Meraki Dashboard Reviews

We primarily use the solution for WiFi. It’s the only thing we use. We have eight Meraki’s for WiFi and use this as a dashboard. We have the devices in the dashboard when we link up to the WiFi.

Principally it is for delivering the internet and for the sites to be standard in the company. We have a firewall, servers, storage, and backup all in the cloud.

I like the configuration capabilities.

The implementation process is good.

The cloud security is excellent.

It’s very stable and reliable.

The scalability is good.

I can’t recall needing anything specific to be improved. Maybe in six months, we might have a different opinion.

I’d like the product to allow for other solutions to be integrated with the dashboard as well.

I’ve been using the solution since 2015.

The solution has been quite stable. We haven’t had issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn’t crash or freeze. It’s reliable and the performance has been good.

The product can scale if you need it to. It’s not a problem at all.

We have approximately 80 employees using the solution right now.

We have local technical support. We haven’t had an issue with them.

It’s neither easy nor difficult to set up. It’s got a moderate level of difficulty when it comes to implementation.

The pricing is good. It’s reasonable. We don’t have an issue with the costs. I’m not sure of the exact cost, however, it’s my understanding the Meraki WiFi is around $800. That’s for a three-year license. It’s about $150 a year.

We are a Cisco customer and work with local Cisco partners.

I have friends in other companies and I do recommend this solution to them. Cisco Meraki is the best solution. Other partners from banks, for example, also recommend this solution. I am very happy with this product.

I’d rate the solution ten out of ten. It’s the best.

The Meraki Dashboard allows me to gain everything, for example, access to the devices for programming, and access to reports on hacking attempts, including threats against any of my devices. The tool also works as a firewall and blocks threats, and I can get reports on that. I can also get reports on how well my access points are working. It's a really good dashboard for those purposes.

With the Meraki Dashboard, I can preconfigure a particular device, and then once it joins the network, it automatically updates, so that's a really good case for the tool. Another way the tool improves my organization is that it gives users the ability to find out who is attempting to gain access to the network. There were attempts at hacking in my organization and through the Meraki Dashboard, my team was able to get to the IP and block it easily.

What I found most valuable in the Meraki Dashboard is straight monitoring of the different devices, as well as the ability to easily set up VPNs, for example, both Meraki client VPNs and non-Meraki VPNs for different organizations that work with my company. I also like that the tool is a really good firewall.

For my purposes, I don't need to see any other features added to the Meraki Dashboard. I have no criticisms and I do like the tool. If I had a criticism for it, it would be about the pricing because it could be a little less, but again, for the service that you get, I won't complain about that too much.

I've been working with Meraki Dashboard for the last ten years.

The Meraki Dashboard is a very stable tool. The only time I haven't been able to gain access to it was when there was an issue with Meraki, in particular, with the cloud, but that lasted only for half an hour to an hour.

The Meraki Dashboard is a very scalable tool. It's easy to bring on new devices and new networks. You can go in and set up a device, and once it comes online, it will automatically update, and then you've got all the information on it, and it takes less than five minutes to set up a new device.

Technical support for Meraki Dashboard has been quite good. There was only one time when I couldn't get the answers that I needed, but the rest of the time, I did finally get the answers I needed, though it took a little while. I had to find an older gentleman that had been with the company for a while to figure something out because the young support people couldn't figure it out. Other than that, the technical support has been really good.

In my previous organization, everything was done on the Cisco command line. In my current organization, Meraki came on and the Meraki Dashboard was offered as part of the licensing for each device, so it was a no-brainer to use it rather than try to find another solution.

The initial setup for the Meraki Dashboard was straightforward. It was done before I got on site for this particular job.

Implementation of the Meraki Dashboard was done by a third party, and then when I took over the job, I just gained access to the dashboard. It was a reseller who implemented the tool and my organization was satisfied with the work the reseller did.

I'm unable to share ROI information, and all I know is that Meraki Dashboard is meant to be a one-stop-shop. I can access my devices from anywhere around the world through it and all I need is a browser interface, so the tool allows one person to do the job of a normal five to six-person IT team.

Licensing for Meraki Dashboard is paid every year, and it's on a per-device model that costs roughly $300 to $400 per device, but that comes with full support and troubleshooting, etc. Compared to similar products, Meraki Dashboard is quite high-end, but the costs you pay are all-in.

The Meraki Dashboard is part of Meraki's commitment to its users. It's on a private cloud with Meraki.

In my organization, it's just me using Meraki Dashboard. I'm an IT Manager and I'm also in charge of the deployment and maintenance of the tool. It's easy and the only thing I have to do is make sure I have a network cable and power source, so I plug the tool in the wall, plug it into a network cable, and that's it.

What's going on in my organization is that it was recently purchased by another company that is coming online, and that company is using Meraki, so I'm going to be offloading all of the day-to-day to that company's IT support team.

My advice to others looking into implementing Meraki Dashboard is that you will find that it is very easy to wrap your head around. It is very full. There are no shortcomings on the tool that I found so far as well as on the devices because Meraki Dashboard is made by Cisco, so it's a very good quality device. It's a very good quality dashboard that provides reporting services. Everything is really good, and it will allow you to do anything you need unless you have to physically go on-site, but you can do everything on the Meraki Dashboard.

I'm rating the Meraki Dashboard ten out of ten.

We use Meraki Dashboard for troubleshooting and configuring networks, statistics, reporting, and monitoring security threats. Our clients' networks depend on it daily, and it's part of our core business model.

We can remotely monitor clients' networks through Meraki Dashboard, dramatically reducing the on-site visits required. Meraki Dashboard has cut down on personnel costs because it requires fewer people to support. 

It also helps us stay on top of potential problems, which keeps our clients happy. We get critical notifications ahead of time, so we know about the issues before our clients do.

The most critical feature of Meraki Dashboard is its scalability.

Meraki Dashboard is a mature product, so it doesn't have a lot of bugs or significant issues, but would love to have the ability to save configurations externally instead of storing them in the database. 

I've been using Meraki Dashboard for over four years.

Meraki Dashboard is stable. We rarely have significant crashes or downtime. The solution has gone down maybe once in four years.

Scalability is one of Meraki Dashboard's strongest features. We have thousands of users if we're counting the end-users on our clients' network, but we have hundreds of clients. 

The wait time to speak with a Meraki support engineer is always long, but they get the job done. I rate Meraki support eight out of 10. 

Positive

We never based our business on other cloud solutions of that level. We use other products, but I hated the HP solution. There were so many glitches. Unfortunately, we have to deal with it from time to time because of existing clients, but that's not what I would recommend to anybody.

I rate Meraki Dashboard eight out of 10 for ease of deployment. It's straightforward to deploy Meraki Dashboard at a new site because you can use a template, and it's easy for me, in particular, because I have been using the solution for a long time. 

With a template, it usually takes no longer than 10 minutes if you have all the network equipment ready to go. A full setup from scratch takes about two days. Usually, a single person can set it up but it depends on the number of clients we have. If we have more clients, we might need additional staff to manage and maintain the solution. 

We do the deployment ourselves.

I rate Meraki Dashboard six out of 10 for affordability. The cost depends on the amount of equipment at each site, including switches, access points, firewalls, etc. Meraki's licensing model is per unit per year. At a minimum, it's around $500 for the smallest networks.

I rate Meraki Dashboard nine out of 10. It's one of the best products on the market, but there's always room for improvement. More convenient licensing and faster technical support would probably bring it up to a perfect 10. 

If you plan to implement Meraki Dashboard, I recommend first creating a structure that you can replicate. It's much easier to support that way because there's already an internal structure. If you have consistency in naming devices, ports, etc., it will help you search data to identify ports and troubleshoot.

We use a private cloud that is owned by Cisco. We create an account and we can add devices via their MAC address. We then can configure them even before we take them out of the box or when they are on site. It saves a lot of time.

The main use for the Meraki Dashboard is instead of the traditional Cisco way of configuring things where you need a common line, with the Cisco Meraki Dashboard you can configure them through the web. You only need to configure it by doing some checkmarks and typing some IP addresses. It becomes a lot easier when configuring the whole equipment. You can also know the device locations of where they are installed. It will give you a Google Maps location of where the devices are.

Meraki Dashboard has improved organizations because the configuration of the solution is very easy. It has saved a lot of time.

Meraki Dashboard does not require a lot of maintenance. Cisco tells communicates through the Meraki Dashboard web client, it will automatically send updates to the equipment. They will send you an email on what day the updates will take place. If you want to proceed, you can click on accept, or you can decline them and schedule the updates at another time.

I have been happy with all the features that Meraki Dashboard provides.

Meraki Dashboard could improve the user interface by making it more user-friendly. The configuration can at times be difficult.

Also their support team could be better with response times.

I have been using Meraki Dashboard for approximately eight months.

The stability is very good in the Meraki Dashboard. 

For example, when something is about to break, it will give you a warning, such as "There is a problem that I think will be happening. Let's fix them before it happens." 

The support itself, it´s not been great. Long times waiting for them to pickup a phone call (1h30min) long or even more!

Cisco provides a 24x7 support if you are on an enterprise license.

Negative

The initial setup of Meraki Dashboard is straightforward. You only need to click on add a new device, insert its MAC address, and then it is almost done. You have to type the name you want to give to the equipment, and the IP address, and you are finished.

The deployment takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

We used an integrator which was the vendor's support.

The price of Meraki Dashboard is kinda expensive because knowing that it is a cloud-based solution has its benefits. 

Meraki Dashboard is a great solution for every company. 

If you want ease and peace of mind throughout and especially if you are starting out with networking. This is a great solution to learn.

Where I see the real potential for today's networking, would be for the healthcare services.

I rate Meraki Dashboard a nine out of ten.

I'm a consultant. When a customer moves buildings, I help them understand what they're going to need for the new building. We put them in touch with all the right companies that can help put that together.

This solution is usually deployed in the cloud.

Meraki provides the most features. It's helpful to be able to see that your network is online. Something I love about Meraki is on all the Meraki switches in the dashboard, you can see what their current data transfer rates are, and you can run cable tests from it. We've used the cable test function numerous times. It's fantastic.

One of the things we love about Meraki is that we work a lot with audio visual systems for new buildings. We find that Meraki has all the features you need to be able to enable complex network protocols for AV equipment. We deal with a streaming product over IP, and Meraki is fantastic at that. With wireless presentation, you can set Bonjour and mDNS replication really easily on your wireless network and have it traverse different VLANs and different wireless servers. It's fabulous, but you have to know how to do it.

It's a very complex system. Customers have told me that sometimes there are lots of advanced features that are available and that you can change in the dashboard, but sometimes it's very hard to know what they are. It would be very helpful if next to a lot of the settings, they had a button you could click on, and it would explain what that setting actually does and how it affects your network.

Particularly when you're in the dashboard and particularly when you're looking at wireless networks, they have so many advanced options and they're hard to understand. A lot of people don't know what beacon intervalling is or even basic things like channels. 

Meraki has good documentation on their website, but if it was better linked with the dashboard, it would make it a lot simpler. Small businesses that we deal with use Ubiquiti. In their dashboard, next to every setting you can see what that setting does, which is really helpful. DrayTek is like that as well.

We always employ a third party who knows the system inside and out. If you apply it yourself, it would take you forever. From my perspective, that would be the number one thing I would want to see improved as a high-level person, because it would save us a lot of money if we didn't have to employ a third party.

I have been using this solution since before it was purchased by Cisco.

I would give technical support an 8 out of 10. It's very good. We're very lucky. There are a couple of people who are based in Australia who are part of Meraki support, and they're easy to get a hold of and very helpful.

The reason I would mark them down by two points is that sometimes the system is a little bit automated, so it's hard to get to the person you want to talk to. They probably need more support staff, like with most companies. The response time can be a little bit slow sometimes.

Initial setup is very complex.

Every time we've deployed it, we've had to employ third parties to do it for us.

My view is that it's expensive, but it's the best.

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10.

Every time we've deployed it, it's fantastic. It works great. You just have to understand that it's complex, but all systems are complex. Palo Alto is complex, Arista is complex, Extreme Networks is complex.

I would never recommend Meraki to someone who only has 100 users. They would need to have 300 users. For a small number of users, it's expensive, it's complex, and you really need to be able to afford to pay someone who knows how to use it. If you have 300 users, you can have a full-time network engineer.

If you want the best and you have the money, then get it.

Our primary use case of Meraki Dashboard is to manage networks, whether our own or those of our customers. We also manage the firewalls through the portal as well as switches, wireless access points or whatever devices there are. Meraki controls the devices, configures them and also troubleshoots. I'm a senior solution architect and we're a Cisco partner, specifically for the Meraki brand.

The solution saves us a lot of time. They say work smarter, not harder, and Meraki allows us to do that and not waste time on issues that previously concerned us. Meraki is pretty much the leader in cloud-based technology when it comes to networks and they've saved us and our clients a lot of time. 

It's great that everything is in a single pane and you can look at your network in one centralized place. I also value the ability to troubleshoot network issues through the solution. For example, you can do a cable test off their switch port from the portal even if you're not on-site. If I want to know whether the data cable is good, I can run a test through the portal, then the switch, and it'll come back and tell me whether that cable is good or has been damaged. 

They also have a nice system included for firmware updates and numerous good logging files and many features that help whenever something goes wrong. As a pivot onto the security aspect, if you have their Advanced Security License, then they monitor for you. Cisco has lots of different security teams, and they're able to almost make network security a passive thing. As long as I have the right license and have it configured, it catches malware, and will stop a user from downloading a file that's malicious software. In addition, they have a lot of group policy features. You can assign specific users on the network to group policies that either give them access to or bar them from specific things. 

The positives are all about the ease of being able to see everything, the ability to troubleshoot and for the solution to passively stop malicious events without me having to do a whole lot of work.

The client VPN could use some help, but that's probably partially Microsoft's fault because of the Windows client for VPNs, which keeps changing. Meraki don't have their own software for connecting to the VPN so you have to use the Windows one. It would be great for them to create a client for users to install to connect to the client VPN server. It's one of the biggest complaints about Meraki.

I've been using this solution for about three years. 

The solution is stable, it's only been down once or twice in three years and even then it was for a short amount of time and it wasn't completely down, just aspects of it. It's very stable. If a customer has an issue with their network log, we get an alert and check what's going on.

The product is very scalable and I've never had an issue. They have a ton of networks around the world that are all on the portal. In our own company, we have two users dealing with maintenance and we use the solution every day.  Some of our larger customers have over a hundred employees and it works well. 

Technical support does a great job. They have a support portal when you're logged in, you can either call a number, or open a ticket and they're onto it quickly. They usually resolve or respond with helpful information within an hour.

I've worked with Aruba Cloud, they have a different type of cloud portal. I've also worked with regular Cisco, not the Meraki side and HP which bought Aruba, so some of that is now the same. We've also dealt with UniFi Dashboard from Ubiquiti, which is a cheaper brand that doesn't really compare but is for anyone on a tight budget. 

As long as you understand how it works, the initial setup is very easy and you can configure the network before the devices come in, because they put them in your dashboard and you plug it in when you're ready and it automatically does the work. This is the easiest system I've used and I've worked with most of them. It saves a lot of time because they have lots of templates and abilities to clone configurations from other sites. We're consultants so we did the integration for our company, although Meraki have sometimes helped out on projects. 

The license is not cheap as you have to pay a fee for each device but in return they provide good support. If you're buying a Meraki firewall, then you have to buy a license or it won't work. There are options for an annual, three-year, five-year or 10-year license and they have three different lines; the Enterprise Baseline License, the Advanced Security License, and then they have an SD-WAN Plus License, which is the top line license.

The three-year license is about one-third of the price of the actual hardware so if you have a $1,000-$1,200 piece of equipment, then the base license is about $300 for three years for the firewall. Access points are a separate license. It depends on what you're buying. There are 25 to 30 different products and they have different lines of each product.

It can get complicated. They have a top-of-the-range firewall, the MX250, which runs to $20,000-$30,000, and a license for it can be close to $10,000 for three years. They don't actually charge you a license for the dashboard, you get it when you pay for the license for all the hardware.

It's important to find a good partner to work with and to plan what you actually plan to do, and understand what you're buying. There are so many different options with Meraki and you can end up spending more money than you actually need to. We've been educating our customer base about why they should spend more money on their networks and migrating them to Meraki because it's a very good solution. 

The solution saves me a lot of time and there aren't many negatives so I rate it nine out of 10. 

We use the product to monitor and configure network components within our environment. It includes managing Meraki access points and switches, adding new devices to the network, and providing access through a streamlined process.

The most valuable feature of the platform is its ease of configuration. Adding new devices to the network is straightforward, requiring just the MAC address to provide access.

They could improve the product by providing enhanced utilization reports and more detailed independent access reports.

I have been using Meraki Dashboard for almost one and a half years.

The product is stable. 

The product is scalable. 

The technical support services are satisfactory. 

I used Aruba ClearPass in my previous organization. 

The initial setup was straightforward and very fast. The user-friendly interface facilitated a quick and efficient setup process.

We implemented the product with the help of our in-house team. 

Meraki Dashboard is a robust and user-friendly solution that simplifies network management. Its cloud-based nature ensures easy access and scalability.

I rate it an eight out of ten. 

The tool's main use case for our logistics company is to manage our global network infrastructure. Employees can connect from any part of the world.

We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboard enhances wireless network management. We appreciate its flexibility, as it allows for easy suite configuration. We can handle everything on there when there's a policy or any other requirement.

The tool's real-time monitoring capabilities are good. My experience with the mobile application management features of the Meraki Dashboard has been positive. Recently, a customer raised concerns about excessive bandwidth consumption in their network due to equipment connected to the Meraki dashboard. We quickly identified a new MAC address consuming bandwidth by enabling monitoring within the Meraki dashboard. Within minutes, we could pinpoint the issue and take necessary actions, such as limiting bandwidth or blocking the IP or MAC address from the network.

The tool needs to incorporate more integration platforms. Integrating technical support features directly into the dashboard would be highly beneficial. This would allow technicians to troubleshoot issues more efficiently. 

I have been using the product for seven years. 

I rate the tool's stability a ten out of ten. 

I rate the solution's scalability a ten out of ten. 

The tool's deployment is not complex. The deployment process involved assessing the requirements, obtaining necessary permissions for network access, and proceeding with the installation and configuration.

Meraki Dashboard's pricing is reasonable. It is sold yearly, typically for one, three, or five years. I rate its pricing a five out of ten. 

I rate the overall product a ten out of ten. I recommend considering Meraki Dashboard as it offers high security, stability, flexibility, and reasonable pricing.

We use Meraki Dashboard to manage all our Cisco Meraki network equipment, SD-WAN, firewalls, DHCP, routers, switches, etc. We have firewalls at three locations, and each site has about 200 users.  

Meraki Dashboard centralizes control of all our equipment into one cloud-based console, so we can manage it from anywhere. We can resolve problems remotely outside of business hours because it is on the cloud. You can use the dashboard to change security settings or configure routers and switches. 

Meraki Dashboard could improve integration with non-Cisco platforms. 

I have used Meraki Dashboard for about seven years.

Meraki Dashboard is stable. 

It isn't hard to set up Meraki Dashboard if you have some experience with Cisco solutions. You need some knowledge about networks and firewall rules. We just followed the manual. 

I rate Meraki Dashboard 10 out of 10. It's the best solution. 

We primarily use the solution as a dashboard. We use it for configuring switches, routers, access points, or whatever we have in the network.

We like that it is cloud-based.

It offers a lot of great features. 

The solution scales well.

Sometimes the system crashes. We need them to offer better stability. When this happens, we cannot access some of the switches in the network. We can only reach them after multiple attempts. 

It would be nicer if the dashboard was lighter. They need to reduce the CPU usage. 

We'd like it if the dashboard showed everything on the network, even things from other vendors, like HP or Dell.

I've been using the solution for six months or less. 

The stability could be better. It does crash sometimes. I'd rate the stability seven out of ten overall. 

The scalability is quite good. I'd rate it nine out of ten.

The solution can be used in both SMBs and enterprises. 

I have not used technical support yet. I haven't had to contact them. 

The initial setup is not complex. it is pretty straightforward. The steps are simple to follow, and the devices are configured very easily. 

The pricing is okay. I'd rate it seven out of ten It could be cheaper. 

I have not had the chance to compare the solution to other products. 

I'm a Cisco partner. I offer Cisco products to customers. We are IT solutions providers. 

I'd recommend the solution to other users. Overall, I would rate it seven out of ten.