent's normal Level 1 technical service rates, and Progent offers optional fast hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to resolve advanced problems. For details, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small and mid-size companies.
• Progent's Call Desk Supplemental Service enables your company to supplement your current Call Desk organization by splitting delivery of Support Desk services seamlessly between your regular support organization and Progent's nationwide team of PC support technicians and subject matter specialists. Progent's co-managed Help Desk service uses a co-sourcing support model based on the number one PSA tool for managing help requests and ticketing, establishing ownership, tracking progress, and generating management reports. For details about how Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class desktop support to your telecommuters, visit Progent's Call Desk supplementation Services.

Security and Compliance for Teleworkers
At-home workers commonly use their personal computers and often work in an unsecured physical environment. This increases their susceptibility to cyber threats and requires judicious deployment of firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, thorough user training, and the development of security policies based on best practices. Progent's seasoned group of IT security support experts can assist you to design, deploy and manage an effective cybersecurity solution that protects vital information assets in networks that include telecommuters.

Firewalls enable companies to create a network environment that can be securely accessed by on-premises users as well as by telecommuters, mobile users, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall devices permit you to configure and manage appropriate access rights to various groups of users and to expand your IT network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your company evolves and as cyber threats become more sophisticated. Progent supports both current and older firewall appliances from all major vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall integration services, see firewall configuration and support expertise.

Online Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to watch over the disparate devices used by telecommuters and either block or spot and mitigate modern threats like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a small-footprint software agent is put on each protected endpoint, watching all activity and utilizing state-of-the-art behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify new attacks on arrival. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly disconnects the impacted device from the corporate network to contain the threat. Because the ProSight ASM software agent is self-contained, endpoint devices stay protected even if they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. For more information about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint security monitoring for at-home workers.

Progent's Duo authentication Services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity verification with Apple iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected application and enter your password you are requested to verify your identity via a device that only you possess and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A broad selection of devices can be used for this second means of authentication such as a smartphone or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may register multiple validation devices. For more information about ProSight Duo two-factor identity validation services, refer to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for remote workers.

Security Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all classes of external and local security attacks for a network that includes remote workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated security inventory scanning for quickly and affordably uncovering a wide variety of security holes that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit experts, which can be provided by security experts with top credentials including CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your company to audit your procedures and governance policies and assess your network infrastructure to enable you to design the highest level of security for your teleworkers.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports automated threat assessment of your at-home connectivity solution as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can identify, prioritize, remediate, and verify cybersecurity weaknesses before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can help you to use NodeZero to carry out thorough pentests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can evaluate your current security posture. Progent can also assist you to strengthen your network security and can assist you to design and deploy a unified cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and delivers optimum protection for on-premises, cloud-based, at-home, and perimeter IT assets. To find out additional details about Progent's vulnerability assessment services powered by on NodeZero's penetration test platform, refer to Consulting Support for NodeZero's PEN Test Products.

Download White Paper: Protecting a Work-From-Home (WFH) Network
To view or download a white paper describing critical things to focus on for securing a network that includes telecommuters, click:
Protecting a Work-From-Home Environment White Paper. (PDF - 2.4 MB)

Data Protection Solutions for Teleworkers
The field of Data Protection covers saving and recovering vital data so as to prevent data loss and minimize restoration time in the event of storage system problems due to hardware breakdowns, programming hiccups, human mistakes, cyber attack, or other causes. Reliable data protection solutions can be particularly difficult to architect and manage in hybrid environments that incorporate in-house data centers, cloud resources, and at-home workers.

• Backup/Recovery solutions for an at-home workforce must address multiple kinds of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent offers fast online help from consultants knowledgeable about a broad array of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iPads and handhelds. Leading backup/restore solutions maintained by Progent's data protection experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, DoubleTake Software, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To protect resources spread throughout a hybrid network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a managed backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud storage and includes fine-grained recovery and centralized management.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity strategies commonly anticipate circumstances that require a temporary switch to a work-at-home environment. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity consultants can help you to develop, document and test a DR/BC plan that addresses the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for Telecommuters
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud-based management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides a unified solution for safeguarding critical data by controlling on-premises, mobile, and at-home endpoint devices.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing off-premises computers and software. Remote endpoint devices can be user owned or company owned. Network admins managing the enrolled endpoint devices of telecommuters can use Intune to provision and authenticate apps on devices, push updates and certificates, set up rules for permission to access information and networks, set passwords, establish VPN tunnels, control how teleworkers share data, set up threat protection, ensure security compliance, and wipe sensitive data from lost, stolen or decommissioned devices. Microsoft Intune works with iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS/OS X devices. To learn about Intune and how Progent can help you to use this platform to manage the endpoint devices of your teleworkers, visit Intune teleworker device management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management (MDM) product that allows network managers to keep offsite endpoints up to date and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch technology for unified endpoint administration along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery platform for access control, app management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-site deployment through a perpetual license. Key capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE include fast over-the-air provisioning of new notebooks, immediate onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, aggregated reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud services. To learn about Progent's expertise for VMware Workspace ONE, see VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To contact Progent about creating and managing a productive work-from-home solution for your Durham, North Carolina business, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.