Madison Remote Workers Configuration Consulting and Support

Expanding your at-home workforce can have a significant impact on IT architecture, security/compliance, and corporate culture. Progent has 20 years of background assisting businesses of all sizes to plan, configure, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that incorporate at-home workers. Progent can help your Madison company to select the appropriate tools and follow best practices in creating and operating a secure virtual office ecosystem for teleworkers that facilitates teamwork and returns top business value. Progent offers support services ranging from on demand expertise for getting you past challenging technical bottlenecks to comprehensive project management or co-management to help you carry out business-critical initiatives.

Progent's consultants can assist Madison, Wisconsin organizations to with any aspect of building a high-performing telecommuting ecosystem by providing infrastructure design and configuration services, IP voice expertise, video conferencing support, collaboration platform customization and training, cloud connectivity, Help Desk services, endpoint security, backup/restore solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for Teleworkers
Setting up the physical and software infrastructure required to support an at-home workforce can be especially complex if you have to accommodate a mix of worker-owned hardware such as PCs and laptops, Internet routers, and wireless appliances from different vendors and with a mix of operating systems and firmware releases. Progent's experience providing online help for both outdated and modern IT products in virtual office venues enables you to make efficient use of your available infrastructure and offers fast access to top-tire consultants for implement necessary upgrades. Support services offered by Progent to help your company to create a high-functioning telecommuting ecosystem include:

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology makes it possible to establish a safe connection for authenticated at-home employees to use IT resources situated at your corporate data center or in a public cloud. Progent can assist you to deploy and manage VPN access between your teleworkers and your key IT resources by providing remote VPN configuration consulting. For organizations using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA Firewall consultants can assist your at-home workers to utilize Cisco's AnyConnect software to provide secure VPN tunneling for a broad range of endpoint devices including Windows, macOS, Apple iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platforms allow a teleworker to view and interact with a data center PC's desktop. This gives network managers significant control over the computing environment of telecommuters and offers them a familiar work experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI expertise.
• Routers connect at-home networks to the Internet and support VPN connections, local wireless networks, and firewall services. Progent offers top-tier online support for integrating home routers from a variety of manufacturers. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified experts.
• Home Wireless networks, typically supporting the whole family and visitors, are commonly utilized by telecommuters to access their Internet router for work. This can create throughput and security problems. Progent can help businesses to resolve these problems by delivering services like Cisco Aironet integration expertise, Cisco Meraki wireless installation expertise, and Ubiquiti WiFi access point setup help.
• Internet connectivity solutions affect the performance and reliability of connections between telecommuters and the company data center. Line-of-business applications may demand backup Internet connections in case the normal connection breaks. Progent can provide expertise for identifying service providers, selecting appropriate service bundles, and setting up high-availability Internet connections. See Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Solutions for Remote Workers
Extending the business phone environment to accommodate telecommuters is critical to supporting a productive at-home workforce. A variety of cloud-centric VoIP products are popular with SMBs to support teleworkers. Many larger organizations depend on Cisco's modern or older platforms for VoIP management. Progent can help organizations of all sizes to design or maintain a telecommuter VoIP environment that delivers the flexibility, convenience and security required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE IP Voice consultants offer high-level support to help businesses tune their existing Cisco VoIP environments to handle an expanding at-home workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) delivers advanced telephony features to devices like IP phones, media processing platforms, VoIP gateways, and multimedia applications deployed across the network. Unified Communications Manager manages additional combined media services like unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For details about Progent's CUCM expertise, visit Cisco Unified Communications Manager expertise.
• Cisco CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing agent and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent's consultants can help you to support your current 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 IP voice products, see Cisco CallManager consulting services.
• Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with PSTN networks and with clients operating outside the corporate firewall like at-home workers. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways like the UC520, UC540 and UC560 products and for modern Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration expertise.
• Additional VoIP Platforms supported by Progent include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can help you to expand your WAN infrastructure to work with these solutions and provide online deployment and debugging expertise.

Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A wide selection of voice/video conferencing products from leading technology companies support virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and content sharing for both local users and at-home workers. Many organizations use a mix of conferencing products to meet the needs of their different partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist you to manage your existing voice/video conferencing ecosystem and enhance the experience of your at-home workforce.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's leading communications platform that enables real-time presence, IM, voice and video conferencing plus the transparent integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the skills of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help you to deploy and maintain Skype for Business client software to support your remote employees. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration services.
• FaceTime is Apple's multiuser video calling app for iOS and macOS computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer editions of FaceTime support up to 32 simultaneous users for video sessions. To learn more about Progent's support services for Apple FaceTime, refer to Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center supports remote conferencing for virtually all computing devices. Delivered through Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing discrete content or computer screens, presentations that incorporate rich media including Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, session capture, plus editing and playback for future reference. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Cisco Webex and for additional video conferencing 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 information with capabilities such as IP voice and video calling, threaded chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 apps, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent's conferencing experts include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can provide integration and debugging expertise for these conferencing platforms and help you to optimize your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Collaboration Software for At-Home Workers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office and Microsoft 365 suites, offering a powerful ecosystem of productivity apps that deliver a cohesive user experience for exchanging information throughout a corporate network and on a wide selection of endpoint devices. Progent has provided online consulting support for SharePoint and Exchange since their first releases and can assist businesses to configure these critical collaboration products to maximize the productivity 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 deliver real-time collaboration and communication. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can support chat, audio/video meetings that include screen sharing, phone calls, 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 (previously branded Azure Active Directory) for supporting its full range of capabilities. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams, see solution design and deployment expertise for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint utilizes web entities to allow collaboration and knowledge sharing by offering policy-driven delivery of content, workflow, and tools for searching through enterprise-wide business data. SharePoint permits you to create secure portals that allows remote workforce to view and update aggregated corporate intelligence via Wikis, Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To find out about Progent's SharePoint expertise, go to SharePoint integration and 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. For information about Progent's Exchange expertise, visit deployment consulting services for Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. At-home users can store files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can access them securely via a browser. Provided with Office 365, OneDrive enables at-home workers to co-author files. Revisions made offline are synced when you go back online. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, see Microsoft Onedrive configuration consulting.

Cloud Integration Services for Remote Workers
Progent can provide advanced online support for helping organizations to create, manage and troubleshoot cohesive network architectures that include physical data centers, remote workers, branch offices, and public cloud services. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all modes of cloud service delivery including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help remote workers resolve problems with public cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Azure is a leading family of cloud software and services that allows you to use infrastructure, servers, and critical apps running on Microsoft's massive cloud. Microsoft Azure features over 100 services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered VMs, scalable cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and data backup. Progent can assist your organization to deploy VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity control with Azure AD, and plan backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you create secure access to Azure services for telecommuters by setting up and debugging firewall appliances and VPN IPsec tunnels. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Azure, go to Microsoft Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365, previously called Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of business productivity applications and cloud-based services offered on a subscription basis. Office apps and cloud services are marketed in a selection of plans intended for users ranging from students and households to large enterprises. Progent offers quick and easy online access to consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible endpoints based on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android operating systems. Progent can help your business to assess the various subscription bundles offered with Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 apps for your at-home workers to achieve maximum business value. For details about Progent's expertise for Microsoft 365, go to Microsoft 365 consulting support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most popular cloud-based applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product line. Exchange Online offers the advantages of reduced costs for data center infrastructure, simplified management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other advantages associated with public clouds. Microsoft has engineered Exchange Online to run smoothly with on-premises Exchange environments, allowing customers to build hybrid cloud/onsite information systems. Progent's certified Exchange experts can provide as-needed help to guide you past challenging technical bottlenecks and can also provide comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your remote workers have convenient and safe access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. To find out Progent's support services for Exchange Online, see Microsoft 365 Exchange Online configuration and support expertise.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a trailblazer in the public cloud market and is the industry's leading provider of cloud services. Progent can provide fast and economical online access to cloud integration consultants who can help your organization to design, deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid IT networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud services with local data centers and with other public clouds such as Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist your company to create a high-availability network architecture so your employees have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the road. For information about Progent's consulting expertise for Amazon AWS, refer to Amazon AWS integration support.

Google Cloud is a leading set of public cloud services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can help your organization to expand your current IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's database experts can show you how to make your critical applications cloud ready so your remote workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud services. Progent's consultants can help your organization to deploy virtual machines on GCP Compute Engine, plan a cost-effective storage solution with Google Cloud Storage, and simplify identity management for telecommuters with Google Cloud Identity. Progent's experts can also assist your organization to utilize GCP's management technology to control and monitor your Google Cloud ecosystem. To find out, go to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) integration expertise.

Help Desk Call Center Support for Remote Workers
An emergency, enterprise-wide switchover to a from-home workforce, which could be the result of an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery preparedness plan, can overstretch even the most efficient internal Support Desk. Progent's Help Desk services make it possible for businesses of any size to outsource or supplement their Call Desk with Progent's online Technical Response Center services.

• Progent's Standard Help Desk services utilize Progent's nationwide team of online technical support specialists along with world-class trouble ticketing and follow-up software to provide an economical, state-of-the-art Help Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services provide an end-to-end solution that handles all facets of online Level 1 desktop technical support from help requests to ticket creation, desktop sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows at-home employees to monitor or update the status of their current trouble tickets, add information, and append screen captures and attachments. Technical support services are delivered at a significant price reduction off Progent's normal Level 1 desktop service charges, and Progent offers optional rapid hand-off to Level 2 and Level 3 IT specialists to resolve complex issues. To learn more, refer to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small and mid-size companies.
• Progent's Help Desk Call Center Augmentation Service enables your company to expand your current Help Desk staff by splitting responsibilities for Help Desk Call Center support services seamlessly between your in-house support staff and Progent's extensive roster of PC support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's shared Help Desk service uses a collective support model utilizing the number one PSA tool for managing help requests and ticketing, establishing responsibility, monitoring progress, and generating management reports. To find out how Progent's Call Desk Supplementation Services can help your business to deliver world-class IT support to your telecommuters, refer to Progent's Help Desk supplementation Services.

Security for Remote Workers
At-home employees commonly utilize their personal computing devices and usually operate in a poorly secured physical environment. This multiplies their vulnerability to cyber attacks and requires judicious configuration of firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote monitoring, extensive user training, and the development of security policies built on leading practices. Progent's veteran roster of IT security solutions consultants can assist your business to plan, implement and maintain an effective cybersecurity solution that protects vital information assets in networks that incorporate an at-home workforce.

Firewalls enable you to create a network environment that can be securely utilized by local users and by teleworkers, mobile employees, suppliers, clients, and the public. Next-generation firewall devices allow you to configure and control appropriate access rights to different classes of users and to scale your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your company evolves and as network attacks become increasingly sophisticated. Progent works with both current and legacy security appliances from all leading manufacturers like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, and Fortinet. To learn more about Progent's firewall integration expertise, refer to firewall support expertise.

Remote Endpoint Monitoring makes it possible to track the various devices used by teleworkers and either reject or identify and mitigate the latest threats such as ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a lightweight agent is installed on every secured endpoint device, monitoring all activity and utilizing advanced machine learning and full execution context from SentinelOne to detect new attacks on arrival. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight ASM instantly isolates the infected endpoint device from the corporate network to contain the malware. Since the ProSight ASM software agent is autonomous, endpoint devices stay secure even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight ASM, see remote endpoint security monitoring for at-home workers.

Progent's Duo authentication Managed Services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo supports one-tap identity confirmation on iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, whenever you log into a protected application and give your password you are requested to confirm your identity on a unit that only you possess and that uses a separate network channel. A broad selection of out-of-band devices can be used as this second form of authentication including a smartphone or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline telephone, etc. You can register multiple verification devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo identity validation services, see Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for remote workers.

Security Audits can evaluate the vulnerability of your information system to all types of external and local security threats for a network that includes at-home workers. Progent can deploy online, automated security analysis software for rapidly and affordably uncovering a broad range of security holes that can be found via the Internet. Progent's security audit consulting services, which can be provided by security professionals with advanced credentials including CISA, ISSAP, and GIAC, can assist your company to audit your operations and policies and review your network architecture to allow you to implement the highest level of security for your teleworkers.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a breakthrough penetration test (pentest) product family that supports automated threat assessment of your work-from-home environment and your internal and perimeter networks so you can identify, prioritize, remediate, and confirm cybersecurity weaknesses before threat actors can take advantage of them. Progent can assist you to use NodeZero to perform thorough pentests of your perimeter and your internal network in order to evaluate your current security posture. Progent can also help you to strengthen your network security and can help you to plan and deploy a unified cybersecurity strategy that streamlines management and delivers maximum protection for on-prem, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT resources. To find out more information about Progent's vulnerability assessment solutions powered by on NodeZero's pentest platform, see Consulting Services for NodeZero's PEN Test Platform.

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

Data Protection Solutions for Teleworkers
Data Protection covers backing up and restoring critical data so as to avoid data loss and reduce restoration time in case of storage system problems resulting from hardware breakdowns, software glitches, human mistakes, malware, or other causes. Reliable data protection solutions can be particularly difficult to architect and maintain in hybrid environments that combine local data centers, public clouds, and at-home workers.

• Backup/Restore strategies for at-home workers must address diverse kinds of personally owned endpoint devices. Progent offers quick online access to experts knowledgeable about a broad array of platforms for protection Windows, Apple Mac and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and handhelds. Leading backup/restore products supported by Progent's data protection consultants include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Mozy, and Time Machine. To back up resources spread across a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery subscription service that uses cloud storage and includes granular recovery and unified management.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans commonly anticipate circumstances that require a quick switch to a work-at-home environment. Progent's senior disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity consultants can assist your company to produce, document and validate a DR/BC plan that addresses the process of moving to telecommuting.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has rebranded and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Endpoint Manager, which encompasses Intune for cloud management of remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing on-premises computers. Microsoft Endpoint Manager offers a centralized environment for safeguarding corporate data by controlling onsite, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

Microsoft Intune
Intune is a component of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing off-premises devices and applications. Remote endpoint devices can be user owned or company owned. IT administrators managing the enrolled endpoint devices of telecommuters can utilize Intune to provision and authenticate applications on devices, push patches and certificates, configure rules for accessing data and resources, set passwords, establish VPN connections, determine how teleworkers share data, set up threat defense, ensure security compliance, and erase sensitive data from lost, stolen or deactivated devices. Intune can be used with Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS computers. For details about Microsoft Intune and how Progent can help your company to use Microsoft's Endpoint Management to administer the endpoint computers of your teleworkers, visit Intune remote endpoint management expertise.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich unified Mobile Device Management product that allows network managers to keep remote endpoints up to date and protected. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint management plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery platform for identity control, app management, and configuration management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or popular distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is available by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-site product through a perpetual license. Top capabilities of Workspace ONE include rapid remote deployment of out-of-the-box laptops, immediate onboarding of new users, policy set up and enforcement for all classes of devices, unifies management reporting and analytics, an email encryption gateway, and integration with Microsoft applications and cloud-based products. To learn about Progent's support for VMware Workspace ONE, visit VMware Workspace ONE mobile endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for At-Home Worker Support Services
To contact Progent about creating and managing an efficient telecommuter solution for your Madison, Wisconsin company, phone 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.