

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN and Fortinet FortiWLM are major competitors in the wireless LAN market. Cisco Meraki has the upper hand due to its ease of use, cloud management, and centralized control. Fortinet FortiWLM stands out for its robust security features and integration capabilities, particularly with FortiGate Firewall.
Features: Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN offers cloud-based management, ensuring visibility and ease of deployment with centralized control and extensive networking analytics. Fortinet FortiWLM is renowned for its robust security features, seamless integration via Security Fabric, and enhanced AP control.
Room for Improvement: Cisco Meraki can boost its logging granularity, improve dashboard security, and offer flexible licensing options. Also, it needs faster support and compliance with European privacy laws. Fortinet FortiWLM could enhance user-friendliness in configuration, improve guest management, and offer flexible pricing and service agreements for smaller businesses.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki is recognized for easy cloud deployment options and positive customer service, with room for response time improvements. Fortinet FortiWLM is straightforward to deploy but has a complex initial setup. Its customer support is reliable but could benefit from better service agreements.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco Meraki, though on the higher pricing scale due to its feature set, offers ROI through reduced maintenance costs. Its licensing model can be a challenge. Fortinet FortiWLM, despite its expense, provides good value with a favorable pricing model suited for enterprises, offering ROI through advanced networking features and cost savings.
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.
There are some problems with their technical support when it comes to the whole Meraki system.
If we encounter any bugs, they inform us of the recommended configuration and firmware to resolve our problems.
The local support we receive from our distributor is perfect.
Fortinet provides excellent customer support.
Meraki is not scalable enough since it straightforwardly maps its products to segmented specifications.
Now, with any simple FortiGate 60F or newer model, you can manage more than 64 access points.
Fortinet's solutions are integrated into many standard frameworks, allowing for good scalability and interaction with other vendors' products.
Stability is not an issue for me because it comes with Cisco's proven manufacturer quality.
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.
This is a stable solution.
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.
The solution supports Wi-Fi 6.
Firmware upgrades and bug improvements need to be tested well.
A mobile application to manage the Wi-Fi or the whole network would be beneficial.
The price is higher than I would like.
The pricing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is not competitive enough for the SMB market compared to other brands.
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is on par with other devices in that category, offering competitive pricing.
My experience with the pricing of Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is that it is competitive with other providers offering paid subscriptions.
While the pricing of Fortinet FortiWLM is a bit high, it remains effective.
Fortinet's pricing is different from Aruba, as Aruba has solutions for small business and enterprise in different categories.
The price is competitive.
It also manages security clients and switches, providing a single dashboard to manage multiple network infrastructures.
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.
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.
The solution is controlled from one device and one GUI for all devices.
It also has integration capabilities with FortiFirewall which is beneficial for customers.
The most useful aspect of Fortinet FortiWLM is that you can manage all the Fortinet products from one portal, from one device.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN | 9.3% |
| Fortinet FortiWLM | 3.3% |
| Other | 87.4% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 70 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 27 |
| Large Enterprise | 31 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 18 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 5 |
| Large Enterprise | 5 |
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN provides cloud-based management for remote configuration and network monitoring. It simplifies deployment and offers centralized control alongside high visibility.
Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is ideal for managing complex networks and infrastructures without on-site controllers. It features an intuitive dashboard for seamless device integration and robust security, ensuring stable connectivity. Users can easily make network adjustments, track real-time analytics, and set multiple access IDs. While effective, areas needing enhancement include detailed logging, improved security features, more competitive licensing, and better integration with other solutions. Advanced user and support features could also see upgrades, and its dashboard functionality may benefit from improvements. Feedback indicates concerns about coverage, device management, and technical support. Customization, scalability, and compatibility limitations are noted compared to some competing solutions.
What are Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN's features?Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN is widely used across sectors like education, healthcare, retail, and corporate environments to manage client and guest access, secure networks, and integrate IoT devices. Schools, hospitals, offices, and data centers deploy it for its ease of deployment and centralized management. Resellers and integrators utilize it for networking and security solutions to ensure reliable connectivity in diverse environments.
Fortinet FortiWLM delivers a secure, scalable network management platform that integrates seamlessly with FortiGate, providing centralized control and robust features such as guest network creation and V2R cell services.
Fortinet FortiWLM offers a comprehensive wireless network management solution with centralized oversight. Its architecture supports seamless FortiGate integration, enhancing security and management. Users benefit from creating guest networks without VLANs and managing network exposure through V2R cell services. The platform's centralized management ensures scalability and reliability across diverse deployments. Despite its strong performance, users seek quicker technology updates and easier configuration. Enhancements in design, marketing, and integrations with smaller companies are suggested. Improved documentation, pricing models, and support response would further enhance its appeal.
What are Fortinet FortiWLM's most valuable features?Companies implement Fortinet FortiWLM across sectors like telecom, healthcare, education, and hospitality for wireless network management. It supports secure LAN solutions, guest integrations, and advanced WiFi, appealing for its high performance and scalability. Environments such as offices, medical facilities, and residential areas benefit from its network segmentation and internet access efficiency.
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