In 2012, Cisco acquired Meraki, a cloud managed IT company that was gaining a lot of traction in the technology industry for its radical new approach to handling business IT networks. Cisco Meraki allows organisations to manage their entire network, including wireless, security, EMM, communications, and security cameras, all from one easy-to-use centralised dashboard. In this article we will be delving into the benefits of Meraki WiFi and the features of their Cloud Managed Wireless platform.
As with other Meraki products, such as Meraki Switches or Meraki CCTV, one of the most sought after features is the cloud management functionality. Meraki have made simplicity and efficiency their two main goals throughout their product developments processes which has resulted in a great superiority to any of their competitors when it comes to installation and management. You can effortlessly manage huge WiFi networks spanning multiple locations all from a device of your choice.
The ability to manage WiFi, Switching and CCTV from one device is an enormous leap in business technology and provides explanation of why countless organisations are making the switch to Meraki products every day.
Below is a screenshot that shows all of an organisations headquarters in a well presented world map. The dashboard also features a red, yellow and green colour coding scheme allowing for easy identifications of areas that may need attention by the systems administrator.
You can then drill down into an extremely detailed view of individual buildings where your Meraki WiFi network is set up. The numbers on the image on the right show the number of devices connected to that single access point. By clicking on the device you are then able to view the names of each individual endpoint and apply restrictions etc from there. In just a few seconds you can go from a world view of your global organisation, to viewing a single connected endpoint. This kind of speed and functionality saves an unbelievable amount of time for IT administrators.
The possibilities available when using the cloud managed dashboard and endless. The amount of customisability and flexibility it gives you is a revolutionary concept to WiFi management.
The video below is a demonstration of the dashboard created by Meraki.
Cisco Meraki WiFi is available with both internal and ruggedized (external) access points. Below you can see a selection of the many different models you can deploy. A full list can be found here.
If you like what you’ve read about Cisco Meraki WiFi then please get in touch with us. We would love to have a conversation with you about how Meraki WiFi could fit into your environment and answer any questions you may have.