Item: Cisco Meraki MX
Rating: 7
Author: Luis Lozada

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We implement the Meraki MX Firewalls solution for multiple customers we monitor and manage, which is applied to their entire organization. The single pane of glass to manage the solution via the cloud portal is priceless.

Pros and Cons

Easy to set up and configure - makes deployments a lot smoother.
Cloud management - priceless.
User-friendly web-based GUI - very easy to navigate to the different settings.

CLI access from the portal would be nice. Fortinet has this feature and it's invaluable for troubleshooting.
The MXs need true SD-WAN functionality; not just a failover mechanism.
The MX has NG firewall functions, but fall short compared to a Fortinet firewall.

Return on Investment

ROI for the deployments that we support has been positive seen almost immediately.
Due to the ease of management, you can set it and forget it, to a point because we are still dealing with security. This allows companies to reallocate resources to other projects due to the free time the solution has created.

Alternatives Considered

Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard Network Security and Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

Meraki MX's have their place due to the ease of configuration, management, and cost. That is small to mid size businesses. If you require features such as the full suite of NG firewall options, SD-WAN, and granularity of ACL/Policy rules, then Fortinet, Palo Alto and/or WatchGuard would be the way to go

Support Rating

Anytime I have reached out to support they have always surpased my expectations. They will go the extra mile to make sure the solution is working as designed based on the funcionality of the device. They are not pushy to close a ticket. They confirm and reconfirm that all is working before closing a ticket. Support has no problem answering your questions and explaining what the fix was, or what it can be

Key Insights

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco Meraki MX go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Meraki MX again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard Network Security, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

Likelihood to Recommend

The Meraki MX Firewall is great for small to mid-size companies that have a small to no IT staff because it's easy to manage once its setup. The web portal facilitates the ease of management; especially when it comes to upgrading to the latest code. For scenarios that require stricter firewall functions, or granularity of rules, it's best to use another vendor such as Fortinet or Palo Alto.

Meraki MX - User friendly firewall

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Meraki MX Firewalls