[newman314]

One of the things mentioned in the acquisition FAQ was that one of the key differentiators was the Meraki business model.

Can anyone shed more light on exactly what is different?

EDIT: Also, since I have never priced any of their gear before, any idea on ballpark costs (list) would be nice.

[flyt]

Cisco: Buy hardware and associated licenses to use them with a WiFi control "box", then purchase optional support contracts to receive replacements/repairs when/if hardware breaks.

Meraki: Buy hardware and a time-based license per unit, typically for three years. No additional costs.

With the Cisco gear you can buy hardware and essentially use it forever just for the upfront cost. With Meraki you buy the hardware then pay on a regular basis to Meraki to continue using it with their cloud control software.

[samstave]

Further more - Cisco lead times are HORRIFIC - Meraki, 2 days...

EDIT: just to clarify - very large enterprises like to get their orders directly from Cisco, with a middleman to cover the "non-direct" status in order to apreciate the largest discount they can (typically ~47-49%)... this eliminates the overhead of dealing with ordering out of distribution - but it murders your lead times and deliverability...

Meraki was one of the most up-front straight forward orders: "Yeah it's in stock and in Fremont - we can have it to you next day, or 4 hours, so no need to order a spare MX400..."

[wmf]

I guess there are two things. Their management tools are SaaS, with all the benefits that brings. This was originally considered pretty radical since many customers viewed the cloud as unreliable and insecure.

Also, their equipment apparently turns into a brick if you stop paying your support contract (because you'd no longer have any way to manage it). This is not really a problem for many customers who have a policy of keeping active support contracts on everything, but it goes against what people are used to.