Item: Cisco Meraki MR
Rating: 10
Author: Justin Hannan

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We selected Cisco Meraki MR technology to replace an aging HP MSM solution. We were after a number of deliverables for our new solution... 1. Value for money 2. Ease of administration, config, and installation 3. Modern and scalable Cisco Meraki MR ticked all of our boxes and enabled us to introduce new WiFi services to the organization in a controlled fashion, benefit from new WiFi technology that supported us in shifting the entire organization from wired desktops & laptops to new devices and WiFi only. Saving considerable money to no longer require flood wiring of offices and enabling more flexible options for our staff and accommodation strategy. We also went on to implement SD-WAN to replace traditional MPLS WAN and LAN switches, so we benefit from a 'single pane of glass' solution for the majority of organization networking needs.

Pros and Cons

Ease of use
Intuitive
Performance
Scalability

Licensing options within the portal, e.g. calculate co-term
End of Life/Support information for equipment within Portal
Ability to import 3D layouts of offices

Key Insights

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

Return on Investment

Supported the success of our M365 migration to enable full wireless use of user devices from wired
Enabled the opening of offices at very short notice
Provided troubleshooting intelligence to get to RCA very quickly and minimize interruption to large groups of staff

Simplified Management

The simple and intuitive portal and technology enabled us to design, configure, and roll out the solution without any additional costs, such as supplier or reseller professional services. Additionally, the simple design, enables the knowledge transfer to be fast and easy for new members of the team to be productive as quickly as possible.

Integrations with other Cisco products

Cisco Meraki MX, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN and Cisco Meraki MS

We have grown from our initial Cisco Meraki MR WiFi solution rollout to also add MX and MS technologies that enabled us to replace an aging MPLS network by utilizing commodity internet, which reduced the cost by 50% per annum. Additionally rolling out MS LAN switching in offices, provides us with complete oversight for our entire WiFi, LAN, and SD-WAN.

Scalability

Being able to add additional Cisco Meraki MR devices as required is very simple. After the initial deployment guided by both WiFi Surveys and 'eyeballing it', we did still find some areas with buildings where adjustments were required, both physical relocation and conflicts with other WiFi from other organizations. Using the tools available the team was able to rapidly solve these problems.

Other Software Used

Microsoft Azure, Nutanix Unified Storage, Microsoft 365

Likelihood to Recommend

With its cloud controllers you no longer need to have physical controller equipment on-premise, so it supports cloud strategies. Where you require a flexible approach to providing WiFi this technology really helps with dealing with moving goalposts and being able to deliver WiFi services quickly and effectively. We additionally innovated to provide a 'WiFi in a Box' solution by combining it with 4/5G mobile, which enabled the delivery of corporate WiFi for staff and company events in random locations around the UK.

Top Notch, Scalable, and Flexible Enterprise WiFi Solution

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Meraki MR