How Cisco Meraki Can Help IT Teams Support Remote and Hybrid Work
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way most organizations operate. With large numbers of employees working from home, IT teams have to provision and manage employee’s devices remotely. More changes are in store as organizations begin their return to office plans or consider hybrid office environments, and Cisco Meraki can help ease the transition.
Managing work from home and hybrid work environments has been challenging for IT teams, and it’s also impacted organizations overall. Take, for example, an employee with two IT issues a week; if it takes 30 minutes to resolve, this could add up to more than 50 hours per year.
With many companies continuing work-from-home arrangements and others planning for hybrid work environments, now could be the perfect time to consider cloud-based IT systems for network management, Wi-Fi, and switches.
Network Management
Managing IT networks through the cloud can benefit organizations and help alleviate some pressure on over-stretched IT teams. There are many advantages to Cisco Meraki’s cloud-based network management solution, including:
- Cloud systems are leaner. As companies consider downsizing on office space, there is less physical infrastructure to maintain.
- It’s easy to scale as both remote and on-site workforces grow.
- Cloud systems can be configured and managed from a single interface, making it faster to manage and troubleshoot a broad range of networks, apps, and connected devices.
- Organizations can pay for licenses and services over time with a subscription model, making it a budget-friendly option.
Upgrading to Wi-Fi 6
Consumers and employees expect fast performance from their Wi-Fi networks. Upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 provides higher throughput, enhances reliability, and provides a longer battery life. Transitioning to Wi-Fi 6 now will benefit employees as they return to the office.
Benefits of Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi 6:
- Cisco Meraki Wireless solutions provide granular control over bandwidth, apps, and devices connected to the network.
- Network administrators can get real-time insights into app usage, prioritize critical apps while throttling less important apps, and keep the network secure with a built-in firewall.
- Integrated Analytics provide performance data and real-time location analytics. IT teams can monitor utilization, signal quality, latency, and more through the platform, as well as identify how configuration changes affect the wireless network’s performance.
- Users can troubleshoot issues faster with AI-powered anomaly detection and access point visibility, while machine learning provides recommended next steps for the troubleshooting process.
Switching Solutions
Cisco Meraki’s cloud-based switching solutions can provide visibility over an organization’s entire network, making it easier for IT teams to manage networks from anywhere.
Some of the benefits include:
- The interface gives IT teams the ability to see disabled devices through an intuitive, colour-coded visualization. Network paths can be traced, making it easier to find non-Meraki devices.
- Detailed reporting aids in making decisions on infrastructure expansion, staffing, and site planning.
- Security features include the ability to lock down wired LAN access by requiring user or device-based authentication and the ability to port only to whitelisted devices.
- Troubleshooting tools include packet capture, per-port monitoring, detailed event logs, and remote diagnostic tools.
- Response times can be reduced with email alerts for faster response to critical events, on-the-go admin access from a mobile app, and time-based port scheduling to automatically turn ports off at a defined time.
- IT teams can avoid downtime and client disruption with physical stacking, immediate failover if a hardwire goes offline, and clone switch configurations.
Implementing Cisco Meraki’s cloud-based network management, Wi-Fi 6, and switching solutions now can make IT teams and employees more efficient in remote, hybrid, and in-office environments. Contact us to learn more.
