In short
A Cisco Meraki consultant helps you design, deploy and improve a Meraki network: wireless surveys, product and licensing choices, dashboard structure, templates, firmware, migration from older equipment, and health checks of existing networks. Forever Systems is a Cisco Partner and can help with any of these, with or without a hardware order; scope is agreed at quote.
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What a Meraki consultant can do for you
Meraki is quick to bring online because devices download their configuration from the cloud. That makes the decisions made before and after go-live, rather than the cabling in between, the ones that matter most. A Meraki consultant helps you get those decisions right:
- Design: coverage and capacity for Wi-Fi, switch port and power budgets, firewall and SD-WAN topology, addressing and VLANs
- Product and licence choice: the right models for each site, and the right licensing model, tier and term
- Dashboard structure: organisations, networks, templates, tags and admin roles that still make sense when you have grown
- Deployment and migration: claiming, configuration, staging and a planned cutover from what you have today
- Health checks: a review of an existing Meraki network against good practice, with prioritised recommendations
- Handover: documentation and dashboard walk-throughs so your team can run the network day to day
Forever Systems is a Cisco Partner, so we can also supply the hardware and licences the design calls for. Our Meraki shop lists the full range by exact order code.
Design and wireless surveys
Good Wi-Fi depends on the building: walls, ceilings, materials and how many devices connect at once in each space. A wireless site survey turns floor plans and real-world measurements into access point positions before anything is ordered, so you buy the right number of access points and put them in the right places.
Design work also covers:
- access point choice: indoor or outdoor, and whether Meraki Wi-Fi 7 suits the site
- switching: port counts, uplinks, stacking and the power over Ethernet budget for access points, phones and cameras
- security and SD-WAN: MX sizing, licence edition, uplinks, failover and Auto VPN between sites
- addressing and segmentation: VLANs, guest isolation and network access control with Cisco Access Manager
Some sectors bring their own requirements. Our guides to school Wi-Fi, hotel Wi-Fi, retail Wi-Fi and warehouse Wi-Fi cover the main ones.
Deployment and migration
A Meraki deployment follows a clear path: create the organisation and networks, claim the order, build the configuration (or a template for many similar sites), set firmware, stage, install and cut over. Our Meraki setup guide walks through each step and the best practices we build in.
Most projects replace something, and that is where experience saves time:
- from another vendor's firewall or Wi-Fi: rules, VPNs and SSIDs reviewed and rebuilt for Meraki rather than copied line for line. Our comparisons with Fortinet, Ubiquiti and Juniper Mist explain the differences
- from on-premise Cisco: our Meraki vs Catalyst guide and the cloud-managed Catalyst options
- from older Meraki models: replacing devices that are reaching Meraki end of life
- from Meraki Go: covered in Meraki Go alternative
For organisations with several sites, templates and Auto VPN do most of the heavy lifting; see multi-site networks.
Health checks and optimisation
If you already run Meraki, a health check is a structured review of how the network is set up compared with good practice. Typical areas we look at:
| Area | What we check |
|---|---|
| Firmware | Versions against Meraki's Recommended Release, maintenance windows and upgrade scheduling |
| Licensing | Licensing model, expiry or renewal dates, devices out of compliance and upcoming renewals |
| Admin access | Who has full or read-only access, at least two full organisation admins, two-factor authentication or single sign-on |
| Alerts | Whether alerts for devices going offline, uplink changes, VPN status and configuration changes are switched on, and who receives them |
| Lifecycle | End-of-sale and end-of-support dates shown in the dashboard inventory, and a replacement plan |
| Wireless | SSID count, band steering, channel and power settings, guest isolation and coverage complaints |
| Switching | Port profiles, VLANs, stacking and power over Ethernet headroom |
| Security and SD-WAN | MX licence edition and the features in use, firewall rules, Auto VPN design and uplink failover |
| Structure | Network names, tags and templates, and whether they still fit how the organisation has grown |
We can write up what we find with recommendations in priority order, and help you make the changes or leave them with your team. A health check can also be the first step towards managed Meraki.
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Meraki consultants across the UK
We can help organisations across the UK. Because Meraki is managed from a cloud dashboard, much of the design, configuration and review work happens in the dashboard itself, which suits organisations with sites spread across the country as well as single offices.
Multi-site estates such as retail chains, hospitality groups, schools and professional services firms are a natural fit: one dashboard, one design applied through templates, and Auto VPN or Meraki SD-WAN linking the sites. Where installation work is needed, we agree how it will be handled for your sites at quote.
Working alongside your IT team
Plenty of organisations have capable IT teams who want specialist help for a project or a second opinion, not a full hand-over. The Meraki dashboard makes that easy to arrange:
- organisation admins can have full or read-only access across everything in the organisation
- network admins can have full, read-only, monitor-only or guest ambassador access to particular networks, and access can be granted by network tag, for example one region
- API keys inherit the permissions of the admin who created them, so integrations stay within agreed limits
You keep ownership of your dashboard organisation and your licences. We can work under the access you give us, document what we change, and hand back cleanly at the end of a project.
Not sure what you need?
Tell us about your sites and we will recommend the right kit and licences.
Getting a quote
Tell us what you are trying to do: a new network, a migration, a refresh of ageing equipment or a review of what you have. It helps to include your sites, rough user and device numbers, and any Meraki you already own. We will suggest a scope and confirm it, with costs, at quote.
Contact us to talk to us about your Meraki network, or shop Cisco Meraki if you already know what you need.
Working with us on Cisco Meraki
Forever Systems helps organisations plan, buy and run cloud-managed networks built on Cisco Meraki wireless, switching, security and SD-WAN.
- Plan the network: we look at your sites, users and existing kit, and can arrange a wireless site survey before anything is ordered
- Choose the right products: access points, switches, security appliances, cellular gateways, sensors and cameras sized to what each site needs, rather than a one-size bundle
- Licensing made clear: we explain co-termination, per-device and subscription licensing, check renewal dates and quote the licences you need
- Deployment help: we can set up the Meraki dashboard, organisations, networks, templates and policies, and help move you from older or on-premise kit
- Ongoing help: changes, licence renewals and reviews as your sites grow, with the scope agreed at quote
Ask us for a quote and we will confirm what is included for your organisation.
Frequently asked questions
Can you help organisations in London?
Yes. We can help organisations in London and across the UK. Much Meraki design, configuration and review work is done in the cloud dashboard, and any installation work is agreed for your sites at quote.
Can you review an existing Meraki network?
Yes. We can review firmware, licensing, admin access, alerts, lifecycle dates, wireless and switching settings, security features and dashboard structure, then recommend changes in priority order. You can make the changes yourself or ask us to help.
Do you offer Meraki consultancy without a hardware order?
Yes. We can scope design, survey, migration or health-check work on its own, whether or not you buy hardware or licences from us. We agree the scope and cost at quote.
What happens in a Meraki health check?
We look at how your Meraki network is configured against good practice: firmware against the Recommended Release, licence model and dates, admin accounts and two-factor authentication, alert settings, end-of-sale and end-of-support dates, wireless and switch settings, and MX security and VPN design. We can then give you prioritised recommendations.
Can you work alongside our own IT team?
Yes. The Meraki dashboard lets you give us organisation or network-level access at the level you choose, including read-only. You keep ownership of the organisation and licences, and we document what we change.
Ready to order?
Build your basket in our Meraki shop and send it to us for a quote.