‘Meraki-in-a-Box’ takes cloud on the road

Comstor has launched Meraki-in-a-Box, a fully mobile, fully operational Meraki set-up that gives partners and customers an easy, hands-on way to experience the power of cloud-managed networking. The solution packages a complete Meraki stack into a rugged rolling case, delivering a powerful cloud-managed networking, security and IoT solution for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a single case.

Meraki is Cisco’s cloud-managed networking platform that allows organisations to control wi-fi, security and switching equipment remotely through a web-based dashboard.

Meraki-in-a-Box, created by Comstor’s engineering and enablement teams, brings together a complete, fully operational Meraki set-up that partners can offer directly to SME customers as a practical way to begin their cloud-managed networking journey. The kit includes security, switching, sensors, smart cameras and cellular connectivity in a preconfigured package that runs immediately through the Meraki Dashboard, allowing businesses to explore, test and adopt Meraki with confidence from day one.

“Partners told us they needed a way to bring Meraki to life for customers in a simple and memorable way. Meraki-in-a-Box is our answer to that need,” says Ivaniza Araujo, Cisco architectural lead for Meraki at Comstor Southern Africa. “It is practical, mobile and designed to make the value of Meraki immediately visible. When customers can see alerts firing, cameras responding, and sensors reacting in real time, the conversation changes completely.”

A ready to roll network

At the heart of the kit is the MX75 security appliance, which anchors the environment with cloud-managed firewalling, threat protection and SD-WAN functionality. The MS130R-8P switch provides PoE-enabled connectivity for the devices in the case, while a full range of MT sensors demonstrates environmental monitoring, air-quality insights, water leak detection, door-event tracking and intelligent power control. The MV23M smart camera adds analytics, motion detection and Sensor Sight integration, and the MG52 cellular gateway ensures that high-speed connectivity is available wherever the demo is taking place.

The complete stack is managed through the Meraki Dashboard, allowing partners to walk customers through a live Meraki environment within minutes of opening the case or enabling businesses to explore and operate the solution independently as their own starting point.

Meraki-in-a-Box is expected to play a strategic role in partner growth, particularly as organisations across South Africa and the continent accelerate their adoption of cloud-managed networks and distributed technologies.

“Meraki-in-a-Box helps remove barriers to understanding,” says Araujo. “For partners wanting to demo an environment, it replaces conceptual explanations with real experiences, which is key for partners working with customers who want clarity before committing to a solution. It is a practical tool that helps the channel create momentum and drive stronger outcomes. For customers, it becomes an all-in-one solution of Cisco on the move.”

The case was designed and built entirely by Comstor and is available to partners across Sub-Saharan Africa.