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Best "Bang for the Buck" MDM solution
October 22, 2019

Best "Bang for the Buck" MDM solution

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Meraki Systems Manager

We are currently using Cisco Meraki Systems Manager to manage our Meraki access points as well as (primarily) as an Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution. The IT Department configures all laptops and mobile devices with Meraki agent before we deploy the assets to employees.
  • The tagging feature is quite nice. One of the tags we use is for lost/stolen devices and we have it configured to email us when one of these devices show to be online. This allows us to take actions (such as remote wipe, track GPS, etc).
  • The ability to configure Geofences is also a nice feature to have. This allows us to restrict where our clients/employees are able to utilize the device.
  • Cloud-based management offers the ease of management which simply is not found with on-premises solutions.
  • Limited ability for "command line" functions. For example, we had a laptop that was stolen and showed to be online, but we could not wipe it. We were able to access a command prompt, but it would not accept DISKPART or FORMAT commands to try and make the PC unusable.
  • The GPS location is not terribly accurate and frequently it "guesses" location based off of an IP address rather than actually activating the GPS on the device. This makes tracking lost/stolen devices very difficult.
  • Difficulty getting devices to correctly show their status in the dashboard. For example, I can have a PC that is online and connected to the Internet, but shows to be offline in the dashboard. Only after refreshing many times would it indicate that the PC was actually online, thus allowing me to administer it.
  • It has come in handy several times, especially when it comes to remotely wiping a device that was lost or stolen.
  • This has allowed us to push applications to devices, which helps our employees to have easy access to tools related to Healthcare and Business Expense tracking.
  • Meraki Systems Manager is excellent at allowing us to remotely administer our wireless access points, but has been a source of frustration (at times) when trying to use as an MDM solution.
I was not part of the team who evaluated the Cisco Meraki Systems Manager prior to purchase. I am not sure what other applications (competitors) were evaluated. I do know that the MAIN reason that we selected Meraki was because of the value it offers. The per device cost is very affordable and the features it provides is an excellent "bang for the buck".
We have rarely needed to engage support for this application, however when we did, we received service that was professional and prompt.

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Cisco Meraki SM go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Meraki SM again?

Yes

The Cisco Meraki Systems Manager is a very cost-effective solution for MDM, if you can tolerate "less than stellar" ability to manage/track your devices. This would be excellent for small businesses, but for our needs it has been a cause of more frustration than benefit. When it does work as expected, it actually works pretty well.