We’re going to talk a little about Meraki MDM Systems Manager. It’s becoming a pretty big deal, so a little explanation might be timely. In a nutshell, it allows you to control and manage mobile devices in a similar way to how Meraki hardware is managed. And a good place to start talking about Meraki’s MDM is the price. It compares very favorably to other MDMs in this respect. For example, a 1-year license is just $26.68 per device. You have 3 and 5-year options, as well.
You may remember not too long ago when we spent some time explaining about Meraki’s licensing plans. There were the Advanced Security License and Enterprise License. Basically, Meraki’s licensing plans for it’s firewalls add security and other functions that really “beef up” your firewall. They are like subscriptions to features that turbocharge your appliance, you might say. They are offered in 1, 3, and 5 year options.
What’s this got to do with Meraki MDM Systems Manager?
So, picture a corporate network as an ecosystem with all it’s connected devices. These are guarded and governed by a unified team of firewalls, switches, softwares,and so on. It’s a pretty safe, happy little world. But, in order to do business, you have to introduce all these mobile devices into it from out in the wild. These things could belong to anyone, and come from anywhere. Who knows what they’ve been into.
It’s a bit like letting the dogs inside after they’ve been outside getting good and dirty all day. So what Meraki MDM does is, it just examines these wild, untamed devices and gives them a good bath. Then, it house trains them. It keeps them obeying the house policies and rules set by the aforementioned security team.
Now, the first thing it’s important to know about Meraki is, ALL of it’s products are cloud-managed. Completely. So, from a single screen, you can monitor and operate every single Meraki product you own. And it’s designed to be very clean, very simple, and very easy to use. Even if you are not a ‘technical person.’ This truly is one of Meraki’s greatest strengths, and nobody accomplishes it better than they do.
The Hive Mind
Meraki Systems Manager is sort of a centralized cloud-control platform for personal devices. In other words, it gives you the ability to cloud-monitor and manage all your mobile devices. Just like you can firewalls and switches. Here’s how Meraki explains it: “Meraki Systems Manager mobile device management solution provides cloud-based centralized management, diagnostics, monitoring and security of the mobile devices in your organization. Now, you can manage deployments of all devices without an on-site appliance.
Managed devices connect securely to Meraki cloud. Locate devices, deploy software and apps, deliver content, enforce security policies and monitor all of your devices through an intuitive web-based dashboard.”
You can run thousands of devices and computers, right from the same place. Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows platforms all work with Meraki Systems Manager. In addition, devices automatically pull security policies and settings from the cloud. Whether the devices are on the road or in the office. And policies, which are customizable, are applied to devices anywhere in the world, even if internet connectivity is lost.
It’s super-simple to monitor devices enrolled in Systems Manager. It’s easy to create device tags and group profiles, enforce restrictions, deploy apps and more. Meraki’s is a powerful management tool with an intuitive interface, as always. It lets you control devices, side by side. And, you can track where the device is and can remote wipe unlock or lock if the device is lost. You can do this all without the clumsy menu structure found in other MDMs. It’s powerful, but the system is more intuitive and device provisioning is very fast.
How does it work?
You have several ways to onboard. And once you’re done, managing your little cloud-kingdom is a snap. Here’s Meraki’s own directions, for every platform. Of course, you will need to sign up/ log in to a your Dashboard account. And here’s a pretty good video to help you get your feet wet once you’re done onboarding.
Meraki MDM Systems Manager is definitely a good idea, especially for the price. Of course, you can call Corporate Armor at 877-449-0458, or email us with any questions you may have. We have long experience with the Meraki family of products and solutions, and our advice will be guided solely by what is best for you and your unique organization. We can’t wait to serve you!
Meraki MDM highlights
| The ability to control devices from afar |
| Locating missing devices |
| Retroactive malware protection |
| Apply group policies based on device membership |
| Add endpoints in three clicks |