
Introduction
Meraki has been around for a while now, and they’ve built an extremely robust management platform that allows any organization to manage its networks from anywhere in the world. Founded by a cloud pioneer who was previously at Microsoft Research and Apple, Meraki’s mission is to “provide solutions for smart mobile professionals.” Their focus on mobility and flexibility sets them apart from other network management software providers like Cisco or SonicWall.
Advanced Network Management Software
Cisco Meraki is a cloud-based network management platform that allows you to manage your entire enterprise from one central location. This means that you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of installing and configuring software on each individual device in order for it to work. Instead, you can use the web interface or mobile app to access all of your devices at once and make changes as needed.
Cisco Meraki also has some other advantages over traditional IT solutions:
- It’s easy for everyone involved in managing networks—from executives down through line workers—to use because they’re not required touse any specialized training or knowledge about how networks function. All they need is an internet connection (which most people already have).
- The software comes with built-in reporting features so that managers can quickly see what needs attention first without having touse additional resources like consultants or contract employees
Self-Service Networking
Self-service networking is a great way to manage your network. With a web portal, you can add and remove devices, configure settings and monitor usage. You can also create policies that automatically apply to all new devices.
Security with Device Management
The Cisco Meraki platform is built on a secure cloud platform that provides an array of managed security features. It’s important to understand how these features work together to give you the most effective network management solution possible.
- Device management: Cisco Meraki devices have a dedicated management interface, allowing you to keep track of all your devices from one central location. This makes it easy for users at any level in your organization who want to enjoy Innovative IT—from IT staff members who administer day-to-day operations through line managers who oversee large deployments—to maintain control over their networks while reducing risk by removing manual tasks from their workloads.
- Centralized monitoring: All that monitoring comes at no cost because it happens automatically through a service subscription model that requires no additional hardware investment on top of what’s already been purchased for each deployment type (Meraki Cloud Core or Wireless Controller).
Flexible Adaptive Management Platform
Cisco Meraki manages your network from start to finish, including all devices. You can customize the dashboard and mobile app to fit your needs; it comes with built-in dashboards for specific tasks like monitoring bandwidth usage or traffic patterns.
The Flexible Adaptive Management Platform (FAMP) allows you to integrate other Cisco products into your management system so that you don’t have to purchase separate software for each one of them. For example, if you’re using SiteConnect on a wired network but also want to use Meraki’s Connectivity Services on wireless access points (APs), FAMP lets you do both at once!
Mobility and Security Tools
Cisco Meraki offers a suite of mobility and security tools that enable you to secure your network from the mobile device perspective. These include:
- Mobile Device Management (MDM) for managing iOS, Android, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone 8 devices through a single console.
- Mobile Device Provisioning Service (MDP), which lets you provision any mobile device over an existing Wi-Fi network without having to set up a new profile or reassign mobile devices manually. This capability also allows you to control access to the corporate network based on specific policies that are defined in MDP. MDP helps reduce errors while deploying new devices with minimal effort.
Takeaway:
In a nutshell, the benefits of using Cisco Meraki for network management are:
- It’s easy to use. Many users prefer Meraki because it’s intuitive and easy to understand. If you’re new to networking or don’t have much experience with network equipment management software, learning how to use it will be easier than if you’re already familiar with other systems.
- You get access to real-time analytics data from sensors in your environment (e.g., WAN or LAN) which helps enhance overall performance of all devices on that segment—especially if there are multiple subnets present within one larger network environment
Conclusion
If you’re a network administrator, you’ve probably heard the term “self-service” and maybe even used it in your work. You might use it to describe how some companies provide their employees with access to their systems or applications through portals or mobile apps. But what does self-service mean for IT professionals? It’s not just about making things easier on users–it’s also about improving the overall performance of your organization by reducing human error during troubleshooting and maintenance tasks.