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Great network management solution for small IT departments
November 10, 2020

Great network management solution for small IT departments

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Modules Used

  • MR30H
  • MR42
  • MR52
  • MR74
  • Switches

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Meraki MR

The Cisco Meraki MR platform is used by the IT department to manage network access for our end-users. We centrally manage University Wireless infrastructure and, where Cisco Meraki MR switches are deployed, also the wired access.

Being that we are a small but agile IT department, we don't have an individual dedicated to the management of the network. The Cisco Meraki MR online management interface, therefore, solves multiple needs for us. Training of IT staff is simple, and all changes can be done from anywhere there is network access by whatever means is convenient at the time (phone, tablet, or laptop/PC). We do not require a specialized position for network access layer management.
  • The Cisco Meraki MR 30H access points are the standard to how wireless should be deployed in dorms
  • Quick SSID with network filtering deployments for one-time public events
  • Good reporting to track down bad actors in a network utilizing the entire OSI table
  • General experience needed in order to be proficient in basic management
  • Outside cameras provided by Meraki could have more hardware variety and capabilities.
  • ROI is quickly realized when you do not need to hire a specialized network administrator
  • Man-hours configuring one-time SSID and networks for one-off instances
I believe UniFi has a great product line and has very similar management capabilities to Cisco Meraki MR. What UniFi does not provide, however, is technical support. That business is essentially outsourced to other businesses willing to do that. Depending on the deployment, sometimes it is simple and more cost-effective to have your hardware/software and support all under one vendor.
The Cisco Meraki MR web interface is best in class when it comes to network management. While some networking knowledge is needed to understand what you are doing, no specialized training in any one specific operating system is required to design a whole network.
Cisco Meraki MR support is always available when needed in order to troubleshoot even the most advanced network problems.

Do you think Cisco Meraki MR delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Meraki MR's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Meraki MR live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco Meraki MR go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Meraki MR again?

Yes

Cisco Meraki MR is well suited for enterprise deployments where there is a well-structured refresh cycle for network equipment. I say this because depending on the budget of an IT department, they may not pay for annual support for access switches and access points and simply replace them the equipment fails. However for Cisco Meraki MR, you must pay the maintenance in order for the equipment to work and to access the cloud portal needed to manage the equipment.

Besides cost, Cisco Meraki MR is a great platform for small teams looking to simplify network management. This will free up the department to more closely work with their client's business goals instead of simply managing IT infrastructure.