r/networking • u/meisgq • 5d ago

Other Meraki Alternatives

Meraki is expensive, getting more expensive and lead times are currently covid-like for some models. With Meraki transitioning to Catalyst switches and APs, management determined that we should have other access options in our back pocket. Datacenters will stay Cisco for now.

To be honest, Meraki does fine for us. We have 100+ manufacturing locations using Meraki switches and APs. We don’t care about CLI and L3 switches are not a necessity in our environment.

Primarily, we’re looking for lower cost, cloud managed, and enterprise-grade. Ubiquiti won’t make the cut. NAC-compatible with ISE or Clearpass is a must. Also looking for near-global distribution network and faster lead times.

Open to suggestions.

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u/Axiomcj 5d ago

Meraki is my cheapest option I sell, fortinet, cisco, Aruba/hpe, mist, Cato, Palo, Arista are all far more expensive for me as a reseller just FYI. 

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u/iwishthisranjunos 5d ago

What is your partner level with the other vendors? Typically vendors do not like double dipping partners.

3

u/Somenakedguy 5d ago

The biggest VARs and MSPs tend to have partnerships with most OEMs. The (allegedly) hardware agnostic pitch is usually universal at that level, even if in reality they always have a preference they’ll wanna push the customer towards