

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Aruba Instant On compete in the wireless network solutions category. Cisco Meraki appears to have the upper hand due to its cloud management and security features, whereas Aruba Instant On provides competitive pricing and valuable features for smaller businesses.
Features: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers valuable cloud management, seamless integration, and robust security features. Aruba Instant On Access Points stand out with easy setup, strong performance, and comprehensive feature sets, making them ideal for small to medium businesses focusing on affordability.
Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN could improve its pricing model, integration with other Cisco products, and licensing flexibility. Additionally, they might enhance feature integration for larger enterprises. Aruba Instant On's areas for improvement include strengthening security features, coverage, and user density capabilities while enhancing advanced features and documentation.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN provides flexible deployment options, including both cloud and on-premises solutions. In contrast, Aruba Instant On is primarily on-premises but offers easy installation. Cisco Meraki's technical support is generally well-rated, although it can vary in promptness and depth. Aruba's customer service is regarded as reliable, with fewer complaints compared to others.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki is perceived as expensive but justifies the cost through its high-quality features, with ROI achieved through ease of management and reduced physical resource demands. Aruba Instant On offers a more budget-friendly option with no recurring licensing fees, making it suitable for small to medium businesses seeking a quick return on investment through lower upfront and ongoing expenses.
The technical support from Aruba is rated seven due to limitations, such as support issues when the controller is on the VM side.
There are still issues with the language barrier and the overall quality of support.
I would rate Cisco support a 10, as the response time and process via the dashboard are easy, and response times are always within the SLA.
It would be better if the SLA of technical support was less than four hours.
Meraki is not scalable enough since it straightforwardly maps its products to segmented specifications.
The stability of Aruba Instant On Access Points is generally good.
We have experienced many instances where we have experienced a lag in our network, and I am not sure if it is due to their devices or our network.
Stability is not an issue for me because it comes with Cisco's proven manufacturer quality.
The default configuration can be overridden to enhance performance beyond the default settings.
In future updates, more AI for intelligence and the option for a separate network could be beneficial.
There is not enough focus on security across networking vendors, and they often add features without testing them thoroughly.
The most important improvement needed is to eliminate the limitation of uplinks.
Some of the newer models of the Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN access point have encompassed the new wireless protocols and increased the strength of their antennas.
When comparing pricing with Cisco, Aruba Instant On Access Points are competitively priced, making them affordable solutions for SMBs, rather than being higher priced.
The pricing of Aruba Instant On Access Points is competitive compared to Cisco, and they are actually cheaper.
Aruba Instant On Access Points work without a list price, suggesting that they are open source and no additional licensing costs are incurred.
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is on par with other devices in that category, offering competitive pricing.
The pricing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is not competitive enough for the SMB market compared to other brands.
My experience with the pricing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that it is competitive with other providers offering paid subscriptions.
We have implemented approximately 300 plus devices on one premise without receiving any complaints about malfunctioning or functionality errors; it runs smoothly.
Customers choose Aruba because it is more stable, has superior radio management, and offers features like mesh and a stateful firewall.
The virtual controller feature is very beneficial because it removes the need for a physical controller.
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN has helped optimize network traffic very effectively, as we do prioritization for streaming and web conferencing apps, resulting in a clear, visible improvement in performance.
It also manages security clients and switches, providing a single dashboard to manage multiple network infrastructures.
The ability to program all access points from the Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN dashboard, view the status of all of them, and examine the individual devices connected to each access point is very valuable.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN | 10.6% |
| Aruba Instant On Access Points | 1.7% |
| Other | 87.7% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 23 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 9 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 69 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 26 |
| Large Enterprise | 31 |
Ingredients for success.
Fast 802.11ac Wave 2, secure employee and guest access, easy-to-use web, and mobile app management.
Say yes to secure Wi-Fi access.
Pre-built access control lists (ACLs) and built-in firewall in the access points prevent malicious traffic from entering your network – we call it “hassle-free” security.
Never drop an important call.
With Instant On, voice and video business applications are automatically prioritized, so you stay connected with your peers.
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