​Meet challenges and continue to innovate: Cisco Meraki opens a new hybrid office model

In the post-epidemic era, hybrid office has become a general trend and an important strategy for many companies to ensure business continuity. According to the "2022 Cisco Global Hybrid Office Survey Report" recently released by Cisco, hybrid office can help improve employees' sense of happiness, help employees better balance work and life, and improve work performance. Data shows that 61% of respondents believe that their work quality has improved and their work efficiency has increased; 62% of respondents believe that frequent network connection problems will limit the career development of remote workers; 84% of respondents said that network infrastructure is crucial to remote work. It can be seen that technical means will be the key to supporting hybrid office.

For enterprises, the most important thing about hybrid office is to ensure employee productivity. Enterprises must ensure that employees can connect to secure dedicated channels anytime and anywhere, and ensure a smooth network experience to achieve business continuity. For enterprise IT managers, it is necessary to achieve full visibility of the network for timely troubleshooting and operation and maintenance.

Meraki opens a new model for hybrid work

As the founder of cloud network management, Cisco Meraki has innovated the native SaaS cloud network management platform, providing simple and intelligent network services to global customers, and is responsible for the operation of millions of networks around the world. Through the Meraki SaaS cloud network management platform, users can not only build a customized wireless network environment, but also manage the entire system through a browser-based control panel.

Chen Huiping, General Manager of Cisco Meraki Greater China

According to Chen Huiping, general manager of Cisco Meraki Greater China, the Meraki SaaS cloud network management platform is the cloud network foundation of the Meraki product portfolio. Its solutions include wireless access points (MR), switches (MS), SD-WAN routers with security functions (MX), and the latest IoT product sensors (MT).

Meraki SaaS cloud network management platform has the following three features:

· Simple: Zero-touch installation, plug-and-play, one-click networking, simple operation and maintenance, and scalability. The Meraki SaaS cloud network management platform has a graphical control panel that allows for extremely simple graphical management, thereby helping network managers to free themselves from complex network configuration and troubleshooting; in addition, the product installation and deployment is also very simple. After receiving the Meraki device, customers can plug and play and network with one click, and it can be easily done in a few minutes.

· Intelligence: Graphical cloud management, automatic iteration and update, visualization under control, zero-touch software maintenance. All software updates and upgrades of Meraki SaaS cloud network management platform are fully automated, and can be infinitely expanded according to the business development needs of the enterprise.

Security: Integrates Cisco's advanced security technology to effectively resist network threats and ensure network security. Each module of the Meraki SaaS cloud network management platform integrates all security functions, from wireless, switching, to routing, sensors. The entire enterprise-level product line forms a complete network that can provide customers with an enterprise-level secure network.

Chen Huiping emphasized that the simple, intelligent and secure features of the Meraki SaaS cloud network management platform can not only make the work of enterprise IT personnel more efficient, but also help enterprises reduce the operation and maintenance costs of manpower and equipment, thereby reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Deeply cultivate the industry and maximize its value

In the field of cloud network management, Cisco Meraki can be said to be a well-deserved leader. It has pioneered IT operations and maintenance in the cloud. With a lot of advanced experience accumulated over 16 years, Cisco Meraki's customers have spread across many industries such as retail, catering, fashion, manufacturing, hotels, medical care, and education. Currently, the customer base is more than 650,000 active, the customer network has exceeded 3.5 million, and the number of countries supported in the network is as many as more than 190. Meraki SaaS cloud network management platform has a service availability level SLA of 99.99%, which is the highest level in the industry.

"In today's era of differentiation and customization, Cisco Meraki can directly allow customers from different industries to customize the most suitable solutions according to their needs through open APIs." Chen Huiping introduced, "Cisco Meraki has hundreds of solution partners in various industries. Through APIs, it combines software and services required by different industries, allowing users to import customized solutions more conveniently. For example, Meraki's wireless and Bluetooth can help the logistics industry to perform more accurate positioning; through sensors, it can help hotels monitor indoor temperature and humidity, air quality, etc., to provide customers with more detailed services; by providing switch ports, it can help the manufacturing industry save energy and reduce emissions. All of these can be easily operated on the cloud platform. In general, we will customize the most suitable solutions for different industries according to their needs."

In addition, the speed at which Cisco Meraki launches new features is also a highlight. Meraki can use CI/CD technology to iterate quickly and continuously provide new features to customers in a very smooth manner. Customers can directly use new features on the control panel without downtime or restarting.

In addition, Cisco Meraki also has a very rich product line, with matching products for various customer application scenarios, including lightweight products suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as customized solutions suitable for large enterprises.

"Our value lies here. We have created a management platform through cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence, allowing companies to spend the least amount of time and energy to establish and manage a secure and effective information network to support their digital transformation," Chen Huiping emphasized.

Landing in China and committed to continuous innovation

Cisco Meraki landed in China in 2018, established a professional team, opened a dedicated after-sales service line, built two local data centers, and equipped with unique security mechanisms to ensure the smooth operation of customer networks. In addition, a Chinese version of the management platform was developed and a local Meraki warehouse was established to reduce transportation costs.

Chen Huiping said that after four years of exploration and hard work, APIs are now flourishing in the Chinese market, with more and more partners developing various applications based on Cisco Meraki's APIs according to their industries and their own capabilities.

"At the same time, we are also helping some core partners in China to integrate Meraki's solutions with their existing products and services through APIs, transform into MSPs, and help them quickly build their own unique products and service platforms," ​​Chen Huiping also emphasized.

Over the past four years, Cisco Meraki has achieved outstanding results in the Chinese market, and its business scope has spread across the country. Chen Huiping said, "Since its launch in 2018, both the number of customers and business revenue have achieved triple-digit growth, which is inseparable from the recognition and trust of our partners and customers."

Chen Huiping also said, "In the future, we will continue to meet challenges and innovate, adhering to the consistent philosophy, by simplifying powerful technologies, freeing customers' IT talents from tedious network issues, focusing on the real mission, helping everyone achieve business goals faster and better, and thus bringing more important and far-reaching impacts to various industries."