Knoxville At Home Workforce Integration Support Partner

Expanding your remote workforce can have a significant impact on network architecture, security/compliance, and company processes. Progent has 20 years of background assisting businesses of all sizes to plan, configure, manage, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that support at-home workers. Progent can assist your Knoxville organization to select the appropriate tools and adhere to best practices in building and maintaining a secure virtual ecosystem for telecommuters that facilitates teamwork and delivers maximum business value. Progent offers services that go from as-needed guidance for helping you past challenging technical bottlenecks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you successfully complete mission-critical initiatives.

Progent can help Knoxville, Tennessee organizations to with any aspect of building a high-performing work-at-home environment by providing network infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX expertise, voice/video conferencing integration, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud integration, Help Desk augmentation, security monitoring, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Network Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Configuring the physical and software infrastructure needed to support an at-home work environment can be particularly complex if you have to manage a mix of worker-owned equipment like PCs and laptops, routers, and Wi-Fi APs from different vendors and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's experience delivering remote help for both outdated and modern technologies in remote office venues enables you to make cost-effective use of your existing network infrastructure and offers ready access to expertise for implement essential upgrades. Services offered by Progent to assist you to implement a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem include:

• Virtual Private Network connectivity allows you to create a safe tunnel for authenticated at-home employees to access IT resources located at your company data center or in a public cloud. Progent's consultants can help you to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your teleworkers and your various IT resources by providing remote VPN integration support. For organizations using Cisco's ASA security appliances, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA Firewall consultants can help your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect client software for safe VPN connections for a wide range of devices such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products enable a teleworker to see and interact with a remote computer's desktop. This gives IT managers more control over the digital ecosystem of at-home employees and offers them a familiar experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
• Routers connect home networks to the Internet and support VPN tunnels, local wireless connectivity, and firewalls. Progent offers top-tier remote support for configuring home routers from all major manufacturers. See router integration services from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wireless networks, typically supporting the whole family and guests, are commonly utilized by telecommuters to connect to their Internet router for work. This can create throughput and cybersecurity issues. Progent can help you to resolve these problems by providing services that include Cisco Aironet integration consulting, Cisco Meraki wireless installation consulting, and Ubiquiti WiFi access point setup assistance.
• Internet access methods affect the performance and availability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate network. Vital processes might require redundant Internet access in case the normal connection breaks. Progent can provide expertise for selecting Internet service providers, selecting sensible bandwidth and data volume packages, and setting up fault-tolerant Internet access. Refer to Internet access integration services.

VoIP Solutions for Teleworkers
Expanding the company phone system to accommodate telecommuters is critical to supporting an effective work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-centric digital PBX platforms are popular with SMBs to server remote users. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's current or older platforms for VoIP solutions. Progent can assist businesses of any size to design or tune a remote IP voice service that delivers the versatility, transparency and security required for remote users. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice experts can provide high-level support to assist organizations tune their current Cisco IP voice environments to handle a growing remote workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) delivers enterprise IP telephony capabilities to devices like VoIP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and mixed media apps used throughout the network. Unified Communications Manager supports other mixed media services like messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For details about Progent's Unified Communications Manager support, visit Cisco Unified CM expertise.
• Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been superseded by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent's consultants can help your company to maintain your existing CallManager deployment or migrate smoothly to Cisco's current IP telephony solutions. To find out about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other early VoIP products, refer to Cisco CallManager consulting.
• Cisco IP Gateways provide integration with public telephony networks and with clients operating outside the corporate firewall like telecommuters. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products as well as for modern 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 update your WAN architecture to support these VoIP solutions and provide as-needed integration and troubleshooting expertise.

Video Conferencing for an At-Home Workforce
A broad range of video conferencing platforms from leading technology companies support virtual meetings, video and voice conferencing, chat, and screen/content sharing for both onsite workers and teleworkers. Many organizations utilize multiple products to accommodate their different partners and customers. Progent can help your organization to maintain your current voice/video conferencing ecosystem and enhance the experience of your at-home employees.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications product that enables presence, instant messaging, voice and video calling and conferencing plus the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent can provide the skills of Microsoft-certified consultants who can assist your company to set up and maintain Skype for Business client software to accommodate your at-home employees. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business consulting experts.
• FaceTime is Apple's group video phone platform for compatible iOS and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime runs over Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Current versions of FaceTime support up to 32 simultaneous users for voice/video sessions. For details about Progent's support expertise for FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing granular content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus revision and playback for future reference. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Webex and for additional IP video solutions from Cisco, visit Progent's Webex Meeting Center support services.
• Teams is Microsoft's next-generation replacement for Skype for Business. Teams provides a portal for conversations, contacts, and information with features such as video conferencing, persistent chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's support services for Teams as well as for other Microsoft 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Other Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and troubleshooting expertise for these products and assist you to optimize your network architecture to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Software for Teleworkers
Microsoft's collaboration products are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office suites, offering a rich ecosystem of productivity apps that create a consistent user interface for sharing information across a corporate network and on a wide selection of endpoint devices. Progent has delivered online consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their original publication and can help businesses to tune these critical collaboration platforms to optimize the effectiveness 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 with Microsoft 365 and supports third-party cloud services to provide real-time collaboration and communication. Designed as a replacement 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 Azure Entra (formerly called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its complete range of features. For additional information about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Teams, see solution design and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint uses web sites to allow collaboration and knowledge delivery by providing policy-based delivery of data, business processes, and utilities for searching through company-wide business data. SharePoint permits you to build secure web portals that permits remote workforce to see and edit aggregated business intelligence by means of Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts. For information about Progent's SharePoint consulting services, 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 information about Progent's Exchange consulting expertise, visit planning and configuration consulting for Microsoft Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud storage service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote workers can store files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can share them safely via a browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive enables at-home employees to co-edit files. Revisions created offline are synced when you reconnect to the Internet. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for OneDrive, go to Onedrive integration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Telecommuters
Progent can provide fast and affordable online support for helping organizations to build, manage and optimize cohesive network models that include physical data centers, remote workers, branches, and public cloud resources. Progent can provide expertise for all types of cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help telecommuters fix issues with cloud connectivity, identity, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure is a leading platform for public cloud software and services that allows you to utilize IT infrastructure, servers, and critical applications hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Microsoft Azure offers over one hundred services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, email and messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can assist your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure AD, and design data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also show you how to create protected connections to Azure for teleworkers by configuring and debugging firewall appliances and VPN tunnels. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Azure, see Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's growing suite of business productivity software and cloud-based services available on a subscription basis. Microsoft applications and services are marketed in a variety of plans designed for users ranging from individuals and small offices to major corporations. Progent can provide fast and affordable online contact with experts knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible devices based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can help your business to assess the various subscription bundles available for Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your remote workers in a way that delivers maximum business value. To learn about Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 integration services.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online is among the most widely used cloud-based applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online provides the benefits of reduced costs for physical infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high availability, and other advantages associated with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to run transparently with local Exchange environments, enabling you to build hybrid information systems. Progent's Exchange experts are available for as-needed help to get you past challenging IT bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management services to ensure your teleworkers have convenient and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. For information Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, refer to Exchange Online integration and support consulting.

Amazon AWS is a trailblazer in the public cloud market and is the world's biggest source of cloud-based services. Progent can provide fast and affordable online contact with cloud integration consultants who can assist your business to plan, implement, manage, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with on-premises resources and with other public clouds like Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help your company to create a high-uptime network architecture to make sure your employees have a productive computing environment whether they are working from your main office, a branch office, at home, or on the road. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, visit Amazon AWS consulting services.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a leading set of cloud computing services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist your business to expand your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's DBA experts can show you how to make your mission-critical apps cloud ready so your teleworkers can take full advantage of Google Cloud services. Progent can help your business to set up VMs on Google Cloud Compute Engine, design an efficient storage solution with GCP Storage services, and streamline identity control for telecommuters with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent can also assist your organization to utilize GCP's management tools to administer and track your Google Cloud ecosystem. To find out, visit Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration expertise.

Help Desk Support for Teleworkers
A rapid, company-wide transition to a telecommuter workforce, which could be activated by an epidemic or as an element of a business continuity plan, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk Call Center services make it possible for businesses of any size to outsource or expand their Call Desk with Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

• Progent's Standard Support Desk support services utilize Progent's extensive team of online technical support experts along with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and follow-up software to offer an affordable, advanced Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that addresses all aspects of online Level 1 desktop technical support from initial help requests to ticket generation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows teleworkers to check or edit the status of their active trouble tickets, add details, and append screen captures or attachments. Support services are delivered at a substantial discount off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service rates, and Progent makes available the option of fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support specialists to deal with complex issues. To learn more, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small businesses.
• Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplemental Service enables you to augment your existing Help Desk team by sharing delivery of Call Center support transparently between your regular support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of PC support technicians and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Call Desk service uses a collective support model based on the leading professional services automation (PSA) tool for managing service requests and ticketing, establishing responsibility, tracking progress, and producing reports. For information about how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Supplementation Services can enable your company to deliver best-in-class IT support to your telecommuters, refer to Progent's Help Desk augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for Teleworkers
Work-from-Home staff members commonly use their own devices and often work in a poorly secured physical area. This increases their vulnerability to malware threats and calls for careful deployment of firewalls, AV tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, extensive user training, and the creation of security policies based on leading practices. Progent's seasoned team of data security solutions experts can help your business to design, deploy and manage a compliant cybersecurity solution that protects critical information assets in networks that incorporate remote workers.

Firewalls enable companies to create a network that can be securely accessed by local users as well as by an at-home workforce, mobile users, suppliers, customers, and the public. Next-generation firewall devices permit you to assign and manage different permissions to different groups of users and to scale your IT network and adjust your security profile as your company evolves and as cyber threats grow more sophisticated. Progent works with both current and legacy security devices from all leading manufacturers including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For more information about Progent's firewall support services, see firewall integration and support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the disparate devices used by an at-home workforce and either block or identify and respond to modern cyber attacks like ransomware. With ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight agent is put on every protected endpoint, monitoring all activity and utilizing advanced behavioral threat analysis from SentinelOne to identify new threats before they can spread. When an attack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly disconnects the infected endpoint from the corporate network to quarantine the malware. Because the ProSight ASM agent is self-contained, endpoint devices stay protected even when they are not connected to the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint security monitoring for telecommuters.

Progent's Duo MFA Managed Services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to defend against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. With 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected online account and enter your password you are requested to verify your identity via a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad range of devices can be utilized for this added means of ID validation including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You can register several validation devices. To find out more about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, see Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for telecommuters.

Security Audits can assess the vulnerability of your network to all types of outside and local security attacks for an environment that includes telecommuters. Progent can run online, automated cybersecurity inventory scanning for rapidly and affordably detecting a broad range of security gaps that can be found over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be provided by network security experts with top credentials including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist you to audit your workflows and policies and assess your network infrastructure to allow you to implement the highest level of security for your remote workers.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a cutting-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that can deliver autonomous threat assessment of your work-from-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks so you can uncover, rank, fix, and confirm cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent can assist you to use NodeZero to carry out thorough penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal network in order to determine your current security posture. Progent can also help you to strengthen your existing network security and can assist you to plan and implement a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and provides optimum protection for on-premises, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT assets. To find out additional details about Progent's vulnerability assessment services based on on NodeZero's pentest products, visit Consulting Services for NodeZero's Pentest Platform.

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

Data Protection for Remote Workers
The field of Data Protection covers saving and recovering critical data so as to avoid data loss and minimize recovery time and effort in case of storage failures due to hardware issues, software hiccups, human error, cyber attack, or any other reason. Dependable data protection solutions can be particularly difficult to architect and maintain in hybrid networks that combine local data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

• Backup/Restore solutions for remote workers must address multiple types of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent can provide quick remote help from consultants familiar with a wide range of products for protection Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, iPads and handhelds. Popular backup/restore products maintained by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data spread across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a managed backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud-based storage and features fine-grained restore and centralized management capabilities.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans often anticipate scenarios that call for a rapid switch to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness consultants and business continuity planning specialists can help your business to create, document and test a DR/BC strategy that addresses the logistics of switching to telecommuting.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management platforms under the title Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud-based management of mobile and remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager provides a centralized environment for safeguarding critical data by managing local, mobile, and at-home endpoints.

Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting remote computers and software. Remote endpoint devices can be user owned or business owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of telecommuters can utilize Intune to provision and validate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up policies for permission to access information and resources, set passwords, establish VPN connections, control how telecommuters share data, set up threat defense, ensure compliance, and delete corporate data from missing, stolen or deactivated devices. Microsoft Intune works with iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS computers. For details about Microsoft Intune and to find out how Progent can assist your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to manage the devices of your teleworkers, refer to Intune remote endpoint management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified MDM product that allows network managers to keep off-premises endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint management along with VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery technology for access control, application management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with devices powered by Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-premises product through a perpetual license. Top features of VMware Workspace ONE include fast remote deployment of new laptops, immediate onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of endpoints, aggregated management reporting and analytics, email encryption, and tight integration with Microsoft apps and cloud-based products. To learn about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, go to VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management expertise.

Contact Progent for Remote Workforce Expertise
To get in touch with Progent about creating and managing an efficient telecommuter solution for your Knoxville, Tennessee business, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.