Aurora Work at Home Employees Integration Advisor

Enlarging your at-home workforce may have a major impact on IT architecture, security, and corporate culture. Progent has two decades of experience helping businesses of all sizes to plan, deploy, administer, tune, and troubleshoot IT environments that support a remote workforce. Progent can help your Aurora company to pick the appropriate tools and follow leading practices in building and operating a safe virtual office solution for telecommuters that promotes collaboration and delivers top value. Progent can provide support services that go from as-needed guidance for getting you over challenging technical bottlenecks to comprehensive project management to help you carry out business-critical initiatives.

Progent can help Aurora, Colorado businesses to succeed with any facet of creating a high-performing work-at-home environment by delivering network infrastructure configuration services, VoIP PBX troubleshooting, video conferencing support, collaboration platform selection and deployment, public cloud integration, Call Desk augmentation, data security, data protection solutions, and streamlined management.

Infrastructure for an At-Home Workforce
Setting up the network infrastructure required for an at-home work environment can be particularly challenging if you have to manage a mix of worker-owned equipment like desktop computers and laptops, Internet routers, and Wi-Fi appliances from various vendors and with a mix of operating systems and firmware levels. Progent's background delivering remote support for both legacy and modern IT products in remote office venues allows you to make efficient use of your existing infrastructure and offers fast access to expertise for making essential upgrades. Support services available from Progent to assist you to create a productive telecommuting infrastructure include:

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology makes it possible to establish a secure connection for authorized remote employees to use IT resources situated at your corporate datacenter or in the cloud. Progent can help you to deploy and maintain VPN connections between your teleworkers and your various network resources by providing remote VPN configuration support. For businesses using Cisco's ASA firewalls, Progent's Cisco-certified ASA consultants can help your remote workers to set up Cisco's AnyConnect software to provide safe VPN connections for a wide selection of devices including Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, and Google Android.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure products enable a teleworker to see and interact with a data center PC's desktop. This technology provides network managers more control over the computing ecosystem of telecommuters and ensures them a familiar work experience. Progent's virtual desktop consulting services include Windows Remote Desktop integration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops VDI solutions.
• Routers attach home computer networks to the Internet and typically support VPN connections, home Wi-Fi networks, and firewall services. Progent offers top-tier online support for integrating home routers from all major vendors. See router configuration support from Cisco-certified consultants.
• Home Wi-Fi networks, often supporting the whole family and visitors, are frequently utilized by telecommuters to access their router for work. This can create throughput as well as cybersecurity problems. Progent can help you to mitigate these issues by providing services like Aironet integration expertise, Cisco-certified Meraki wireless installation consulting, and Ubiquiti Unifi WiFi AP integration assistance.
• Internet connectivity solutions impact the speed and availability of connections between at-home workers and the company data center. Line-of-business applications might require redundant Internet access in case the primary connection breaks. Progent can provide expertise for picking service providers, choosing appropriate bandwidth and data volume offerings, and configuring redundant Internet access. Refer to Internet connectivity solutions.

IP Voice Integration for At-Home Workers
Extending the company phone system to include telecommuters is critical to supporting a productive work-at-home solution. A broad range of cloud-based IP voice products are popular with small and mid-size businesses to support teleworkers. Many enterprises depend on Cisco's current or legacy platforms for IP voice management. Progent can help organizations of all sizes to plan or tune a remote VoIP environment that provides the versatility, convenience and security required for teleworkers. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE Voice consultants offer advanced support to help organizations tune their current Cisco VoIP environments to support a growing remote workforce.

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM or CUCM) extends enterprise IP telephony capabilities to devices like IP phones, media processing platforms, Voice over IP gateways, and mixed media apps used throughout the network. CUCM manages additional combined media services like unified messaging, voice/video conferencing, and customer collaboration networks. For more information about Progent's Unified Communications Manager support, visit Cisco Unified Communications Manager consultants.
• CallManager is Cisco's legacy call-processing software and has been superseded by CUCM. Progent can assist your company to support your existing CallManager deployment or migrate smoothly to Cisco's modern IP telephony solutions. For details about Progent's expertise for CallManager and Cisco's other legacy VoIP products, refer to CallManager consulting services.
• Cisco IP Gateways enable connectivity with PSTN networks and with clients operating outside the corporate perimeter such as telecommuters. Progent can provide consulting expertise for Cisco's legacy IP gateways such as the UC520, UC540 and UC560 series and for current Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateways. See Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway integration expertise.
• Other VoIP Products supported by Progent's consultants include Vonage, Intermedia Unite and 8x8. Progent can assist you to update your WAN infrastructure to support these solutions and provide on-demand deployment and debugging services.

Voice/Video Conferencing for At-Home Workers
A wide range of voice/video conferencing products from major technology companies enable virtual discussions, video and voice conferencing, chat sessions, and content sharing for both local users and at-home workers. Many companies utilize multiple conferencing products to accommodate their various partners and clients. Progent's communications experts can help you to manage your current conferencing environment and enhance the experience of your remote workforce.

• Skype for Business is Microsoft's popular communications product that enables real-time presence, instant messaging, audio and video calling and conferencing plus the transparent integration of these capabilities within Office desktop and Microsoft 365 applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Progent offers the expertise of Microsoft-certified specialists who can help you to configure and maintain Skype for Business clients to support your remote workforce. To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Skype for Business, see Skype for Business integration experts.
• FaceTime is Apple's group video phone app for compatible iOS and Mac computers and smartphones. FaceTime works on Wi-Fi or cellular Internet connections. Later versions of FaceTime allow up to 32 simultaneous users for voice/video calls. For details about Progent's consulting services for Apple FaceTime, see Progent's FaceTime configuration expertise.
• Webex Meeting Center provides remote conferencing for most computing devices. Delivered via Cisco's Webex Cloud platform, Webex services include sharing specific content or screens, presentations that incorporate rich media such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Flash videos, network-based recording, plus editing and playback for training. For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Webex and for other video conferencing 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 conversations, contacts, and information with capabilities that include video calling, persistent threaded chat, plus data sharing. To learn more about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft Teams and for additional Microsoft 365 products, visit Progent's Microsoft Teams consulting services.
• Additional Conferencing Platforms supported by Progent include Google Meet, Amazon Chime, Zoom, and Slack. Progent can deliver integration and debugging services for these conferencing platforms and help your business to optimize your network infrastructure to host them.

Microsoft Integrated Collaboration Platforms for Remote Workers
Microsoft's collaboration products are closely integrated with Microsoft's popular Office suites, providing a rich ecosystem of applications that create a consistent user interface for exchanging data and ideas throughout a corporate network and on a broad selection of endpoint computers. Progent has delivered remote consulting support for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange Server since their first publication and can help businesses to tune these flagship collaboration products to maximize the effectiveness of your at-home workers.

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. Developed as a substitute for Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium 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 branded Azure Active Directory) for supporting its full range of features. For details about Progent's support services for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium, visit planning and deployment consulting for Microsoft Teams and Teams Premium.

SharePoint utilizes web sites to enable collaboration and knowledge sharing by providing policy-based access to content, business processes, and tools for looking through company-wide information silos. SharePoint allows you to build secure portals that allows at-home workforce to see and update aggregated business intelligence by means of Wikis, Blogs, social networking sites, and Web Parts (Widgets). To learn about Progent's SharePoint expertise, see 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 services, see deployment expertise for Microsoft Exchange.

OneDrive is Microsoft�s shared cloud file hosting and synchronization service, comparable to GoogleDrive. Remote users can save files to the OneDrive service, and co-workers anywhere can retrieve them securely through a web browser. Included with Microsoft 365, OneDrive enables home employees to co-edit documents. Revisions created offline are synced when you go back online. To learn about Progent's consulting expertise for Microsoft OneDrive, refer to Microsoft Onedrive configuration consulting.

Public Cloud Integration for Remote Workers
Progent offers affordable online assistance for enabling organizations to create, maintain and optimize cohesive network models that incorporate internal data centers, at-home workers, branch offices, plus public cloud services. Progent can provide top-tier consultant for all modes of public cloud service delivery such as Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Progent can help telecommuters fix problems with cloud connectivity, authentication, and cybersecurity.

Microsoft Azure is a leading platform for cloud services that enables you to use infrastructure, servers, and key apps hosted on Microsoft's extensive cloud. Azure offers over 100 services services including the ability to host Windows and Linux-based virtual machines, scalable cloud storage, email and messaging, app development with Visual Studio, and data protection. Progent can help your organization to set up VMs on Azure Virtual Machines, integrate cloud-based storage on Azure Storage services, streamline identity management with Azure AD, and design data backup and restore solutions with Azure Backup. Progent can also help you establish protected access to Azure services for telecommuters by setting up and debugging firewalls and VPN IPsec tunnels. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft Azure, visit Azure consulting services.

Microsoft 365, previously branded Office 365, is Microsoft's popular family of business productivity applications and cloud-based services offered by subscription. Office apps and cloud services are marketed in a variety of plans designed for customers ranging from individuals and households to major enterprises. Progent offers quick and affordable remote contact with experts familiar with Microsoft 365-compatible clients running Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google Android technology. Progent can help your business to evaluate the various subscription bundles offered with Microsoft 365 and deploy 365 applications for your remote workers in a way that delivers maximum business value. For details about Progent's consulting services for Microsoft 365, refer to Microsoft 365 integration support.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online is one of the most popular applications in Azure-hosted Microsoft 365 product line. Microsoft 365 Exchange Online provides the advantages of lower costs for physical infrastructure, easier management, on-demand scaling, high reliability, and additional benefits inherent with cloud computing. Microsoft has engineered Microsoft 365 Exchange Online to operate smoothly with on-premises deployments of Exchange, allowing you to create hybrid cloud/onsite networks. Progent's Exchange experts can provide as-needed assistance to guide you through tough technical roadblocks and also offer comprehensive project management services to ensure your at-home workers have convenient and safe access to your Exchange Online environment. For information 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 arena and is the world's top source of cloud services. Progent offers quick and affordable online access to cloud connectivity consultants who can assist your business to plan, deploy, maintain, and debug hybrid information networks that incorporate Amazon AWS cloud-based services with local data centers and with other popular cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure. Progent also can provide the skills of Cisco-certified CCIE networking consultants to assist your company to build a high-uptime network architecture to make sure your employees have a consistent computing experience whether they are working from your headquarters, a branch office, from home, or on the move. To find out about Progent's consulting services for Amazon AWS, see Amazon AWS integration services.

Google Cloud Platform is a popular suite of cloud services that offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service products. Progent's certified Microsoft, Linux, and Cisco consulting experts can assist you to extend your existing IT resources with the Google Cloud, and Progent's DBA experts can show you how to make your mission-critical applications cloud friendly so your at-home workers can take full advantage of Google Cloud services. Progent can help you to deploy virtual machines on Google Cloud Compute Engine, plan an efficient storage system with GCP Storage, and streamline identity management for telecommuters with GCP Cloud Identity services. Progent's consultants can also help you to utilize GCP's management technology to administer and monitor your GCP environment. For information, refer to Google Cloud Platform consulting expertise.

Help Desk Call Center Support for Remote Workers
A rapid, enterprise-wide switchover to a teleworker business model, which could be the result of an epidemic or as part of a disaster recovery preparedness plan, can overstretch even a well-staffed in-house Help Desk. Progent's Help Desk services allow businesses of any size to outsource or supplement their Call Desk by using Progent's online Technical Response Center (TRC) team.

• Progent's Standard Call Center support services utilize Progent's extensive network of remote technical support experts along with world-class ticketing and follow-up technology to offer an economical, modern Call Center. Progent's Standard Help Desk Services offer a comprehensive solution that handles all aspects of remote Level 1 PC technical support from help requests through ticket generation, desktop sharing, issue resolution, and incident reporting. A web-based User's Service Portal allows teleworkers to track or update the status of their active tickets, enter details, and append screenshots or attachments. Technical support services are provided at a significant discount off Progent's ordinary Level 1 technical support rates, and Progent makes available optional rapid escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 IT specialists to resolve advanced issues. To learn more, go to Progent's Standard Helpdesk Services for small and mid-size businesses.
• Progent's Help Desk Supplemental Service enables you to augment your current Help Desk staff by sharing responsibilities for Support Desk support services transparently between your regular support organization and Progent's nationwide roster of PC support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's co-managed Support Desk service uses a collaborative support solution utilizing the number one PSA platform for managing service requests and ticketing, establishing ownership, monitoring progress, and generating reports. To find out how Progent's Help Desk Call Center Augmentation Services can enable your business to provide best-in-class technical support to your telecommuters, go to Progent's Help Desk augmentation Services.

Cybersecurity for At-Home Workers
At-home workers commonly use their personal computing devices and usually operate in a poorly secured physical area. This situation increases their susceptibility to malware threats and requires careful deployment of firewalls, anti-malware tools, multi-factor authentication, remote monitoring, extensive user education, and the creation of security policies built on best practices. Progent's seasoned team of IT security support experts can assist your business to plan, deploy and manage a compliant security solution that protects critical IT assets in environments that include an at-home workforce.

Firewalls allow you to build a network environment that can be securely accessed by on-premises users and by telecommuters, mobile employees, vendors, clients, and other stakeholders. Next-generation firewall devices allow you to configure and control different access rights to various groups of users and to scale your IT network and modify your cybersecurity posture as your company evolves and as network attacks grow more sophisticated. Progent supports both new and older firewall appliances from all major vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Juniper, SonicWall and Fortinet. To find out more about Progent's firewall integration services, see firewall configuration and support expertise.

Online Endpoint Monitoring makes it easy to track the disparate computers used by remote workers and either reject or identify and respond to the latest cyber attacks like ransomware. With Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring services, a small-footprint software agent is installed on each protected endpoint device, watching all activity and utilizing advanced AI technology from SentinelOne to detect zero-day threats before they can spread. When a cyberattack is spotted, ProSight Active Security Monitoring instantly isolates the impacted device from the network to quarantine the threat. Since the ProSight Active Security Monitoring agent is self-contained, endpoints remain secure even if they are offline. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. To find out more about ProSight Active Security Monitoring, see remote endpoint monitoring for remote workers.

Progent's Duo MFA Service Plans utilize Cisco's Duo technology to protect against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo enables one-tap identity confirmation on iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. With Duo 2FA, whenever you log into a protected application and enter your password you are asked to verify who you are on a device that only you have and that is accessed using a different network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this added form of authentication including a smartphone or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline telephone, etc. You can register multiple validation devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo identity validation services, go to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for telecommuters.

Security Audits can assess the vulnerability of your information system to all types of outside and internal security threats for an environment that includes remote workers. Progent can deploy remote, automated cybersecurity inventory software for rapidly and affordably detecting a wide variety of security gaps that can be found via the Internet. Progent's endpoint security assessment consulting services, which can be managed by data security experts with top credentials including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC, can help your company to evaluate your processes and policies and review your network infrastructure to allow you to design the highest level of protection for your at-home workers.

Horizon3.ai's NodeZero Penetration Testing Platform is a leading-edge penetration test (pentest) product family that supports autonomous threat assessment of your work-from-home environment as well as your internal and perimeter networks so you can expose, prioritize, fix, and verify cybersecurity weaknesses before malicious hackers can exploit them. Progent's pentest experts can help you to use NodeZero to carry out comprehensive pentests of your network perimeter and your internal IT infrastructure so you can determine your present security posture. Progent's NodeZero experts can also assist you to strengthen your existing network security and can help you to plan and deploy a cohesive cybersecurity ecosystem that simplifies management and provides optimum cyber defense for on-prem, multi-cloud, remote, and perimeter IT resources. To learn additional information about Progent's vulnerability assessment solutions based on on NodeZero's PEN test platform, refer to Consulting Services for NodeZero's PEN Test Products.

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

Data Protection for At-Home Workers
The field of Data Protection covers backing up and recovering critical information in order to prevent data loss and reduce restoration time and effort in case of storage failures resulting from equipment breakdowns, programming glitches, user error, malware, or any other reason. Dependable data protection solutions can be particularly challenging to architect and maintain in hybrid environments that combine local data centers, cloud resources, and an at-home workforce.

• Backup/Restore strategies for an at-home workforce must address diverse types of user-owned endpoints. Progent offers quick remote access to consultants knowledgeable about a broad array of products for backing up Microsoft Windows, Apple and Linux/UNIX powered servers and desktop computers as well as notebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. Popular backup/recovery products supported by Progent's backup/recovery experts include Barracuda Backup, Azure Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, CrashPlan, Retrospect, and Time Machine. To back up data distributed throughout a wide area network, Progent offers ProSight Data Protection Services, a backup/recovery subscription service that utilizes cloud-based storage and includes fine-grained restore and centralized management capabilities.
• Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity (DR/BC) plans commonly envision scenarios that call for a temporary switch to telecommuting. Progent's senior disaster recovery preparedness experts and business continuity planning consultants can help your business to develop, document and validate a DR/BC strategy that includes the logistics of switching to an at-home workforce.

Unified Management for an At-Home Workforce
Microsoft has renamed and rebundled its endpoint management products under the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager, which includes Intune for cloud-based management of remote endpoints and Configuration Manager for managing onsite computers. Endpoint Manager offers a centralized platform for protecting corporate information by controlling on-premises, mobile, and home-based endpoint devices.

Intune
Intune is part of Microsoft's Endpoint Management family that also features Microsoft Configuration Manager. Intune is a cloud-based service for managing and protecting remote computers and software. Remote endpoint computers can be personally owned or company owned. IT admins managing the enrolled endpoint computers of at-home workers can utilize Intune to deploy and authenticate applications on managed devices, push patches and certificates, configure policies for permission to access information and resources, manage passwords, create VPN tunnels, control how telecommuters share data, set up threat defense, ensure compliance, and delete sensitive data from missing, stolen or deactivated endpoint devices. Intune works with iOS/iPadOS, Google Android, Windows, and macOS devices. For details about Intune and how Progent can assist you to use this platform to administer the devices of your at-home workforce, see Intune teleworker device management experts.

VMware Workspace ONE
VMware Workspace ONE is an advanced unified Mobile Device Management platform that allows network managers to keep remote endpoint devices up to date and secure. Workspace ONE uses VMware AirWatch for unified endpoint administration plus VMware's Horizon virtual software delivery platform for authorization control, app management, and setup management of endpoint devices. Workspace ONE operates with endpoints based on Windows 10, macOS, iOS, Google Android, Chrome OS, or leading distros of Linux. VMware Workspace ONE is offered by subscription as a cloud service or as an on-site deployment via a perpetual license. Key features of Workspace ONE include rapid over-the-air deployment of out-of-the-box laptops, quick onboarding of new users, policy setting and enforcement for all categories of endpoints, unifies reporting and performance analytics, an email encryption gateway, and seamless integration with Microsoft applications and cloud products. For information about Progent's support services for VMware Workspace ONE, go to VMware Workspace ONE remote endpoint management consultants.

Contact Progent for Telecommuter Expertise
To contact Progent about building and maintaining an efficient telecommuter solution for your Aurora, Colorado business, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.