San Bernardino Teleworkers Solutions Consulting Experts

Expanding your telecommuter workforce can have a significant impact on network infrastructure, security/compliance, and company workflows. Progent has 20 years of background assisting businesses of all sizes to plan, deploy, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that incorporate a remote workforce. Progent can help your San Bernardino company to pick the right tools and adhere to leading practices in creating and maintaining a secure virtual office ecosystem for telecommuters that promotes teamwork and returns maximum value. Progent can provide support services ranging from on demand guidance for helping you over challenging technical roadblocks to full project management to help you carry out mission-critical initiatives.

Progent's consultants can assist San Bernardino, California companies to succeed with any aspect of creating a high-performing telecommuting ecosystem by providing infrastructure configuration services, IP voice troubleshooting, voice/video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud integration, Call Desk services, cybersecurity, data protection solutions, and unified management.

Infrastructure for a Remote Workforce
Setting up the network infrastructure required for a remote workforce can be especially complicated if you must accommodate a mix of personal equipment such as desktop computers and laptops, Internet routers, and wireless appliances from an assortment of manufacturers and with a variety of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's background delivering online help for both outdated as well as modern IT products in virtual office solutions allows you to make cost-effective use of your available network infrastructure and provides you with ready access to expertise for making essential updates. Support services offered by Progent to assist you to create a productive work-at-home infrastructure include:

• VPN technology allows you to create a secure tunnel for authenticated at-home employees to access IT resources located at your corporate data center or in the cloud. Progent's consultants can assist your company to deploy and maintain VPN access between your teleworkers and your key network resources by providing remote VPN integration support. For businesses with Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco ASA experts can assist your telecommuters to utilize Cisco's popular AnyConnect software to provide secure VPN tunneling for a wide selection of endpoint devices including Microsoft Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) products allow an at-home worker to view and interact with a remote computer's desktop. This technology gives IT managers substantial control over the computing environment of at-home employees and ensures them a consistent and more productive experience. Progent's VDI services include Windows Remote Desktop support and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops expertise.
• Routers attach at-home networks to the Internet and typically support VPN tunnels, home Wi-Fi connectivity, and firewalls. Progent can provide top-tier remote support for integrating routers from all major vendors. See router configuration services from Cisco-certified experts.
• Home Wireless networks, typically shared by families and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to connect to their Internet router for work. This can cause throughput and security problems. Progent can help you to resolve these problems by providing services that include Cisco Aironet integration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki WiFi deployment expertise, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi access point setup assistance.
• Internet connectivity solutions affect the performance and availability of connections between telecommuters and the corporate network. Vital processes may demand redundant Internet connections in case the normal connection fails. Progent offers guidance for selecting ISPs, choosing appropriate bandwidth and data volume packages, and setting up high-availability Internet access. Refer to Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Solutions for an At-Home Workforce
Extending the corporate phone system to include teleworkers is critical to supporting a productive work-at-home solution. A variety of cloud-based IP voice platforms are used by SMBs to server telecommuters. Many enterprises rely on Cisco's current or legacy platforms for VoIP management. Progent can assist businesses of any size to plan or tune a remote IP voice service that provides the versatility, convenience and security required for telecommuters. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants offer advanced support to help organizations tune their existing Cisco VoIP systems to handle a growing at-home workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) delivers high-end IP telephony capabilities to devices such as IP phones, media processing products, Voice over IP gateways, and mixed media applications deployed throughout the network. CUCM manages other combined media services like messaging, video conferencing, and customer interaction networks. For more information about Progent's Cisco Unified CM or CUCM support, visit Cisco Unified CM consulting services.
• Cisco CallManager is Cisco's earlier call-processing agent and has been replaced by Cisco Unified CM or CUCM. Progent can help you to support your existing CallManager deployment or migrate efficiently to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. To learn about Progent's expertise for Cisco CallManager and Cisco's other legacy IP voice platforms, visit CallManager consulting services.
• Cisco IP Gateways provide connectivity with public telephony networks and with clients working outside the corporate perimeter such as at-home workers. Progent can provide expert support for Cisco's legacy IP gateways including the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series as well as for modern Cisco SIP gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration consulting.
• Additional VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, RingCentral and 8x8. Progent can help you to enhance your WAN infrastructure to support these solutions and provide as-needed deployment and troubleshooting services.

Video Conferencing for an At-Home Workforce
A wide range of voice/video conferencing products from leading technology companies support virtual discussions, video conferencing, chat sessions, and screen sharing for both local users and at-home workers. Many companies utilize a mix of conferencing products to accommodate their various partners and customers. Progent's communications experts can assist you to maintain your current voice/video conferencing ecosystem and optimize the engagement of your remote employees.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular unified communications product that supports presence, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing as well as the seamless integration of these functions within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 productivity software such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can assist your company to configure and manage Skype for Business client software to accommodate your remote employees. For details about Progent's support services for Skype for Business, refer to Skype for Business integration experts.
• FaceTime is Apple's group video calling app for iOS and Mac devices. FaceTime runs on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Newer versions of FaceTime allow up to 32 simultaneous users for video sessions. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Apple FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center supports online conferencing for virtually all desktop or mobile devices. Offered via Cisco's Webex Cloud, Webex capabilities include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint, network-based capture, plus editing and playback for future reference and training. To learn more about Progent's support expertise for Webex as well as for other 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 hub for conferencing, contacts, and content with features that include voice/video conferencing, threaded chat, plus data sharing. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Teams as well as for additional Microsoft 365 apps, refer to Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Additional Voice/Video Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver integration and debugging services for these products and help you to optimize your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Software for At-Home Workers
Microsoft's collaboration platforms are tightly integrated with Microsoft's familiar Office and Microsoft 365 families, providing a rich environment of applications that create a cohesive user experience for exchanging data and ideas across multiple sites and on a wide range of endpoint devices. Progent has provided online consulting services for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange since their original publication and can help businesses to tune these flagship collaboration platforms 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 on top of Microsoft 365 and integrates with third-party cloud services to deliver real-time collaboration. Developed as a replacement for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams can enable chat, video meetings that include 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 Microsoft Entra (formerly called Azure Active Directory) for supporting its full range of features. To learn more about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, see solution design and configuration expertise for Microsoft Teams.

SharePoint utilizes web sites to enable collaboration and information delivery by providing policy-driven delivery of data, business processes, and utilities for searching through company-wide business data. SharePoint allows you to create protected web portals that enables remote workforce to view and edit consolidated corporate intelligence via Intranets (Wikis), Blogs, social web sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). For details about Progent's SharePoint consulting services, 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. To find out about Progent's Exchange consulting services, visit deployment consulting services for Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s collaborative cloud file hosting and synchronization service, similar to GoogleDrive. Remote users can store files to OneDrive, and co-workers anywhere can access them securely through a browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables home workers to jointly author documents. Revisions created offline are uploaded when you go back online. To find out about Progent's consulting services for OneDrive, visit Microsoft Onedrive configuration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration for Telecommuters
Progent offers advanced remote support for enabling businesses to create, manage and repair cohesive hybrid network architectures that incorporate physical data centers, telecommuters, branches, and public cloud resources. Progent offers top-tier consultant for all modes of public cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service. Progent can help at-home workers resolve issues with cloud access, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure is a leading platform for public cloud services that allows you to use infrastructure, virtual servers, and key applications running on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure offers over one hundred services services such as the ability to host Windows and Linux-powered virtual machines, on-demand cloud storage, messaging, application development with Visual Studio, and backup/restore. Progent can help you to deploy virtual machines on Azure Virtual Machines, configure storage on Azure Storage services, unify identity management with Azure AD, and design backup and recovery solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you establish secure access to Azure services for at-home workers by setting up and debugging firewalls and VPN tunnels. For information about Progent's support services for Microsoft Azure, refer to Azure expertise.

Microsoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of client productivity applications and cloud services offered by subscription. Microsoft apps and cloud services are provided in a selection of plans intended for users ranging from students and households to large corporations. Progent offers quick and easy remote contact with consultants knowledgeable about Microsoft 365-compatible client devices based on 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 deploy 365 applications for your remote workers to achieve maximum business value. For information about Progent's support services for Microsoft 365, visit Microsoft 365 integration services.

Exchange Online is among the most widely used applications in the Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online offers the benefits of lower spending for physical infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and other benefits inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has designed Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate smoothly with local deployments of Exchange, enabling you to create hybrid information systems. Progent's Exchange experts are available for as-needed help to get you past tough IT roadblocks and can also provide comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your teleworkers have easy and secure access to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online deployment. For details Progent's support services for Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, see Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration and troubleshooting consulting.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a pioneer in the public cloud arena and is the world's biggest source of cloud services. Progent can provide quick and affordable online contact with cloud connectivity consultants who can assist your business to design, implement, maintain, and troubleshoot hybrid information networks that integrate Amazon AWS cloud services with local data centers and with other public clouds such as Azure. Progent also can provide access to Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts to help you to create a high-uptime network model to make sure your users have a productive computing experience regardless of whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the road. To learn about Progent's support services for Amazon AWS, refer to Amazon AWS consulting support.

Google Cloud is a leading set of cloud services that provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco experts can assist you to expand your current IT resources with the Google Cloud Platform, and Progent's database experts can show you how to make your critical applications cloud friendly so your at-home workers can benefit fully from Google Cloud Platform services. Progent can assist you to deploy VMs on GCP Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage system with GCP Storage services, and streamline access management for telecommuters with GCP Cloud Identity. Progent's consultants can also help you to use GCP's management technology to control and monitor your GCP environment. To learn, see Google Cloud Platform integration expertise.

Help Desk Support for Telecommuters
A rapid, company-wide changeover to a telecommuter business model, which might be driven by an epidemic or as a component of a disaster recovery/business continuity plan, can overwhelm even a high-performing in-house Support Desk. Progent's Call Center services make it possible for organizations of any size to outsource or expand their Call Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) services.

• Progent's Standard Call Desk services leverage Progent's nationwide network of online IT support specialists along with enterprise-class trouble ticketing and tracking software to offer an economical, state-of-the-art Call Desk. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer an end-to-end solution that handles all facets of remote Level 1 PC technical support from service requests through trouble ticket generation, screen sharing, problem resolution, and reporting. A browser-based User's Service Portal enables at-home employees to check or edit their current tickets, add information, and upload screenshots and attachments. Technical support services are provided at a substantial price reduction off Progent's ordinary Level 1 desktop support rates, and Progent offers the option of fast escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support experts to deal with advanced issues. For more information, visit Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services outsourcing for small businesses.
• Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service enables your business to supplement your existing Call Desk team by sharing responsibilities for Help Desk support services transparently between your in-house IT support staff and Progent's extensive roster of PC support engineers and subject matter specialists. Progent's shared Support Desk service uses a co-sourcing support model based on the number one professional services automation (PSA) platform for handling service requests and trouble tickets, assigning responsibility, monitoring progress, and generating reports. For details about how Progent's Call Desk Augmentation Services can enable your business to deliver best-in-class desktop support to your teleworkers, go to Progent's Help Desk supplementation Services.

Cybersecurity for At-Home Workers
At-home workers typically use their personal computers and usually work in a poorly secured physical area. This situation increases their susceptibility to cyber attacks and calls for careful configuration of firewalls, anti-malware tools, MFA-based identity verification, remote endpoint monitoring, intensive user training, and the development of policies built on best practices. Progent's veteran group of cybersecurity support consultants can assist you to plan, deploy and maintain a compliant cybersecurity solution that guards vital IT resources in networks that include at-home workers.

Firewalls enable you to create a network environment that can be securely accessed by on-premises users as well as by teleworkers, mobile users, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall devices permit you to configure and control appropriate permissions to different classes of users and to expand your network and adjust your cybersecurity posture as your business evolves and as cyber threats grow increasingly sophisticated. Progent works with both new and older security appliances from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, WatchGuard, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. For details about Progent's firewall support services, visit firewall configuration and support expertise.

Online Endpoint Security Monitoring makes it possible to watch over the various computers used by telecommuters and either reject or spot and respond to the latest cyber attacks like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) services, a lightweight agent is put on every protected endpoint device, watching all activity and using advanced AI technology from SentinelOne to identify new attacks before they can spread. When an attack is discovered, ProSight ASM immediately isolates the infected device from the network to quarantine the threat. Since the ProSight ASM agent is autonomous, endpoint devices remain secure even if they are disconnected from the Internet. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. For details about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, visit remote endpoint monitoring for telecommuters.

Progent's Duo MFA Services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against stolen passwords through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are asked to verify who you are on a device that only you have and that uses a different network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this added means of authentication including an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You may register multiple verification devices. For details about Duo identity authentication services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for remote workers.

Security Audits can assess the vulnerability of your network to all classes of external and internal security attacks for an environment that includes remote workers. Progent can run online, automated cybersecurity analysis software for rapidly and economically detecting a wide variety of security holes that can be surfaced over the Internet. Progent's endpoint security audit consulting services, which can be provided by data security experts with advanced credentials including CISM, CISSP, and GIAC, can assist your company to audit your processes and policies and review your IT 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 automated threat assessment of your at-home environment as well as your internal and perimeter networks to help you identify, prioritize, fix, and verify cybersecurity vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent can help you to deploy NodeZero to perform thorough penetration tests of your network perimeter and your internal network so you can determine your present security profile. Progent can also help you to harden your network security and can help you to design and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that streamlines management and delivers optimum cyber defense for on-premises, multi-cloud, at-home, and perimeter IT resources. To learn additional information about Progent's vulnerability assessment solutions based on on NodeZero's penetration test platform, visit Consulting Support for NodeZero's Pentest Products.

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

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection involves saving and restoring vital data in order to prevent data loss and minimize restoration time and effort in the event of storage system failures due to equipment breakdowns, software hiccups, user error, cyber attack, or other causes. Dependable data protection strategies can be especially difficult to design and maintain in hybrid environments that combine local data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

• Backup/Recovery strategies for an at-home workforce must cover multiple types of user-owned endpoint devices. Progent offers quick remote access to experts knowledgeable about a wide array of platforms for protection Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as laptops, tablets and handhelds. Popular backup/restore solutions maintained by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Acronis Backup and Recovery, Mozy, and Time Machine. To protect data distributed across a hybrid network, Progent can provide ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a backup/recovery service that utilizes cloud storage and includes fine-grained recovery and unified management capabilities.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans commonly anticipate scenarios that call for a rapid changeover to telecommuting. Progent's expert disaster recovery planning experts and business continuity specialists can assist your company to develop, document and validate a DR/BC plan that includes the logistics of moving to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has renamed and reshuffled its endpoint management platforms under the title Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud management of mobile and remote devices and Configuration Manager for managing local endpoints. Endpoint Manager features a unified platform for safeguarding corporate data by managing on-premises, mobile, and home-based endpoints.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management suite that also includes Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud service for managing and protecting mobile devices and applications. Remote endpoint devices can be personally owned or business owned. Network administrators managing the enrolled endpoint computers of teleworkers can use Intune to deploy and validate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, set up rules for permission to access information and resources, manage passwords, establish VPN tunnels, determine how telecommuters share data, set up threat defense, ensure compliance, and delete sensitive data from lost, stolen or decommissioned endpoint devices. Microsoft Intune can be used with iOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS devices. For information about Intune and how Progent can assist your company to use this platform to manage the endpoint devices of your at-home workforce, go to Intune telecommuter endpoint management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is a feature-rich centralized MDM product that allows network managers to keep off-premises endpoints up to date and protected. Workspace ONE incorporates VMware AirWatch for centralized endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery platform for access control, app management, and setup management of endpoints. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints powered by Windows 10, macOS, Apple iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or leading distributions of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud-based service or as an on-premises product through a perpetual license. Key capabilities of Workspace ONE include fast remote deployment of new notebooks, immediate onboarding of new employees, policy set up and enforcement for all categories of devices, unifies management reporting and performance analytics, email encryption, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud products. To find out about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, refer to VMware Workspace ONE mobile device management consultants.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Support Services
To get in touch with Progent about building and maintaining a productive work-from-home solution for your San Bernardino, California organization, phone 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.