Computer Network Help for Midsize Companies

Progent's Co-managed Service Desk
Progent's Co-managed Help Desk service is intended for businesses with 50 to 500 users and enables your information technology staff to split activity for Help Desk services seamlessly between your in-house network support team and Progent's extensive pool of certified IT support technicians, engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs). Progent's Shared Help Desk service is a collaborative IT support solution built around ConnectWise Manage, the industry-leading Professional Services Automation platform for managing IT service calls, generating tickets, assigning ownership, tracking status, and producing management analytics. The price for Level 1 support for Progent's Co-managed Help Desk service averages under $18/user/month.

Progent's Shared Service Desk offers a seamless extension of your corporate IT support staff. User interaction with the Service Desk, provision of support, issue escalation, trouble ticket generation and tracking, efficiency measurement, and management of the support database are consistent regardless of whether incidents are taken care of by your corporate IT support organization, by Progent's team, or a mix of the two. All end-user service calls are triaged as Level 1, 2 or 3 issues. Progent focuses on whatever support level or levels you assign (usually Level 1 and Level 3). Original service requests are assigned to your internal network support resources or to Progent's Technical Response Center (TRC), depending on your instructions. Level 2 or 3 issues can be promoted to Progent's Experts Team of subject matter experts (SMEs). The assignment activity is seamless for your users. Your business has unrestricted flexibility to extend or shrink your share of support work as needed. Progent provides startup installation and onboarding of the professional services automation (PSA) software plus workflow documentation, validation and education.

Progent's Technical Response Center
Progent's Technical Response Center (TRC) has been providing online IT support for over twenty years and serves active clients in each state in the country (refer to Progent's client testimonials.) The Technical Response Center provides the team of seasoned computer technicians who can resolve Level 1 issues, which make up the majority of Service Desk support requests. The Technical Response Center, like Progent's Experts Team, uses the ConnectWise Manage professional services automation (PSA) platform to automate ticketing, tracking, ownership delegation, problem escalation and reporting. This prevents problems from being overlooked and offers clients clear visibility of all support services delivered. Progent's TRC targets 90% live answer rate and allows Progent's Co-managed Help Desk Services to offer a 60-minute service-level agreement (SLA). Support times are 5am to 7pm PST on normal business days. Extended support times and on-premises help are offered at extra cost. To learn more about the Technical Response Center, visit Progent's Technical Response Center Customer Commitment.

Definition of Service Levels
Progent provides three distinct levels of online technical service, which align with industry-standard Tier 1 through Tier 3 support. You can define which support levels will be provided exclusively or shared by Progent and your in-house staff. The depth and technical breadth of Progent's team of SMEs allows fast and efficient escalation and makes it possible to count on Progent as a one-stop source for most IT problems at any Tier. In addition, Progent's practice of knowledge transfer permits key service issues to move from higher to lower Tiers as solution techniques become recorded and normalized so they can be performed by less skilled and lower-cost service staff.

Service levels are described as:

• Level 1 Support: Filters Help Desk requests and provides basic IT help and troubleshooting, like password resets, printer configurations, break/fix instructions, ticket assignment and escalation to Level 2 and Level 3 support. A Level 1 tech gathers and analyzes information about the user's issue and determines the best way to resolve the problem. Level 1 service may also include assistance for familiar Level 2 or 3 issues where solutions have already been recorded.
• Level 2 Support: Generally addresses break/fix, setup issues, troubleshooting, software deployment, and hardware repair such as in-house repair or coordinating depot support. This Level involves promoted problems that Level 1 support is not equipped to resolve. Level 2 will sometimes migrate to Level 3, based on the issue and the way the Help Desk operates.
• Level 3 Support: Troubleshooting, configuration, database administration, and fixes or updates for server, hybrid networks, email, collaboration, and common integration issues. Besides having the ability to find solutions to new issues, a Level 3 engineer typically has the most real-world expertise.

This sample implementation of Progent's Shared Help Desk Service has a four-stage trouble ticket lifecycle:

1. Your employees initiate service requests via the online service portal, a dedicated phone number, or simply by sending an email to a specific email address. This immediately launches an open request in the ticket system.
2. Progent's Technical Response Center receives the open request and decides whether it will be handles or promoted to your in-house Help Desk.
3. Your Service Desk receives the forwarded trouble ticket request and decides the appropriate means to service the issue. If needed, your Service Desk can in turn forward the ticket request back to Progent for resolution by Progent's Experts Team.
4. Progent gets the updated trouble ticket request, identifies the most appropriate subject matter exert from the Experts Team, and assigns the chosen SME to collaborate with your IT team until the issue is solved or closed.

Key Features of Progent's Help Desk Service
Important features of Progent's Co-managed Help Desk offerings include:

• Pooled desktop help from Progent's Technical Response Center team
• Desktop remote help available 5 days a week, 5am-7pm PST, 60 Minute SLA
• Discounted hourly support rate with per-minute granularity for Tier 1 desktop support for clients
• Typical price of Level 1 service is approximately $18 per user monthly
• Level 2 and Level 3 help from Progent subject matter expert provided on request at Progent's normal consulting rates
• De-escalation permits issues that initially call for Level 2 or Level 3 support to migrate to a lower, less costly Tier after solutions are documented
• StreamlineIT includes a complete version of ConnectWise Manage PSA software with multi-tenant security

• Available only in USA and US territories
• Initial setup charge dependent on complexity of the solution
• Starting day one, Progent assigns you a Technical Resource Center (TRC) Coordinator and a TRC Service Lead to resource, assign and communicate with your service group and your users. The TRC Service Lead will work with you to develop a What Goes Where document to help seamlessly escalate tickets to your service group or de-escalate back to Progent's team of engineers.
• Live Answer of incoming support requests to Progent Technical Response Center with a goal of 90% Live Answer of all calls
• After deciding if server or networking support is needed, some calls will be passed to Level 2 or 3 support
• All assistance requiring Level 2 or 3 expertise will be handled by a Progent consultant pending customer authorization
• 1 hour SLA for Level 1 desktop support in most cases
• Level 1 Support is for end users and covers Windows-based systems and Apple devices
• Progent Level 2 or Level 3 support will be provided at regular hourly consulting prices
• Progent will provide skilled personnel - Technical Response Center (TRC) desktop specialists during standard hours, Level 2 and 3 as needed
• Progent will dedicate a phone number and email mailbox for incoming service calls
• Free Remote Control agent with screen sharing for efficient IT troubleshooting
• Free ProSight IT Asset Management services for professional IT documentation management
• All Level 1 online support is billed at a discounted hourly rate with one-minute granularity
• All Level 1 support is performed online, no onsite work included
• All onsite support will be invoiced at regular hourly consulting rates
• All on-premises support will have an additional fixed charge plus any specific travel costs
• All travel expense estimates will be disclosed and need client agreement before support services or travel will be undertaken
• Projects and distinct Statements of Work will include their individual estimates and fees defined and will be undertaken only after approval by customer

First Phase

• Build your personalized Help Desk experience, including your in-house support group, locations, and user information
• Progent's consultants will work with your company's service team to analyze current incoming service requests
• Set up your inbound help request system to include email, software agents, and a dedicated telephone number

• Progent delivers ticket management education for your service team
• Work together to establish basic workflow and ticket escalation procedures
• Integrate all your staff and resources that will deliver IT support
• Develop the introduction description and promotion of the new Help Desk solution
• Select a defined location or small clusters of users to onboard first
• Integrate more users into the solution at a workable pace

• Study reports and system setup for proper information and processes
• Create additional reports or fields needed to enhance the identification or tracking of common IT problems
• Surface missing information that might enable a better resolution rate for Level 1 support requests

• All users have been introduced to the support desk and can connect to it
• All relevant client and equipment data is entered into the support system
• You are able to exchange and manage tickets smoothly between your in-house support group and Progent
• You can monitor support performance and trends

• Retain complete control over your IT service requests: you choose what trouble tickets are forwarded to Progent's service desk or taken care of by your internal service team.
• Immediate availability of supplemental IT support experts when and if you require them: Progent's professional services automation software programmatically routes internal trouble tickets or permits you manually escalate to Progent's Technical Response Center.
• Productivity: Progent's consultants will analyze your current incoming support requests and propose missing information that would promote a higher success rate for common Level 1 issues. Progent's IT support experts can also assist you to improve tag management to speed up problem resolution.
• Transparency: Progent's Shared Help Desk is a virtual supplement to your in-house Help Desk with unified ticketing and reporting so nothing drops between the cracks.
• Happy employees: Users have the ability to track the progress of their IT service requests quickly and easily.
• Management insight: You have the metrics, accountability, and activity monitoring of an advanced PSA system to help your organization to create a custom Service Desk experience that delivers top business value.
• Concentrate on your core business issues, not IT support calls and disgruntled users: Your IT managers avoid being bogged down trying to manage day-to-day support calls.

Read Progent's White Paper: Is Co-managed IT a Good Idea?
Even though having your own fully-staffed internal network support group can prove expensive from the budgetary standpoint, plenty of businesses prefer that approach since it allows them more flexibility with their IT management. Yet did you realize that your organization can continue to reap the benefits of a managed IT services firm within the shared network service approach. Adopting the shared services model permits your business to keep in command over your system infrastructure while reinforcing your own IT team simply and economically.

To find out more, check out our white paper: Is co-managed IT a good idea? (PDF - 632 KB).

Download Progent's Co-managed Help Desk Datasheet
To download a one-page datasheet in PDF format describing Progent's Co-managed Service Desk, click:
Progent's Shared Help Desk Datasheet. (PDF - 108 KB)

Progent's ProSight Line of RMM Services
Progent has developed the ProSight family of remote monitoring and management (RMM) services to automate vital processes associated with IT management, security and maintenance. Any of these RMM services can be integrated with Progent's Shared Call Desk service by deploying agent software on computers to be tracked and managed. Alerts generated by these agents can be routed automatically to Progent's Technical Response Center, processed via the ticketing and tracking platform, and triaged for Level 1, 2 or 3 support.

Samples of ProSight Remote Monitoring and Management services include:

• ProSight LAN Watch: Network, Server, and Endpoint Remote Monitoring
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's network, server, and endpoint remote monitoring managed service that incorporates advanced remote monitoring and management (RMM) technology to keep your IT system operating at peak levels by tracking the state of critical computers that drive your business network. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers an issue, an alarm is transmitted immediately to your specified IT management staff and your assigned Progent consultant so that any looming problems can be addressed before they can disrupt productivity. ProSight LAN Watch is National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) compliant. Learn more about ProSight LAN Watch network, server, and endpoint remote monitoring services.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Centralized RMM for Networks, Servers, and Desktops
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software delivers a unified, cloud-based platform for managing your network, server, and desktop devices by providing tools for streamlining common tedious jobs. These can include health checking, update management, automated repairs, endpoint configuration, backup and restore, anti-virus protection, remote access, built-in and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint profile reports, and troubleshooting support. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM uncovers a serious problem, it sends an alarm to your specified IT management staff and your assigned Progent consultant so that emerging problems can be fixed before they interfere with your network. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Remote Monitoring and Management
  Progent's ProSight WAN Watch is a network infrastructure monitoring and management service that makes it easy and inexpensive for smaller organizations to map, monitor, enhance and troubleshoot their connectivity hardware such as routers and switches, firewalls, and load balancers as well as servers, printers, endpoints and other networked devices. Using state-of-the-art RMM technology, ProSight WAN Watch ensures that network diagrams are kept updated, captures and displays the configuration information of virtually all devices connected to your network, monitors performance, and generates alerts when potential issues are detected. By automating complex management activities, WAN Watch can knock hours off common tasks such as network mapping, expanding your network, locating appliances that need critical software patches, or isolating performance issues. Find out more about ProSight WAN Watch infrastructure monitoring and management services.

• ProSight Reporting: Real-time and In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Platforms
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding line of in-depth management reporting tools designed to integrate with the leading ticketing and network monitoring applications including ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting incorporates Microsoft Graph and utilizes color coding to surface and contextualize key issues such as inconsistent support follow-up or endpoints with missing patches. By exposing ticketing or network health concerns concisely and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting improves network value, lowers management hassle, and saves money. For details, see ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring applications.

• ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS): Managed Backup and Recovery
  Progent has worked with leading backup technology companies to create ProSight Data Protection Services, a selection of management offerings that provide backup-as-a-service (BaaS). ProSight DPS products automate and monitor your backup operations and enable transparent backup and fast recovery of important files/folders, applications, images, and virtual machines. ProSight DPS lets your business protect against data loss caused by hardware breakdown, natural disasters, fire, cyber attacks like ransomware, human mistakes, ill-intentioned insiders, or application bugs. Managed services available in the ProSight DPS selection include ProSight Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro Office 365 Backup, ProSight ECHO Backup using Barracuda dedicated hardware, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent expert can help you to determine which of these fully managed services are most appropriate for your network.

• ProSight Email Guard: Inbound and Outbound Spam Filtering and Data Leakage Protection
  ProSight Email Guard is Progent's spam and virus filtering service that uses the infrastructure of leading data security companies to deliver centralized control and comprehensive protection for all your email traffic. The powerful structure of Email Guard combines a Cloud Protection Layer with a local gateway appliance to offer complete protection against spam, viruses, Denial of Service Attacks, DHAs, and other email-based threats. Email Guard's Cloud Protection Layer serves as a preliminary barricade and blocks the vast majority of unwanted email from making it to your network firewall. This reduces your exposure to external attacks and conserves system bandwidth and storage space. Email Guard's onsite security gateway device provides a deeper layer of inspection for incoming email. For outbound email, the onsite gateway provides AV and anti-spam protection, DLP, and email encryption. The on-premises security gateway can also help Exchange Server to monitor and safeguard internal email traffic that originates and ends within your corporate firewall. For more details, visit Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight MFA with Cisco Duo: Identity Validation, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Protected Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo MFA services incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to defend against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo supports single-tap identity verification with iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. Using 2FA, when you sign into a secured online account and give your password you are requested to verify your identity on a unit that only you have and that is accessed using a different network channel. A broad selection of devices can be utilized for this added means of ID validation including a smartphone or watch, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You may designate several validation devices. For details about Duo two-factor identity validation services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for access security.

• ProSight Co-Managed Help Desk: Outsourced and Shared IT Support Center Services
  Progent's Shared Help Desk Service offers a transparent supplement to your corporate support resources. User interaction with the Help Desk, provision of support services, issue escalation, ticket generation and tracking, performance metrics, and management of the support database are cohesive regardless of whether issues are resolved by your internal support resources, by Progent, or by a combination. Your business has complete versatility to expand or shrink your share of technical support activity as circumstances demand. Progent takes care of initial deployment and provisioning of the professional services automation software plus workflow documentation, testing and education. To learn more about ProSight Co-Managed Help Desk, see ProSight Co-Managed Call Desk.

• ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM): AI-based Threat Scanning and Ransomware Protection:
  ProSight Active Security Monitoring is an endpoint protection service that utilizes next generation behavior-based machine learning tools from SentinelOne to guard physical and virtual endpoints against new malware assaults such as ransomware and email phishing, which routinely evade legacy signature-based AV products. ProSight ASM protects on-premises and cloud-based resources and offers a single platform to address the entire threat progression including protection, infiltration detection, containment, cleanup, and post-attack forensics. Top capabilities include one-click rollback using Windows VSS and automatic network-wide immunization against newly discovered threats. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.

• Patch Management: Software/Firmware Update Management Services:
  Progent's managed services for software and firmware patch management offer organizations of any size a flexible and cost-effective solution for assessing, validating, scheduling, implementing, and tracking updates to your ever-evolving information network. In addition to optimizing the security and functionality of your computer network, Progent's software/firmware update management services free up time for your in-house IT team to focus on more strategic projects and activities that deliver the highest business value from your network. Learn more about Progent's patch management services.