Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Meraki SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Meraki SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (1st)
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (5th), WAN Edge (5th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Meraki SD-WAN is designed for Software Defined Networking (SDN) and holds a mindshare of 25.0%, up 22.5% compared to last year.
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN, on the other hand, focuses on Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions, holds 12.6% mindshare, down 12.8% since last year.
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Daniel Brunnquell - PeerSpot reviewer
Handles key elements with Dynamic bandwidth allocation
Meraki did the job for what I needed. The key principle to follow is to let the problem drive the solution. Don’t pick a solution and try to force your problem into it. In our case, our needs drove the solution, and Meraki fit those needs best. If I were looking for more throughput, there would be better solutions. For example, Palo Alto and Fortinet can offer higher bandwidth capacities. I sized the solution based on the bandwidth available, which we likely won’t exceed. The main feature we needed was maintaining the system with minimal staff and without outsourcing support. Defining our needs led us to AutoVPN, which fits our requirement for minimal support. Meraki was the right product to meet these needs. If your priority is backend traffic and bandwidth, and you don’t need to filter traffic and scan for malware, geofence, or mesh networks, there are better options with more capacity. But that wasn’t our need. The real issue is that many people pick a solution and try to adapt their business model, which is the wrong approach. In the long run, that limits you.
Sami-Isoaho - PeerSpot reviewer
To fully utilize cloud vendors' hardware networking, Microsoft and VMware support everything
To improve the product, the company, alone or with a good partner, should manufacture their own hardware brand with boxes to make the product more shippable. Implementing VMware is much more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive than implementing Fortinet or Check Point. With Fortinet, you pay a couple of hundred dollars for hosting and a low-cost firewall, there's only one box to ship to each site, and it's much easier to manage. Moreover, it would be easy for the large telecom operators and system integrators to sell the solution. It would also be a good fit for customers with multiple small offices, who I currently advise to choose hardware-vendor SD-WAN solutions over VMware.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution is scalable."
"Because it's a cloud-based network infrastructure, everything is done in the cloud, so I don't need to be on-site physically to be able to troubleshoot or resolve an issue. I can be anywhere and resolve an issue."
"This is a high availability solution that is easy to configure and has a nice GUI."
"The Meraki interface is really well driven and very mature."
"The solution is very stable."
"It is secure, and some features, like work device management, are very useful."
"The solution has a great UI."
"A lot of our customers really enjoy the Meraki Dashboard."
"The most valuable feature of VMware SD-WAN is flexibility. It is more flexible than other vendors."
"It is very simple to configure. When you use the cloud to configure the equipment, it has zero-touch provisioning."
"One of the standout features is its ability to dynamically manage enterprise networks based on applications."
"Some of the best features are the SD-WAN platform for VMware and the NSX network virtualization."
"I find the application-aware routing feature to be the most valuable."
"We define the quality of service layer to improve their application service experience globally."
"The initial configuration and deployment are quite easy."
"When extra capacity is needed, we can get it very quickly."
 

Cons

"In some cases, like an Internet outage, this can make the solution unmanageable."
"The integration with other tools must be improved."
"With Meraki, it's more of a basic connectivity. It doesn't have all the feature sets that a Cisco SD-WAN solution has. It's limited."
"You need to have internet access to configure the solution. You cannot do it locally, there should be a local option."
"The solution must provide more security features."
"Some systems use some applications with the wrong data application. It bypasses the network, and you need to block that application on Meraki. We first try to put in passwords to do it and the network is not really safe. It's not 100%, the network can be bypassed."
"Scalability could be improved. Yes, you can add more than 300 or 400 sites onto it, but because it's not a true SD-WAN and, effectively, it's just a Multi-VRF, it's all hub and spoke at that point. That's the nature of the design, but that's what keeps it simple to administer. So, it's a trade off."
"I would like improved stability in Meraki SD-WAN."
"There is still room for improvement in support and security, especially in enhancing the SASE aspect of the platform."
"Better price model would be appreciated."
"They need to start focusing on the security functionality. They should find a way to embed the next-generation firewall functionality within the architecture. They should move more into applying SASE tenants to what they're doing."
"The security of the firewall should be improved. It would be a good idea to have a standalone product with better security."
"The cost of VeloCloud could be lowered."
"In an upcoming release, they should allow customers the flexibility to use mobile applications where they can go and check on the information about their networks. A lot of vendors, such as Meraki, have a lot more integration with the use of portals to a mobile application. Having this feature as an alternative to logging into a laptop would be beneficial. If you are a SaaS-based company why not make a mobile application as well. You might not be able to do configurations but at least monitor while away or on vacation."
"Reporting is an area that can be improved, as there are some features that are lacking with the reporting aspect."
"There should be more automation and self-service features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"One of the most valuable aspects of Meraki SD-WAN is the price. It is highly cost-effective."
"The tool is costly. I rate the tool's price as a ten out of ten since it is very expensive."
"There are no licensing costs for the product subscription."
"Meraki's pricing is on the higher side, which may limit who can afford to use them."
"The price can vary depending on the challenges that you need to address. When you look at the stability and reliability against the price, you absolutely get the value for the price."
"like everything else, it's negotiable."
"The pricing is fair, but if they can make it less it would be even more attractive."
"Regarding pricing, Meraki SD-WAN is quite competitive, especially compared to solutions like Fortinet. However, it's essential to consider that Meraki requires cloud orchestration, which adds to the overall cost. Overall, it's one of the most competitive solutions from Cisco for SD-WAN."
"The licensing model of VMware SD-WAN could be improved, it is not always that competitive. The biggest concern is to be competitive against other solutions. However, the way that the licensing model is designed is not corresponding to the real use cases of my customers."
"You need to pay for a license to use this product."
"The minimum cost is $10,000 a month to have a monitoring station set up."
"We make monthly payments toward the licensing costs of the solution."
"The price of VMware SD-WAN is less expensive than some solutions, such as Cisco."
"The solution's price combines the license and the bandwidth you used."
"Price would be a challenge for customers, because it is expensive."
"There is only a standard fee for the solution."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined Networking (SDN) solutions are best for your needs.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Construction Company
5%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Meraki SD-WAN?
The auto VPN feature is important because it automates many tasks, making things simpler and faster. It helps with setting up devices and changing configurations without manual effort.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki SD-WAN?
The pricing of Meraki SD-WAN is a little bit on the pricey side. However, it is still a valuable product despite the cost.
What needs improvement with Meraki SD-WAN?
Meraki did the job for what I needed. The key principle to follow is to let the problem drive the solution. Don’t pick a solution and try to force your problem into it. In our case, our needs drove...
What are the biggest differences between Fortinet Fortigate and VMware SD-WAN?
One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. It is a very stable, reliable, and consistent solution. We like that we can manage the entire...
What do you like most about VMware SD-WAN?
One of the key use cases for VMware SD-WAN was assisting a customer in the industrial zone. They required virtualized servers and wanted to enable VMware SD-WAN to connect their sites in Japan or C...
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware SD-WAN, VeloCloud
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

École Jeannine Manuel
Redmond, Coca Cola, Roka Bioscience, MetTel, Deutsche Telekom, Rockford Construction,  The Bay Club, tru Independence, Triton Management Services, DevCon, AXPM
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Aviatrix, Juniper and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN). Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.