Is Your Network Letting You Down? Experience the Power of a Cloud Platform

The digital transformation sweeping across Australian businesses has placed significant emphasis on the role of network infrastructure in supporting new technologies and modern ways of working.

However, small to medium businesses (SMBs) and mid-market enterprises in Australia often find their existing networks lagging behind, potentially hindering their growth and innovation capabilities. The outdated nature of these networks not only stifles progress but also opens the door to heightened cybersecurity risks, posing serious threats to financial stability, reputation, and customer trust.

This pressing issue was addressed in an iTnews webinar featuring experts from Cisco Meraki and IT integrator NTT DATA, who discussed how Australian business leaders can adapt to the increasing demands on their networks.

Audience responses from the webinar underscored cybersecurity as the primary concern, followed by the need for simplified network management. This aligns with findings from a previous Meraki customer survey where 83% of respondents highlighted cybersecurity as their top priority, while 72% emphasized the importance of simplified network management.

Cisco Meraki product specialist, Senan Nakajima, stressed the necessity for networks to be both flexible and secure. Nakajima pointed out that businesses require operational simplicity to foster innovation and growth, noting that technology, regardless of its power, must be easy to manage to ensure business flexibility in dynamic environments. The addition of devices such as surveillance cameras and sensors to networks further complicates the scenario.

These additions can create gaps in the network's defensive perimeter, which must be vigilantly monitored and managed, as highlighted by NTT DATA’s director of technology transformation, Lyncoln de Mello. He emphasized the pivotal role of the network in controlling access and securing IoT devices to prevent them from becoming vulnerabilities.

The conversation then turned to the power of Cisco Meraki’s platform, particularly its dashboard, which offers comprehensive visibility through a 'single pane of glass'. Managing an increasingly heterogeneous network of smart devices, especially those at the network's periphery, poses significant challenges. Each device often comes with its own management console, making it difficult to correlate activities and emergent threats without consuming extensive human resources.

Fred Chua, a technical solutions architect at Cisco Meraki, showcased the capabilities of the Meraki dashboard in a live demonstration during the webinar. He emphasized that effective management hinges on visibility: "You can't manage what you can't see; you can't fix what you can't see." The Meraki dashboard allows IT administrators to manage everything consistently from one platform, providing simplicity and power in one unified interface.

Chua demonstrated how the dashboard could manage a complex IT network, displaying a global map of every user and device and offering easy navigation to potential issues for remediation. The platform even provides visibility into the licence status of devices, all within the same dashboard, eliminating the need for separate applications or command-line queries.

This level of integration and simplicity is particularly beneficial for lean IT organizations that may lack the budget or resources to outsource network infrastructure management. As de Mello noted, such organizations often do not have the time or skills to handle deep network issues and troubleshooting. The Meraki platform, therefore, plays a crucial role in translating IT intentions into device actions, handling the underlying complexities and allowing IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives.

The significance of a cloud-managed network platform like Cisco Meraki cannot be overstated. It not only enhances the performance and cybersecurity resilience of businesses but also simplifies network management, enabling organizations to keep pace with technological advancements and maintain a competitive edge.

For businesses interested in experiencing the benefits of Cisco Meraki firsthand, there are special offers available. For instance, eligible businesses can register to receive a free Meraki access point with a one-year license by watching the on-demand webinar. This offer provides an excellent opportunity for businesses to explore the capabilities of Meraki’s cloud-managed network solutions and understand how they can improve their network infrastructure.

To delve deeper into the capabilities of the Cisco Meraki network administration dashboard, viewers can access the demonstration from about the 40-minute mark of the webinar. This detailed exploration offers a practical insight into how the platform operates and the advantages it brings to network management.

In conclusion, as Australian businesses navigate the challenges of digital transformation, the importance of robust and modern network infrastructure becomes increasingly clear. Solutions like Cisco Meraki’s cloud-managed platform offer a pathway to enhanced performance, simplified management, and fortified cybersecurity. By adopting such technologies, businesses can not only mitigate risks but also unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth, ensuring they remain competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.