Kentik and Meraki Dashboard compete in the network monitoring and management category. Kentik seems to have the upper hand in network analysis through real-time visibility and cost-effective solutions, while Meraki Dashboard stands out in ease of management for smaller to medium-sized businesses.
Features: Kentik provides comprehensive SaaS-based network monitoring with robust NetFlow visualization, DDoS alerting, and a flexible data explorer for traffic analysis. It offers detailed insights optimizing metrics for cost-efficiency and real-time visibility beneficial for planning and security. Meraki Dashboard offers a cloud management solution focusing on ease of use, with features like integrated VPN connectivity, presence analytics, and single-pane-of-glass management, suited for SMBs.
Room for Improvement: Kentik could enhance its user and security rights management and improve tagging and dimensions configuration. There is a demand for actionable insights and improved anomaly detection. Meraki Dashboard could improve its VPN solutions by providing a client option similar to AnyConnect, enhance user guidance, and address pricing concerns with its subscription model.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Kentik's SaaS-focused deployment ensures easy management of updates and maintenance. Its customer support is appreciated for proactive problem-solving and responsiveness. Meraki Dashboard's cloud-based deployment is versatile across different environments, although its technical support could improve by integrating feedback into user guides within the dashboard.
Pricing and ROI: Kentik offers competitive pricing with a focus on operational efficiencies and significant ROI in high transit environments. Its device-based cost structure positively impacts ROI in traffic-heavy networks. Meraki Dashboard's pricing includes various licensing tiers per device, which can be costly, but its simplicity and comprehensive features justify the investment for many users.
In production environments, especially for service providers on IP networks and data centers, Kentik helps in reducing the time to identify and resolve issues.
They have monthly calls and discuss the product roadmap with us to determine what is needed.
I have mostly used forums for any support needed because the setup is straightforward and the documentation is quite good.
When our site went down, Cisco's technical support was very responsive and effective, so I would rate them nine out of ten for their support.
The support response time can be slow, sometimes taking up to fifteen hours.
They are instantly available for technical support from Meraki Dashboard.
Kentik's integration with Kubernetes makes scaling easier.
You can scale as many devices and tests as you want, but you should have a good number of credits in your accounts.
Based on stability, I would give Kentik a nine.
In production, however, dimensioning of the underlying platforms is something to be mindful of.
We have not encountered any downtime related to the Meraki cloud feature in the last five years.
More work is required to integrate AI for troubleshooting, simplifying root cause analysis, and providing suggested solutions for network issues.
There is a need for price reductions in developing countries, as the cost of Meraki is quite high.
Improving AI could be a significant role-changer for many aspects.
The cameras are not connected through Meraki, but all other devices are on Meraki networks.
The pricing is good and aligns with the market target.
Kentik’s pricing is competitive in the marketplace.
The cost of the Meraki solution is high, which may not be affordable for smaller companies, especially in developing countries.
If we involve a third-party vendor, the price will definitely go up.
One of the most valuable features of Kentik, especially for service providers, is its ability to visualize all the BGP peering and the status of the BGP peering platform.
Overall, the ease of use and the fact that it meets client expectations are major positives.
Kentik is easy to use and set up.
You can also implement some security measures over Meraki Dashboard, such as Cisco Umbrella, which is a powerful DNS security tool, and you can manage FTD firewalls through Meraki Dashboard, making it very beneficial.
It's completely cloud-managed, and in a simplified way, you don't need to visit any physical infrastructure to monitor activities.
It summarizes everything in one place, which is very important for our organization.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Meraki Dashboard | 1.1% |
| Kentik | 0.9% |
| Other | 98.0% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 4 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Large Enterprise | 8 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 22 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 13 |
| Large Enterprise | 25 |
Kentik's AIOps Network Traffic Intelligence platform unifies network operations, performance, security, and business intelligence.
With a purpose-built big data engine delivered as public or private SaaS, Kentik captures a high-resolution view of actual network traffic data and enriches it with critical application and business data, so every network event or analysis can be tied to revenue & costs, customer & user experience, performance & risk.
Meraki Dashboard is a comprehensive cloud-based platform that offers centralized management and control for all Meraki networking and security products. It provides a user-friendly interface, allowing administrators to easily monitor and configure their network infrastructure from anywhere. With real-time visibility, troubleshooting becomes effortless, ensuring optimal performance and minimizing downtime.
The intuitive dashboard offers a holistic view of the network, enabling quick identification of potential issues and proactive measures. It simplifies network deployment and scaling, with zero-touch provisioning and automatic firmware updates. The robust security features include advanced threat protection, content filtering, and VPN connectivity.
Meraki Dashboard also offers powerful analytics and reporting capabilities, providing valuable insights into network usage, application performance, and user behavior. With its seamless integration and scalability,
Meraki Dashboard is the ideal solution for organizations of all sizes, ensuring efficient network management and enhanced productivity.
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