We primarily use the solution to connect access points.
Security & ICT Product Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Easy to configure and deploy but is expensive
Pros and Cons
- "The interface is great. It's easy to understand for the customer."
- "Sometimes there's a problem with the pricing model they use. They should work to fix this."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
We are Cisco partners, so we are using this product in order to provide services to our customers. As a Cisco partner, we get support from Cisco and that's why we are using and selling this product.
What is most valuable?
The solution is easy to configure and to deploy.
The interface is great. It's easy to understand for the customer.
What needs improvement?
The solution doesn't offer anything different from any other solution. It's not a unique product.
Sometimes there's a problem with the pricing model they use. They should work to fix this.
Buyer's Guide
Meraki MS Switches
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Meraki MS Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We primarily use the solution for small and medium customers, so we don't deal so much with scalability. For our purposes, a couple of switches are enough, in most cases.
How are customer service and support?
We've never had to contact Cisco's technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't previously use a different solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. Deployment takes a few days. For us, it took five days. It's more internal processes than the complexity of this solution that makes it take the amount of time it does.
What other advice do I have?
We use the on-premises deployment model for small and medium-sized businesses.
In terms of advice to others, I'd suggest they push very hard for a discount. Other solutions are working really well, so discussion about discounts in relation to approaching customer-based projects is a good idea.
I'd rate it seven out of ten. I'd rate it higher, but the pricing isn't great. From a technical perspective, however, it meets all my needs.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
A cloud-managed simplicity with strong security features, and user-friendly support
Pros and Cons
- "It offers a compelling solution due to its cloud management capabilities and strong security features."
- "It might be perceived as more of a niche product, partly due to its name, as it's still not entirely recognized by the market."
What is our primary use case?
The primary goal is to assist the customer, and in some cases, it may be necessary to recommend Meraki when they have limited assistance or staff available to manage the infrastructure effectively.
What is most valuable?
It offers a compelling solution due to its cloud management capabilities and strong security features. In specific sectors like healthcare and hospitality, reliability is paramount, and customers demand reputable brands with a long track record in security and support.
What needs improvement?
One key challenge often encountered is the perception that strategic products like Cisco and Meraki tend to be more expensive than alternatives like Aruba. It might be perceived as more of a niche product, partly due to its name, as it's still not entirely recognized by the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with it for ten years.
How are customer service and support?
The support provided is truly impressive. They are offering excellent assistance and a product lineup that stands up to the big brand names.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial installation was easy, and the support team was readily available.
What other advice do I have?
The suitability of Meraki switches depends on the specific needs of customers, especially in industries like hospitality and healthcare where multiple units are involved. It requires a bit more effort to familiarize customers with its offerings. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Buyer's Guide
Meraki MS Switches
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Meraki MS Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Sales Manager at Quadratech
Easy to deploy and the cost is reasonable
What is our primary use case?
I am a reseller of Meraki MS Switches.
What is most valuable?
The solution Is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The subscription model could be improved.
How was the initial setup?
Deployment is very easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price isn't high, and they offer discounts. The delivery time is much better than other traditional products.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Lead Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Functions well, easily scalable, and installation simple
Pros and Cons
- "I have found the solution to be stable."
- "In this solution, you are lacking a feature that Cisco Classic has that allows you to save your configuration with a serial cable."
What is our primary use case?
This solution is suited for the cookie factory just around the corner and up to including multinational organizations with locations spanning around the globe.
What is most valuable?
The solution is a switch and many of them do the same operations, it connects devices together.
What needs improvement?
In this solution, you are lacking a feature that Cisco Classic has that allows you to save your configuration with a serial cable.
In some deployments, I would like stacking to act like RAID 1 but not if you are updating the firmware of one switch in a stack. Stacking and switches with Meraki, they need to improve on this. I had a different experience with Extreme Networks which behave completely different.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is plug and play. If you want to upgrade, all you do is plug it in and it works.
How are customer service and technical support?
In my experience, they sometimes reply with a proper answer and others they reply with, "You can always file the I wish button request" I am confused why an organization would push automatically scheduled release candidate firmware. They tend to be too pushy. After this, I have to look at every customer individually and cancel those updates, which does not make sense to me.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Extreme Networks and Cisco products in the past, some of the features are better than this solution in Extreme Networks and Cisco's licenses will not expire like they do in this solution.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was as easy as a setup can be, we had no issues.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing element is not favourite with Meraki. My opinion is if you buy something, it should be yours, and not if the license expires, the lights go out, or you might not be able to manage it anymore. The licensing is purchased on a one, three, five, and seven year basis.
What other advice do I have?
Switches are switches, they do what they say they do on the box. I do recommend this solution If you are looking for something easy, and do not mind having to renew your license or else you will not be able to manage it anymore. Then this solution could be a good fit. Cisco Classic 2900 Series and the likes, they just keep on going. Unless you really need support, that is extra, but at least functionality will not expire with the license.
I rate Meraki MS Switches an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Technical Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Cloud-based, stable, automatic update notifications, easy to operate dashboard, and good support
Pros and Cons
- "You can connect from the dashboard itself. It is very easy to operate."
- "There should be a focus on the emerging markets to offer better pricing. In India, they are offering it at better pricing for the emerging markets."
What is our primary use case?
We use these switches in our medium-sized branch offices.
We use these switches for cloud connections that can be managed from anywhere. It's being used as a remote office from the medium branch office to deploy these switches.
What is most valuable?
Without any malware intervention, it will automatically provide you with notifications for the hardware updates from the dashboard.
You can connect from the dashboard itself. It is very easy to operate.
What needs improvement?
The pricing could be cheaper.
There should be a focus on the emerging markets to offer better pricing. In India, they are offering it at better pricing for the emerging markets.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Meraki MS Switches for more than four years.
We have it on-premises but we don't have support because it's only offered on the cloud.
It's on-premises but it's controlled in the cloud only. It's a cloud-managed switch.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable and secure.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good. We can get support in less than 15 minutes.
If anything has gone bad, depending on the context, they can ship the standard device or the advanced version.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It's very easy to install.
It takes less than ten minutes to configure it and test the switch.
You need one or two engineers to deploy and monitor. As it is cloud-based, it does not need to be maintained.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Meraki is a little bit expensive, but when you compare the pricing with others, Meraki is a good option.
The price is based on the user, a dollar per seat. In India, it is that currency is always fluctuating. The need to go with the county version model.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this product because everything is in the cloud.
I would rate Meraki MS Switch a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
MD and CEO at Aster Networks
Easy to manage remotely and the SD-WAN features are good
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is cloud management."
- "I don't think that the cost is a problem, but sometimes the price requires convincing the customer of the value."
What is our primary use case?
We are a system integrator and Meraki MS Switches are one of the network infrastructure products that we implement for our clients. My goal is to give the proper service and proper ideas. Our customers for this product include educational institutions, manufacturing plants, and banks.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is cloud management. In particular, if you are required to manage the switch remotely then this is a good solution.
The SD-WAN features are very good.
What needs improvement?
I don't think that the cost is a problem, but sometimes the price requires convincing the customer of the value.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with Meraki Switches for the past 10 to 12 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, I have not had a bad experience in the past and none of my customers are complaining.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability has not been a problem.
How are customer service and technical support?
The Cisco technical support is good and we have had no problem at all. When we require help then they are excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I work with and promote many different switches including the standard Cisco and Meraki products.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy to complete.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, this is a good product and I am actively promoting it.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Senior Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Useful for switching and user connectivity with a straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is scalable."
- "The reporting could be improved and could be more granular."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for the solution is for switching and user connectivity. We deploy the solution on cloud.
What needs improvement?
The reporting could be improved and could be more granular.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for approximately seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Juniper.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the solution an eight out of ten. It is suitable for small to medium business segments.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Contact Centre Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Network Connectivity with Cloud Management and Inbuilt Visibility
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are the cloud management, the monitoring, and the visibility available on the report's facts on the cloud controller."
- "The quote-building process is challenging and it needs to be simplified."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case is for local network connectivity for our customers.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the cloud management, the monitoring, and the visibility available on the report's facts on the cloud controller.
What needs improvement?
The quote-building process is challenging and it needs to be simplified.
It is difficult to create a bill of materials and there should be a bundled solution. You still have to select different items from certain locations to build the solution. You can end up leaving out certain items that are needed unless you understand how everything works. Examples are the power supply and the power cable, which are not on the list by default. There should be a top-level part number that allows you to put all of the options that are available, rather than selecting each and every item separately and putting them together.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable. I haven't had any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is scalable. It is easy to expand.
Once the implementation is done and you have endpoints, then you can easily move configurations or copy from one site to another.
We have five to ten IT managers using this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
I am satisfied with the customer service and technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
This solution is deployed on-premises, but it is cloud-managed.
What about the implementation team?
To implement this solution, I had the help of an integration company and I am not an end-user.
While I had assistance in the implementation, I didn't feel that I needed it.
What other advice do I have?
This is a solution that can be considered for starting a small environment, to a large environment because it is easy to scale and it gives them the inbuilt visibility that comes with the solution.
There is also the ease of integration and migration from the unfinished to the defined environment.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Meraki MS Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
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