Cisco Meraki SM vs. Jamf School

The free tier of Meraki SM was excellent and we used it for a few years. We now use the paid version. Meraki SM is excellent for schools that need to manage large amounts of iPads without needing to maintain physical contact with them. We are a small primary school on a single site however Meraki SM is able to handle larger sites. Devices are able to be configured so that the permissions are automatically set depending on the current user, or the current location. This allows for excellent customization. In my experience, Meraki SM works best when used with iPads. It does have some features for managing other devices but I have not used it for this.

Incentivized

Jamf is user-friendly and easy to set up. It allows Ipads to be managed in easy-to-understand groupings. It also allows teachers to take ownership of choosing and distributing apps. The safety features for students allow restricting of websites, apps, and even clearing some of the "clutter" of built-in IOS apps that you don't want on students screens such as news and measuring apps. I really enjoy using this product.

Incentivized

• We can create templates for our mobile devices that make new hardware deployments a breeze.
• Pushing out new with Apple Business Manager is easy and efficient.
• We get tons of real-time information on our devices and useful historical information and logs.
• Kiosk and Single App mode is great for single purpose tablets.

Incentivized

• Concise management
• Data tracking
• Instructional tool

Incentivized

• Currently the application addition to Meraki has gone through some changes that make it not as user friendly as it used to be but has improved some areas of the function such as easy of deployment.
• It would be nice to have the ability to reset a users password from the control panel. This function is currently missing.
• Some of the navigation within the panel is not the best. It is a little obscure at times where you need to go for certain functions. For instance, to manage users, instead of a nav feature just saying, Manager Users, you have to know to click on a link simply called, "General". This could be improved.

Incentivized

• Steep learning curve
• Cannot track MacBook locations
• Unassigning and Reassigning devices when changing SNs from repairs is complicated

Incentivized

It has is easy to use overall and is very powerful. The learning curve for the system is very small and I have found it easy to train members of our team to use it. It can fit any size organization and the support is excellent. The ROI is well worth it. If you have a multiplatform ecosystem, this tool is near perfect.

Incentivized

For the most part, Jamf School does everything it is programmed to do. However, there are a few instances where we have run into snags. This is to be expected with any software though and working customer support has always been helpful. Customer support does their best to help with each scenario we've had issues with.

Incentivized

We have found that Cisco Meraki has always had very good customer support. In the rare case, when we have needed assistance they have always been quick to respond and solve the issue.

Incentivized

I used TechPilot to manage mobile devices which was a great product and had some useful features. I say had, because after it was purchased by Securly the software support and functionary went downhill fast. Securly MDM is an inferior product.

Incentivized

Jamf School works much better for our needs than the other programs listed. We originally used Jamf Pro, but being in a school setting it did not provide all the support we needed. Thankfully, Jamf recognized this need and created Jamf School. We have since been using it and it has helped our productivity and management tremendously.

Incentivized

It’s scalable up to a point and will scale well from small to a medium business, however, as a business grows and policies get more mature or detailed, you might have to later upgrade to a more appropriate enterprise solution such as MaaS360 or AirWatch. This solution however, will last quite a long tome for a growing business.

Incentivized

• It has come in handy several times, especially when it comes to remotely wiping a device that was lost or stolen.
• This has allowed us to push applications to devices, which helps our employees to have easy access to tools related to Healthcare and Business Expense tracking.
• Meraki Systems Manager is excellent at allowing us to remotely administer our wireless access points, but has been a source of frustration (at times) when trying to use as an MDM solution.

Incentivized

• Much simpler device management
• Cost Saver
• More productivity because of less down time

Incentivized