Many companies rely on Cisco’s Meraki technology, a recognized leader in network access points, switches, and firewalls. Meraki has unveiled a new subscription-based licensing alternative that many companies will find attractive.
We recently sat down with our Account Manager—Team Lead, John Murphy, to get a high-level overview of the new licensing model. Here’s what he had to say:
“We’re advising all our customers with multiple devices at multiple locations that the new Meraki subscription model is the way to go. For starters, the classic co-term model has several drawbacks.
For example, you must pay 100% upfront, which can strain a company’s cash flow. In addition, the cost is not price protected, so you could face higher fees to maintain the license. Plus, if you upgrade from Essential to Meraki’s premium feature tier, Advantage, you must do so for all your Meraki products.
Plus, with the co-term model, you must acquire an additional key for every origination, addition, and renewal. This can be a real pain.
As if those weren’t enough drawbacks, if you should find yourself delinquent on your co-term license, after a 30-day grace period, you could face an org-wide shutdown, which could be rather devastating.
The new Meraki subscription model is superior for a host of reasons.
You can pay monthly, annually, or all up-front—whatever works best for your company. The fees are also price-protected, giving you budget predictability.
In addition, you have control over the subscription end dates. For instance, when you license more devices, you can keep the same end date or modify the end date without impacting existing licenses. In other words, you can create one subscription or many, depending on the needs of your business.
You can opt to upgrade to Advantage for each individual product family at the network level, which affords you more control and helps you manage costs.
What’s more, you only need to claim one key at origination, which will last the entire lifetime of the subscription.
Should you fall out of compliance, you avoid that potentially devastating network shutdown. This additional peace of mind is a particularly nice benefit.
Digging deeper into the subscription details, you’ll find a simplified purchasing experience. For example, you’ll enjoy firewall licensing that’s portable between similar hardware SKUs, plus switch licensing that’s more hardware agnostic.”
John also noted that the ideal time to evaluate the options for your Meraki licensing is at least 30 days before your current license expires, but ideally 90 days.
If your company could use help managing some or all of its IT—including the management of all necessary licensing—reach out to Emerge today. We’re here to help.
