News Summary:

• Cisco Meraki’s expanded technology lineup addresses hybrid workforce requirements and the evolving needs of enterprises to protect people, places, and things
• Cisco Meraki helps customers, including Bay State College and RRMM Architects, offer safer and smarter workspace experiences
• Cisco Meraki hosts an expected 6,000+ customers at first user conference—“Meraki Network”—highlighting customer stories, industry trends, and use cases faced by organizations today

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 9, 2021 — Today, Cisco Meraki announced expanded IoT and WAN portfolios with new technologies to support hybrid workforces around the globe with smarter and safer workspace environments. As businesses continue to evolve toward a digital-first model for their operations, it is critical that users, employees, and customers have exceptional experiences. With expanded technologies, these experiences can easily be delivered by converging best-in-class networking, security, and IoT. From hybrid workforces to smarter workspaces, organizations can seamlessly optimize network performance across any environment. 

“The importance of high-quality experiences for customers and end users is increasingly becoming table stakes for businesses driving digital transformation and intuitive technology models,” said Lawrence Huang, Vice President of Product Management, Cisco Meraki. “With the convergence of cloud, IoT, and networking technologies, our expanded portfolio helps customers connect and secure remote and hybrid workforces, while creating safer environments, both now and in the future.”

Safe environments and smart spaces

As organizations start to bring employees back to the workplace, IT leaders are reevaluating their approach to security and broadening their scope to address the new needs and risks being faced today. From education institutions to healthcare providers, offering experiences that leverage insights and intelligence to make smarter decisions at scale is critical.

Bay State College needed to find a way to help students and faculty return safely to in-person learning. By developing an automated contact tracing app with Cisco Meraki’s unified cloud platform, the college was able to leverage data and analytics to provide real-time alerts to college administrators.

“Like many higher-learning institutions, Bay State College’s top priority is ensuring that our students can safely attend their classes on campus, while meeting public health regulations for social distancing and contact tracing,” said Jeffrey Myers, CIO for Ambow Education USA. “Leveraging Cisco Meraki’s ecosystem and advanced IoT technologies have allowed us to automate contact tracing and enable location-based monitoring and alerts in real time, helping us create safer environments for our students and staff.”

Addressing security needs with IoT and WAN innovation

New additions to the IoT portfolio create an easier experience for businesses to address existing and future physical security needs with confidence. Data and analytics help customers protect their physical environments and focus on growing their business without having to worry about unexpected costs associated with equipment failure. New additions include:

• Smarter analytics for small businesses: The new MV2 flex camera improves business outcomes and assuredness by providing intelligent insights into movement and activity. Simple to use and quick to deploy, this smart camera brings enterprise-grade physical security to small- and medium-sized businesses, enabling a safe return to on-site work.
• Real-time insights into environmental conditions: The new MT11 temperature probe sensor monitors business-critical refrigerated assets to prevent spoilage and ensure compliance along the entire cold chain. These environmental sensors provide insight where visibility is traditionally lacking. With real-time alerts, users are better able to prevent refrigeration equipment issues that can lead to wasted inventory, the spread of food-borne illness, and costly downtime. 

With Cisco Meraki’s agile cloud-based platform, businesses can combine video and environmental analytics from smart cameras and sensors to keep people and critical inventory safe—wherever they are.

The expanded WAN portfolio now includes new gigabit MX security and SD-WAN appliances, as well as MG cellular gateways, that allow customers to provide consistent connectivity and network security for their employees, whether they are at the office or a remote location. This also includes optimized connectivity to cloud security and private cloud environments for workers to safely and easily move between offices and remote workspaces freely.

Hybrid and remote workforces

Over the last decade, organizations have shifted workloads and apps from data centers to multi-cloud environments while transitioning to a highly distributed hybrid or remote workforce model. As a result, this transformation requires secure, connected experiences for employees with enhanced performance and support, regardless of location.

With six locations across Virginia and Maryland, RRMM Architects needed to construct an “in-office” experience for employees that was accessible from anywhere. With Cisco Meraki, RRMM was able to ensure secure, reliable connectivity for new offices and remote employees, all while strengthening the business during a period of significant growth.

“For RRMM, providing our employees with seamless digital experiences at scale, whether they are in the office or not, is critical,” said Aaron Sturniolo, Director of IT, RRMM Architects. “With Cisco Meraki’s cloud-first platform, we were not only able to ensure a consistent and secure network experience, but also increased employee efficiencies and drove cost savings.”

Meraki Network 2021: Lean Into Change

Cisco Meraki will host its inaugural “Meraki Network” user conference, where industry leaders and experts will share how they use technology to transform business, work, and communities in today's digital world. The virtual event takes place on Wednesday, June 16, from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm PT. For more information or to register, visit here.

Availability:

• MV2 flex camera available today
• MT11 temperature probe sensor available starting June 15
• MX security and SD-WAN appliances available starting July 6
• MG41 and MG41E cellular gateways available starting July 6

Additional Resources:

• Blog: Navigating Global Transformation—Together
• Blog: Smarter Safety and Security
• Blog: Prequel to SASE
• Blog: A Candid Guide to SASE
• Cisco Meraki cloud-managed environmental sensors
• Cisco Meraki cloud-managed smart cameras
• Cisco Meraki MV2
• Cisco Meraki security and SD-WAN appliances
• Cisco Meraki cellular gateways
• What is SASE?
• Webinar: Protect business-critical assets with IoT sensors

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