Meraki SD-WAN Reviews

Our connectivity was pretty good even before we used Meraki. After we used Meraki, everything worked fine and still does. The thing is that once we started using Meraki, our management became simpler. It's simpler for us to become simpler.

We have other solutions, and we wanted one that would integrate with our current ones. This product is pretty good and simple, so we learned the simplicity of a product.

We currently use some features. It is secure, and some features, like work device management, are very useful.

We selected this solution because it needs to be always connected. In some cases, like an Internet outage, this can make the solution unmanageable.

If the network disconnects, we have access to the device but cannot make any changes.

I have been using Meraki SD-WAN for the last six months.

During the initial setup, it wasn't stable. It was very problematic, and we had a lot of issues. Now it's very stable.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

The solution’s scalability is good. 2,000 users are using this solution.

We use the Meraki SD-WAN solution daily as users who consume the network. However, our involvement is very limited if you're asking about managing the devices or connecting to them. We barely manage it because it's largely automatic. It works well, so we typically only intervene about once a week.

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

Technical support is very cumbersome. It's not on point. It takes them a lot of time to understand the problems. It's very complex.

The initial setup is easy. However, it took us a lot of time to work with an integrator and to declutter, and it took us weeks to deploy.

Meraki is a combination of cloud and on-prem, but most of our deployments are on-prem connected to the cloud. The management of Meraki is always on the cloud, but the devices are on-prem, and we have deployed multiple devices on-prem.

We use a third party for deployment. It still took us a lot of time. 

The product's pricing is moderate.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

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.

Meraki SD-WAN helps save money by monitoring applications and ensuring service levels. This gives businesses a clear view of how well their operations are running and whether service providers meet their needs.

The Meraki SD-WAN has been mainly focused on Wi-Fi in the past, but with the introduction of the client, they're likely to enhance their AI-driven initiatives. This could mean providing more predictive insights to customers, but it might take time to develop fully.

The tool has challenges with features like multiple-link support, which currently only supports up to three links. Additionally, it doesn't offer router integration, and forward error correction is another missing feature. The scalability of Meraki SD-WAN is good, but there are limitations to the performance of the concentrator devices, especially in larger deployments. While the cloud scale is not an issue, the performance of the devices in branches and data centres is limited.

This can be an issue for larger customers with high traffic volumes. The roadmap includes plans to improve scalability, but progress may be slow.

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

The tool's support is not very good. The process is ongoing while they are not fully integrated with Cisco TAC. 

Neutral

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.

Meraki SD-WAN is one of the best and easiest solutions to implement. It's very user-friendly, making it simple for users and partners to sell and deploy. Additionally, it offers a range of security features and the ability to integrate with SaaS platforms. However, compared to other vendors, it lacks some important features, and although they're on the roadmap, they're taking a bit longer to roll out.

The product is successful in various environments, especially in retail and specific industries like finance. Retail accounts for around 30 percent of its usage. I would rate the Meraki SD-WAN a nine on a scale of one to ten. It's simple to use, scalable and offers easy access to the API. However, it's not a perfect ten because it lacks some important features, and it is slow in terms of rolling out these features for customers. 

I'm able to access various ports for simple switches and then check things, like the information that I've gotten. We use the solution on a day-to-day basis. 

I like the part with the accessibility to the switches, the access point, and the firewalls. Having to set up a closed system singlehandedly and a lifetime guarantee on the equipment is a valuable part of this solution.

The area I think this solution should improve is the pricing.

I have been using this solution for about five years.

My impression is that this solution is quite scalable. There are around 800 users of this solution in our company right now.

My impression is that it was quite easy to set up this solution. Our model of deployment is hybrid.

When we were first looking to implement this solution, we were looking at pre-systems as we handle this one. Even though it was the priciest one, the day-to-day basis and the security were the best.

It was all done through a two-person team. Another member who wasn't on-site is an administrator and I was someone who is on-site. For example, the administrator sets up a new server from scratch and I take over from there, so we worked in collaboration all the time. I am also the person responsible for maintaining this solution.

I would rate the pricing of this solution a seven, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.

When it comes to giving advice to other people looking into this solution, I'd just say that this system is easy to maintain and quite secure with good quality equipment.

I would rate this solution as a whole a nine, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.

Meraki SD-WAN offers a platform where Cisco manages your database. The platform is cloud-based and accessible through the URL. This means that Cisco has access to all of your devices, but it also means that if you need to make changes, Cisco can control it. One of the benefits of this system is that if you experience any loss of connectivity, Cisco can support you.

Meraki SD-WAN provides an open platform for users, allowing them to tailor their bandwidth usage. Additionally, it allows you to monitor customer usage and distinguish between different types of URLs they use, which can be non-production, production, confidential, or non-confidential.

From my end, I cannot submit any details on the areas of the product that need improvement because I am currently on the audit format.

In terms of additional features that could be included in the next release of the solution, it would be useful to have proxy software that can be managed from a mobile device. As engineers, sometimes we need remote access, which can be a challenge, especially during off-shifts when we can't log in to our environment. If there was a platform that allowed us to access our credentials, it would enable us to provide support to the customer while also improving vendor productivity.

I have been using Meraki SD-WAN for three years now, and in my experience, it's one of the best solutions.

Stability-wise, I rate this solution an eight and a half out of ten. I would like improved stability in Meraki SD-WAN. Also, it is a very user-friendly solution. So, whenever you want to implement a new site, you can get options that are user-friendly and UI-based, which are very straightforward in nature. Basically, there are no complexities involved. So, a person involved in the solution's implementation can understand everything.

Meraki SD-WAN is a scalable solution because changes are being made to the solution, enabling it to work in different environments. In short, the perfect set of decisions is being made for the solution. I have experience working with the solution on a range of user scales, from 500 to 10,000 users.

Since I am a consultant currently, I won't be able to say whether I have plans to increase the solution's usage since I am presently not working on the solution.

Meraki SD-WAN's technical support can be considered a very fast one. I rate the solution's technical support nine and a half out of ten.

Positive

I have previously used Viptela SD-WAN.

Meraki SD-WAN’s setup is straightforward because Cisco has control over everything. The solution is deployed in a cloud environment from the first day, which has been my experience since 2013 when using cloud-based solutions was not as prevalent as it is now.

I won't be able to speak about how many days it took to deploy the solution since I am not involved in its technical part.

To deploy Meraki SD-WAN, you need to connect your devices with the Cisco cloud environment, for which you need to give the gateway from your devices, and that message needs to be connected with the Cisco environment. Once connected, Cisco will provide you with the platform to manage your devices. Since they have admin rights, everything will be managed by Cisco.

Regarding the personnel involved in the deployment and maintenance of the solution, if we consider the operations part, which includes a VCP and a person for DRP, four people are involved, including a lead and a manager.

I believe Cisco offers some of the best solutions. Meraki's routers, switches, and wireless solutions are some of the best.

You need an open platform to work with Meraki SD-WAN, whereas Aruba can be a bit more complex. That's why Cisco Meraki SD-WAN is generally preferred. Overall, I rate this solution a nine out of ten.

It's for enterprise networking. So some of the customers are from the BFSA domain, and some of the customers are from manufacturing. It's a distributed customer base.

Any customer looking for a single solution that can serve them for network security, which can serve them for the SD-Branch all branch networking. We use it for this purpose. It's used for a combination of SD-WAN and SD-Branch plus security.

Everything is under one umbrella. The Meraki dashboard is one of the valuable features which I use. I can control the devices across walls and across the landscape.

It's not difficult to set up the solution. 

The solution is stable.

It can scale well. 

The cloud area and the security area can be improved. Meraki has a limitation, especially on the cloud. If I deploy the services on the cloud and I want to make a site-to-site connection or maybe I have to do some sort of routing, inbound routing, it is not properly working with the Cisco Meraki. It needs to be matured a bit.

They need to offer proper integration of the security features. They talk about the next-gen technology, the next-gen UTM feature. It's not a complete security solution, however. 

I've used the solution for about five years now. 

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

We can easily scale the solution. 

We are supporting multiple customers that use this solution. There are approximately 5,000 people using the access. 

We are well connected with the RR account manager. He is based out of Australia. Every time, whenever we have some sort of need, he is the go-to guy for us.

Positive

We use a variety of SD-WAN technologies. 

The solution is very easy to deploy.

How long it takes depends on the kind of site you are setting up. If I'm tiering the site, and have 20 users or 30 users and have a couple of links and the security postures are not very complex, maybe I can do the deployment in a week's time. 

I can do two or three cuts over a week if it is small. You can bifurcate. I don't have any ready-made answer as to how long it will take as every setup is different. 

We do look into ROI and show clients possible ROI if they decide to go with Meraki. 

The price of the solution varies. It depends on the customer. For most of the customer deployments, we tend to do either three or five years of licensing. Having a longer-term give us some discounting in terms compared to one year.

We are partners. 

We use the MX64 deployment, although it goes all the way up to 300.

I don't want to be Meraki biased, however, if anyone is looking for the kind of solution that can include the branch office or the network security or even a Cisco Umbrella kind of solution, Meraki is the right choice.

From an SD-WAN perspective, I would rate the solution seven out of ten. I'm just cutting down three numbers due to the lacking of cloud networking and the weaker security posture.

We are using this solution for productivity, in terms of the users, and simplicity in terms of ease of management, although the capabilities of the platforms are a little restricted. As is the resilience, just because of the hub and spoke nature at significant volume. I use the solution a lot in retail stores.

The solution is deployed on-prem and on the cloud. We are using the latest version.

The solution is pretty reliable.

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 have been using this solution for about 10 years.

We haven't had any issues with stability.

The scalability could be better. Typically, when I get beyond 300 or 400 sites, depending on the criticality of service, I will normally move away from Meraki and look at either Viptela or Versa.

We have 4,000 end users and no plans to increase that number.

I can fall back on my service provider if I need any additional technical support.

Initial setup is straightforward. For deployment and maintenance, I have three people that are capable of dealing with it and that is basically just to  make sure I've got cover within the team, but typically one person is administrating at any one time.

There are no licensing costs for the product subscription.

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10. 

I would recommend this solution, particularly supported by VM02.

Meraki SD-WAN is a very good product as you get a backup for all the VPN and internet connections. You connect Meraki's cable, and you can have a secure port to deploy Meraki SD-WAN solution in the cloud, which is a very easy process to deploy. You can apply or make appliances for the other branches that you have, so it is easy to deploy Meraki in your network ecosystem.

Meraki can improve if it gets built in a way that provides network assistance. If Meraki obtains the technology to provide network assistance, then it can implement it manually in Meraki SD-WAN. With built-in network assistance, the tool will be one of the best tools in the market because its competitors are working on such a solution. I think if Meraki offers network assistance, it can improve in a much better manner.

I have experience using Meraki SD-WAN.

The technical support for the solution is very good. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

The difference between Fortinet and Meraki is in the area of pricing. FortiGate is cheaper than Meraki. FortiGate is a solution that is very similar to Meraki. Fortinet works on security, so it offers a few more features than Cisco Meraki. For example, Cisco Meraki has only two ports for doing the failover. FotiGate is available at a cheap price and has many ports to manage failover. Meraki only has two ports.

The product's initial setup phase is very easy.

One person can deploy the solution. People involved in the deployment of the product have CCNA certification.

The tool is plug-and-play in nature, so one who takes care of the product needs to have a basic knowledge of networking. Only those who have the basic knowledge can configure it and make policies in the Cisco Meraki platform.

The customer sees savings in the VPN area. If the customer has a VPN, they keep it along with the internet connection. The customers have Meraki SD-WAN, so they save by keeping the carrier's VPN solution. The VPN tool is more expensive than an internet connection.

The licensing is very easy to connect to the equipment. The tool offers term licenses. You have the same term licensing model available for all of your equipment, which is good for management. With other tools, the licensing models are similar to what Meraki offers. Meraki has many years of experience, so I prefer Meraki over the other products.

Meraki offers good pricing when compared to Fortinet and some of its competitors. The FortiGate and Cisco Meraki solutions have similar pricing.

I don't know how to explain how the tool's auto-VPN feature helps our company with operational efficiency.

I don't remember any issues with the VPN feature associated with Cisco Meraki.

When we tried integrating Meraki SD-WAN into our infrastructure, there were challenges. If the customer has another vendor's network, like an Aruba or Juniper network, the integration becomes complex because the engineer needs information about both the customer's network and the other vendor. The engineer needs to check if the configurations follow the same protocols, SSIDs, or VLANs.

I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

Meraki SD-WAN is connected to branches and the data center. You can also connect branches or connect remote users to their respective offices. It enables users working in hybrid environments, whether from the office or home, to access their applications on the cloud.

Firstly, the solution manages other market products on the same dashboard. It is very simple and can be managed in three clicks. Secondly, There are many device models on Meraki MX devices. Also, it has a license with variable duration from one year to five years.

The product supports small and medium business solutions. It could be improved to support more enterprise use cases.

The solution can support more security features like the Cisco firewall.

I have been using Meraki SD-WAN for three years.

The product’s stability is very perfect.

The solution’s scalability is awesome. You can scale it up.

We recommend this solution to small and medium-sized businesses.

The initial setup is simple and common.

I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.

Meraki SD-WAN is a combination of two products: Firewall and router. When you compare these options with other vendors, you will not find the same as Meraki. Meraki is best for small and medium business solutions.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We implemented Meraki SD-WAN to replace our traditional WAN infrastructure, particularly for our email and messaging system (referred to as MLSP).

We have successfully transitioned to SD-WAN. So, it's primarily used for connecting our remote sites.

I like it because it works. Moreover, the solution is pretty easy to configure.

Meraki SD-WAN had trouble prioritizing traffic for VoIP calls, specifically for Microsoft Teams. They faced challenges for sometime when you set up QoS on Meraki's access points. There are profiles available for different services, such as Microsoft Teams, which effectively put all the rules in place for you. During their SD-WAN deployment, these profiles were not accessible to them. It's possible that Meraki has since introduced them. Therefore, having profiles for different services would be beneficial.

Meraki SD-WAN could make the license cheaper; the licenses cost a fortune.

I have been using Meraki SD-WAN for a year. 

We've had a few minor things where it's gone down, but it has been stable most of the time.

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

Meraki SD-WAN is pretty easy to scale. You just buy more devices; it is easy.

I rate the solution’ scalability a ten out of ten. We have about 150 users using this solution.

The customer support has been very good. The Cisco account manager named, Luke Brennan was really very helpful. If you ring him, he'll answer, and he'll tell you what you need to know. They are good.

The initial setup was pretty simple. We were able to do it in a day.

We did have an integrator to help while setting up.

We've got one person in the team doing the maintenance, although we have somebody else who knows quite well that we do lean on external parties quite heavily, a company called Lixcel. Overall, we have a team of two people for maintenance. 

The solution is expensive. I rate the solution’s pricing a six out of ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We primarily use the access points and switches for remote locations for a client. We have 100 or more remote offices, and we connect those together to a data center in Florida.

We like that it is cloud-enabled.

The solution is easy to use. It's so simple to set up and connect the connection points. We don't require any static IPs or anything like that on our ISPs. It's very quick and easy.

It is stable and reliable.

The solution can scale so long as you are scaling Meraki products together. 

It offers a very good "single pane of glass," which helps with management and visibility.

I don't have any notes for improvement. 

Technical support could be more knowledgeable and responsive. 

You do have to pay for the solution in perpetuity. 

I've used the solution for six or seven years. 

The stability is pretty good. I'd rate it an eight or nine out of ten. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

The solution is very scalable as long as it is a Meraki-to-Meraki environment. 

I'd rate the scalability eight out of ten. 

Technical support isn't the best. They aren't as responsive as we would like. The quality of the techs needs to be better. They need to be more knowledgeable. 

Neutral

The solution is very simple to set up, and we don't need any static IPs from our ISPs. This simplifies things. 

I'd give the ease of setup a ten out of ten. 

Meraki's a subscription service. You "pay forever," and in that sense, it can be a little expensive. That said, I'd rate it seven out of ten in terms of affordability. 

I'm a customer and end-user. 

Other than warning people that it is a subscription, this does offer a single pane of glass which makes it easy to manage if you have multiple sites.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.